Propagating your own plants is joyous. Millie has some tips to make it easier. Subscribe 🔔 [ Ссылка ]

Seeds:
1. The mix is important - Millie sieves hers to make sure it has fine particles that are going to make good contact with even small seeds.
2. Sow seed about twice as deep as the seed is wide
3. For tiny seeds like lettuce, simply sprinkle them on the surface, cover with a tiny layer of sieved mix, firm them down, water gently - and wait!
4. You can increase the diversity of plants you grow - nurseries may stock 2-3 varieties but when buying seeds you may have 10-20 or more options.

Pricking out:
It’s fine to sow seeds quite thickly in shallow containers, but as soon as the second leaves appear, it’s time to move them up a size and give them some more space. This is called pricking out.

Millie holds one of the seedling’s leaves and uses a thin stick to gently lift the tiny plant out of the seedling tray. Each one gets potted up into its own pot, gently backfilled with potting mix, watered in and placed in a sheltered, semi-shaded spot. As they settle in they can gradually be exposed to full sun and should be ready for planting out in a few weeks.

Cuttings:
Growing from cuttings gives you an exact clone of the parent plant. You can take cuttings at most times of the year, you just need to take different material.

In spring, take softwood cuttings that will grow roots very quickly but needs to be kept in a moist, humid environment.

In summer, you use slightly harder, semi-hardwood cuttings from further down the stem.

In winter you can take hardwood cuttings, even from completely dormant, leafless plants. These take longer to grow roots but they need less care because of the cooler conditions.

The trick is to learn a bit about the plant you want to grow and the best time to take cuttings from it.

If taking cuttings from a friend’s plant (always with permission!), take a generous piece at least 10cm long. If you have to travel with it, wrap it in wet newspaper to stop it drying out.

Rosemary is an easy plant to start with. Millie uses a custom mix to ensure both oxygen and moisture, by adding about 50% perlite to her potting mix.

Strip each piece of cutting - you’ll get lots from a 10cm piece - then recut the base with a pair of clean, sharp secateurs, strip off the bottom leaves (Millie follows a 2:1 rule – two-thirds of the stem stripped of leaves, and a third left, to reduce too much moisture loss through the leaves). Dip the base into rooting hormone powder or solution (or honey, if preferred), then use a dibber or stick to create a hole for it in a prepared pot of mix, and pop it in the mix. Avoid making the hole with the cutting itself, as this can damage the tender stem.

Water in and keep warm and moist until they develop roots - cover with a plastic bag or cut down plastic bottles to create a mini-greenhouse, checking regularly to avoid any fungal growth on leaves.

Plants that propagate themselves:
Many plants spread via rhizomes or underground stems and these can be lifted and divided to create new plants.

Millie uses the example of a native basalt daisy in her garden, which grows into thick clumps in moist clay soils.

She finds a natural junction between two growing points, separates it off with her trowel, and levers it out.

To prepare the plant for transplanting, she cuts off a lot of the top growth - this reduces the stress on the roots.

The clump can be separated out into individual plants each with their own roots. When you see roots growing from the bottom of the individual pot, it’s ready for planting out.

Featured plants:
Hardy fuchsia - Fuchsia magellanica
Rosemary - Salvia rosmarinus
Basalt daisy - Brachyscome paludicola

Filmed on Taungurung Country | Central Victoria

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