Save money by propagating plants
It's easy to go to a garden store or nursery and spend more than you planned when the gorgeous blooms and dazzling colors are so tempting. But it's just as easy to be a frugal gardener by propagating plants you already have. It's fun, satisfying and not as daunting as you might think.
There are two types of plant propagation: sexual and asexual. Sexual propagation occurs when plants produce seeds, which can be collected, dried and stored until you are ready to germinate them. Many plants have readily visible seeds that can be collected after the bloom, including sunflowers, cosmos, zinnias, poppies, hollyhocks and columbine. If you forget to save the seeds or if the birds and squirrels get to them first, a variety of free seeds are available at the public libraries in Novato, Fairfax and Point Reyes Station.
Asexual propagation uses the vegetative parts of the plant to generate a new plant that is an exact replica of the parent. There are several methods of asexual propagation. Separation is one of the easiest because the plants do much of the work for you. Bulbs, such as daffodil and tulip, and corms, such as gladiolus and crocus, eventually form new growths, or offsets, around the base of the parent plant. Dig
up the plant after the leaves have died back and gently pull the sections apart. Replant the separated bulbs and corms, and voila! — one or two solo plants will transform into a swath of blooms.
Other plants can be divided to create new plants. Division works for plants that have a habit of producing a mass of closely knit shoots or buds that form a clump, or crown, of