After buying a house, all I wanted to do is fill it with pretty things and plant a lot of beautiful plants. The problem with that was, I didn't have an unlimited budget. Money doesn't grow on trees! My adventure into propagation started with buying a few gardening books from the local Goodwill. My husband also stopped by a garage sale on the way home and bought some landscaping books. I tried to read through them all but knowing me, I skimmed through them quickly and searched for all the photos. Even though I didn't read every one of those books, I did read some and I learned a lot. The key to having a beautifully landscaped yard is not only hard work but also knowledge! The more you know about your plants, the better your plants will look and the longer they will survive.
Pinterest also had a lot to do with my plant addiction. While searching Pinterest, the word "propagate" came up a lot. I started doing more research on how to propagate and what plants I could propagate. I looked around my yard and started propagating everything I had. Who doesn't like free plants? One of the easiest plants to propagate is the mum plant. Here is how I did it.
First off I want to mention that the sooner you propagate your mum plants, the bigger they will be, come fall. Spring is the best time to start propagating your mum plants. (only speaking for the North West) If you start propagating your mums in spring they will have all summer to form a larger root system and hopefully survive the winter months.
I went to Walmart and bought a "cell tray" from the vegetable planting department. Walmart is the cheapest place I found the tray. You can find them at any department store or home improvement store during gardening season. You can also but some from amazon or use extra containers that you have around the house. I like to buy my potting soil from my local nursery or Costco, but you can always find a cheap bag at your local Walmart.
I added potting soil to my cell tray and then made a hole in the center of each cell with a pencil.
To propagate most plants you need a rooting hormone. If you don't have any or can't find any at your local nursery, use honey. Honey is a natural rooting hormone. You can also check amazon!
To propagate a plant you need to get a cutting from an existing plant. The plant I used was from a house warming mum plant my aunt and uncle gave my husband and I when they visited. The cutting you choose should be one that has a soft stem. I also found that one with no flowers on it works best. Just pinch off the leafy part and you have your cutting!
Dip the end of your cutting in water and then in the rooting hormone. Tap the excess off and plant it in the hole that you made earlier. Water your cuttings daily and watch them grow! When you lift the cell tray up and you see roots growing through the holes you can transplant your cuttings.
The brown containers I found to transplant my plants into are from the dollar store. The smaller containers come in a 10 pack for $1.00 and the larger ones are a 5 pack for $1.00. After they grow a little bigger, you can transplant them into the ground. Also remember to keep pinching off the top of your mum plants. Doing this will make your plant grow fuller instead of having a very tall plant.
These ones will bloom a beautiful golden yellow.
My mums before planting them into the ground.
Enjoy!
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