The Coastal Gardener - February 2004
Shrubs for free
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February can be a month of unexpected spring weather. Suddenly the days are longer, it's warm and daffodils appear in the grass; it seems as if spring has taken hold and we want to rush out into the garden to plant marigolds and tomatoes. In my garden, "Dark Star" Ceanothus, Manzanita, Nemesias, Linarias, and Ericas are in bloom. Grevillea "Coastal Gem" is flushed with tiny burgundy flowers. Near the front porch I mixed yellow and orange calendulas with rich purple-leafed Redbor Curled kale. Many leaf vegetables are highly ornamental and, just as the French discovered when they laid out their complex 17th century parterres, their rich colors are perfect complements to winter flowers. But for all the flowers now just as suddenly there is frost and cold windy days again.
As I mentioned above I have lots of wonderful shrubs I am proud of. But after the initial discovery, these named cultivars are often difficult to find again at the nursery. A particular plant might have been bought at a botanical garden fund-raiser and be very rare; or perhaps I liked it's performance so well that I want to have a whole drift of this shrub or that. But to try and purchase all of those plants can be expensive and I am cheap (When I open my wallet, which is not often, I hear birds sing, "Cheap Cheap Cheap!"). So I must turn to a way to make more of a particular plant and that is where layering comes in.
Layering is one of the simplest forms of propagation, that is, making new plants. It's so simple, it practically does itself. Layering starts when a stem makes contact with the ground. Hormones within the stem are stimulated and buds on the lower surface transform into tiny root tips that push into the soil.
Layering is safer than propagating by cuttings; the subject never leaves the parent, it's source of moisture and nutrition, until it is ready. Cuttings must preserve their vital resources until they can form roots of their own. I've been layering Manzanitas, Cotinus, Cotoneaster, Hebe and Euryops this month. To speed rooting, I carefully wound the bottom of the stem, just below the buds that make contact with the soil. A razor blade is used to make a tiny cut, not enough to sever the stem, mind you, but enough to stimulate the production of growth hormones by the plant. To make it even easier, I hold down the stem in a pot of soil with a rock, which keeps the stem in place while it roots into the prepared soil of the pot. Then pot and new plant can be cut from the parent to be placed anywhere I want without worry of damaging the new roots.
Soon fruit trees will be showing buds, so hurry to finish any winter pruning this month. Roses will soon be actively sprouting if given a hard pruning to encourage new wood (Think new wood, new blooms). The Iceberg roses in the blue patio pots have been repotted and I have an order of Penstemon "Raven" and "Garnet" into the nursery to line the entry walk for this year's garden tour. Until next month, Enjoy! Dave Egbert
PS I am reading a fascinating new book "The Looking-Glass Garden, plants and gardens of the Southern Hemisphere" by Peter Thompson. The similarities between Big Sur Chaparral and the South African Fynbos are remarkable!
Enjoy! Dave Egbert.
