Propagating plants – Mexican Daisy
Melanie
April 27, 2015
It’s fairy easy to propagate a plant, and it’s a great option for when growing by seed isn’t the best idea. Love growing things by seed, but sometimes it’s just not the way to go. Possibly the conditions aren’t right, perhaps the seeds you got aren’t viable, no matter the reason there’s other options available to still get that plant, the catch? You need an adult plant on hand. Perhaps what you are after is in a neighbors yard, or it’s in yours you just want more? If so you can do this easy just with some time.
One of my favorite plants, the Mexican Daisy. It’s a bush, it’s a flower, it’s so colorful! Dainty little pink, white and purple daises that bloom from spring to fall. I’ve propagated several plants out of this one massive one to spread throughout the yard. One small transplant takes about a full year, almost two to have more growth and flowers but it’s worth it in the end. Once established in it’s spot- it flourishes!
I have been successful in growing Mexican Daises from seed but it’s a 50/50 chance. One tiny wrong move and you’ve lost the seedling. Delicate little boogers I’m telling you, which brings me to the really simple way to propagate the plant . Simple technique , you find yourself a really strong healthy stem of the plant.
Find one near the ground or if you can bring a pot with dirt in it up to the branch ( possibly use a stool to keep it there) Clear off the ground to make a good solid place to lay the stem.Or position the pot under the stem.
Grab a rock, stick, anything not too heavy or that will break the stem and lay it against the ground and keep it in place.
At this point you just need to step back and wait. Roots should form in a couple weeks. Once it does keep checking back.
You want a good root system before you cut this off from the adult plant. If you cut too soon it won’t live. A good way to check if there’s roots is try to lift the stem, if it catches, roots have formed. Watch for new sprouts from the stem as well, another good way to see if roots are taking place.
Once the root system is good and healthy you can transplant. Cut the stem near the adult plant and transfer to a pot with wet soil. The plant is already hardy to outside conditions, no need to worry and bring it inside. Wait another few weeks before planting it into the ground.
You can do this with most any plant and it’s a great science lesson for the kids!
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Trista
Keep this going please, great job!