The Plant Propagator's Bible: A Step-by-Step Guide to Propagating Every Plant in Your Garden

by Miranda Smith

Overview

With easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions, veteran horticulture teacher Miranda Smith provides a complete reference showing every step for cultivating new plants—whether from seed or cuttings or with techniques such as layering, grafting, and budding.

Propagating new plants from existing ones is not only sustainable but also rewarding for gardeners of all skill levels. The Plant Propagator’s Bible offers a solid and complete, go-to reference for expert gardeners but is also a perfect primer for the novice plant lover and horticulturalist.

Smith teaches readers, with the support of hundreds of 4-color photos and detailed illustrations, the natural process and conditions in which plants grow and reproduce, and shows gardeners how to use these systems to propagate any plant that grows in their garden or greenhouse—or even on their windowsill. The book features:

• An A to Z directory of more than 1,000 individual plant species—with appropriate propagation techniques for aquatics, ornamental plants, houseplants, shrubs, trees, vegetables, and wildflowers
• “What Can Go Wrong” advice for each type of plant, explaining potential problems and how to prevent or fix them
• Detailed, step-by-step illustrations and annotated photographs

Including information on essential tools and equipment, this is an indispensable addition to every gardener’s bookshelf.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780760369807
Publisher:	Cool Springs Press
Publication date:	06/29/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	192
Sales rank:	932,052
File size:	27 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Miranda Smith is a longtime teacher of organic and sustainable methods of growing herbs, vegetables, and fruits. She’s had the luxury of gardening in most climatic zones in North America, allowing her to convey principles that work for each region. Smith is author or co-author of many books about horticulture, including Your Backyard Herb Garden and Rodale’s Pest and Disease Problem Solver.

Miranda Smith is a longtime teacher of organic and sustainable methods of growing herbs, vegetables, and fruits. She's had the luxury of gardening in most climatic zones in North America, allowing her to convey principles that work for each region. Smith is author or co-author of many books about horticulture, including Your Backyard Herb Garden and Rodale's Pest and Disease Problem Solver.

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