Table of Contents
Introduction 6
About this Book 8
Tools and Techniques 10
The Propagator's Tool Kit 12
Hand tools 13
Equipment and supplies 14
Soil mixes 16
Propagation equipment 18
Starting from Seed 20
Seed characteristics 21
Flowers and seeds 22
Starting seeds 24
Leaching 26
Soaking 28
Scarification 30
Stratification 32
Light 34
Dark 35
Relative humidity 36
Saving seeds 42
Pollination 44
Harvesting and cleaning 46
Storing saved seeds 48
Treating seeds to prevent disease 50
Working with hybrids 52
Dividing Established Plants 54
Good digging 55
Dividing plants with fibrous root systems 56
Dividing plants with fleshy or woody crowns 58
Dividing suckers 60
Dividing plants with rhizomes 62
Dividing plants with tubers 64
Dividing plants with offsets 66
Dividing plants with bulbs and corms 68
Scoring, sectioning, scooping, and coring bulbs 70
Cuttings 74
Types of cuttings 75
Greenwood cuttings 76
Softwood cuttings 78
Semiripe cuttings 80
Hardwood cuttings 82
Conifer cuttings 84
Cane cuttings 86
Leaf petiole cuttings 88
Leaf vein cuttings 90
Upright leaf cuttings 92
Monocot leaf cuttings 94
Root cuttings 96
Layering 98
Tip layering 100
Simple and serpentine layering 102
Air layering 104
Stooling or mound layering 106
French layering 108
Dropping 110
Grafting 112
Grafting with rootstocks 114
Whip-and-tongue grafting 116
Apical-wedge grafting and saddle grafting 118
Side-wedge grafting 120
Approach grafting 122
Four-flap grafting 124
Side-veneer grafting 126
T-budding 128
Chip budding 130
Grafting a cactus 132
Plant Directory 134
Glossary 180
Hardiness Zones 183
Plant List 184
Index 189
Credits 192