Propagating Orchids At Home
There are many ways of propagating orchids that can be done right at home. In this way, home gardeners are able to add to their collection of plants and also improve on the original orchids health. Methods of orchid propagation commonly utilized by home gardeners are division, keikis, back bulbs and aerial cuttings.
In division, orchids are split into two or more parts, and each part will produce a fully grown plant that will flower the next season. It is a method best done just after a new growth begins, typically in early spring. Each division needs to have three back bulbs and one new growth. It is one of the simplest methods of propagating orchids that many people can easily do at home. Though you may worry about the thought of cutting your plant into two, it is actually good for your plant as it will encourage growth of new shoots that are healthier and more vigorous.
Occasionally, orchids will have a baby orchid clinging to them with its own roots. This is known as a keiki. A keiki can be found in an orchids roots, stems and bulbs. In propagating orchids using keikis, you must wait until the roots of the keikis grow to about three inches long. Pull it gently from the orchid until it is separated, then plant it in a new pot. Water and feed it very minimally, and keep it in a shady area. Once it grows bigger, you can then care for it like you would a grown orchid.
You can also use back bulbs to propagate orchids. This method is done during repotting. Once the plant is removed from its old pot, look at its pseudobulbs. Remove the old ones, both those that have flowered and not. Then, plant the pseudobulb in a new pot and care for it wellwatering it once and twice a week, exposing it to sunlight and shade, adding fertilizerbasically treating it like a growing orchid. This will induce the pseudobulb to take root and hopefully flower.
In propagating orchids using aerial cuttings, fully grown orchids are cut off at the uppermost part of their stems, just below the aerial roots. The part that has been removed is then placed in orchid mixture to grow. The new plant will be similar to its parent. Most sympodial orchids like the Cattleya, Dendrobium, Cymbidium and Coelogyne are propagated using aerial cuttings.
Need help in propagating orchids successfully? Visit www.OrchidsHowToGrow.com for great tips, articles and advice on growing and caring for orchids.
Propagating Houseplants
Do you want more houseplants? Or do you like giving people plants for mothers day and birthdays? There is a way to do this without running to the local nursery and spending more money. You can propagate the ones you already have or what I do is when one of my friends or family members have a houseplant I like I ask for a starter plant. I started doing this because my aunt had a lot of plants around her house that I just loved, so she started giving me starter plants and when I got more plants I gave her starter plants. Now we trade all the time.
There are a number of ways to do this, depending on the kind of plant you have. You can use seeds which is the most obvious choice. Some plants like the snake plant can be divided by the roots, which is the easiest way.
Ivies, impatiens and other plants like these can be propagated by using stem cuttings.
I do this about once every spring with my philodendron plants, because they get too long, so I give them a haircut and put the stems in a vase full of water.
Plants like peace lilies have parent plants or suckers that you break away at the roots to propagate.I also do this once a year with my lilies. I separate them and give them to family members because I don't have any use for that many peace lilies.
Spider plants and the strawberry begonia can be split up by runners which are small plants from the parent plant. If your plants leaves are fleshy or hairy like african violets you can use leaf cuttings.
You can also grow some plants by using a single leaf, the rex begonia is one of the plants you can use. You can get as many as six new plants if the leaf you use is a good size. With snake plants you can make more plants just from one leaf by cutting the leaf in sections.
You can also use the air layering technique for plants like a rubber plant.
So whether you want more houseplants for yourself or for someone else these are good ways to get more plants.
Do you have plants but would like to have more? Make sure you check out my blog and get detailed information on how to propagate your plants.