Propagating succulents is one of the most satisfying things you can do as a plant grower. A single leaf placed on damp soil can produce a complete, independent plant within weeks. A stem cutting from a leggy jade plant becomes a well-shaped new specimen in a month. An echeveria that seemed past its best can… Continue reading How to Propagate Succulents — The Complete Guide to Leaves, Cuttings, Offsets, and Seeds
Category: germination
Growing Pachypodium from Seed: A Germination Guide by Species
Seed is the best way to propagate Pachypodium — and for many species, it is the only practical way. Stem cuttings are unreliable (and impossible for Pachypodium brevicaule and Pachypodium namaquanum), offsets are rare, and grafting is a specialist technique used mainly to accelerate the growth of slow species on Pachypodium lamerei rootstock. Fortunately, Pachypodium seeds germinate readily — fresh seeds of most species achieve 70–90%… Continue reading Growing Pachypodium from Seed: A Germination Guide by Species
Growing Yuccas from Seed: From Germination to Planting Out
Growing a yucca from seed is a project of patience — but it is also the most rewarding way to obtain vigorous, well-rooted plants perfectly acclimatised to your garden. A Yucca rostrata raised from seed, grown from germination in your climate and your soil, will always be more robust and better established than an imported specimen whose… Continue reading Growing Yuccas from Seed: From Germination to Planting Out
How to Grow Cycads from Seed: Germination, Seedling Care and Propagation Setup
Growing cycads from seed is the most rewarding experience these plants can offer — and the slowest. From the moment a thick, fleshy seed cracks open to reveal its first root to the day that seedling produces a visible trunk, a decade or more will pass. It is gardening measured in geological time, and it… Continue reading How to Grow Cycads from Seed: Germination, Seedling Care and Propagation Setup
How to Grow Welwitschia mirabilis from Seed: The Complete Guide
Welwitschia mirabilis is one of the most extraordinary plants on Earth — a gymnosperm from the Namib Desert that produces only two leaves in its entire life, growing continuously from their base for centuries. Specimens in the wild are estimated at over 1,000 years old. Its bizarre appearance, somewhere between a stranded alien and a botanical… Continue reading How to Grow Welwitschia mirabilis from Seed: The Complete Guide