Plant Propagation Archives – Page 2 of 3

Plant Propagation Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Backyard Delights

By JM PerezMay 9, 20202 min read728 views

I am happy today, especially as one of my succulent plants flowered for the first time.
Sedeveria ‘Hummelii’ (a cross between Sedum and Echeveria), is a tender succulent with reddish leaves during cold months and blue-green with red tips during warmer months. The plant bears small yellow star-shaped flowers. It can be propagated by separating offsets, by leaf cuttings and by seeds.

Most succulents will not survive the frost, but this one survived three cold winters (snow and frost). The first year was just a test, as I grew a succulent leaf next to an Autumn Sage and it survived the hash winter. Last Spring I move the young plant in a container and left it there. It survived two snow storms, frost and has now bloomed for the first time.

*Sedeveria “Hummelii” (Hybrid: Sedum x Echeveria).*

My Lavenders are thriving and spreading. These self-seeding plants have been popping up everywhere in my gardens. I left some seedlings untouched and transplanted others in different locations.

Green Feathery Cassia is yet another low maintenance plant I have come to love.
It is an evergreen drought-tolerant shrub with narrow gray-green foliage. From late Winter through early Summer, tiny showy yellow flowers appear at its branch tips followed by abundant seed pods. It attracts butterflies, bees and hummingbirds.

My Wisteria just bloomed for the first time, how exciting. The rewarding work of shaping and training the plant to climb on the pergola has begun.

With the exception of the Japanese Boxwood, every other shrub in my yard is heavily covered with flowers. The flowers on the Common Broom shrubs are so heavy that the lower branches drag on the ground. Caring for this plant can be overwhelming as they are a host to the Genista Caterpillars, the larvae of the Genista Broom Moth, Lepidoptera Pyralidae. Also, the plant is self-sowing. I got rid of over one hundred seedlings with more emerging here and there.

The Red Tip Photinia are clothed in delicate clusters of white and cream flowers. We lost one plant a week ago and we will be replacing it this weekend.

Don’t forget to stay hydrated as the weather becomes hotter.

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By JM Perez

Plant Propagation Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

Backyard Blossoms

By JM PerezMay 1, 20202 min read614 views

It’s a beautiful day here in the High Desert. The weather has turned around for the better; and with warmer days ahead, I look forward to stepping out and smelling the roses. Now that the soil has finally warmed up, my gardens are looking really good with colors and blooms. The Dwarf Cup Flowers are thriving and spreading rapidly, most are blanketed with delicate violet blue flowers. I realized years ago that this plant does better in-ground than in containers. They are self-sowing too.

The Rose trees are all blossoming now. I can’t remember the name of the hybrid tea rose below, but I absolutely adore my Blue Moon Rose. I hard pruned it last Fall and it has tripled in size.
I will enjoy a vase of cut roses.

The stash of Walnuts seeds and Peach Pits a squirrel hid around my backyard are emerging from the ground. I got rid of most and saved a couple. One of my next door neighbors has two mature Walnut trees and many Dwarf Peach Trees; he has been sharing his peaches with us and they are so sweet; I figure these seeds might be from his trees, dispersed by squirrels. I hope I can successfully grow the peaches, at least.

The Purple Leaf Cherry Plum trees have some fruits. Depending on the taste, we may eat some when fully ripe and let the birds have the rest.

Happy first day of May and good start to your weekend as you find your happy place in the garden.

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By JM Perez

Plant Propagation Weather Gardening High Desert

Succulent Leaf Propagation

By JM PerezJune 25, 20132 min read895 views

The weather is at its best today and I am so grateful. The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat watch in effect from last Friday through Sunday evening (with temperatures as high as 106° Fahrenheit). I hope that just like us, everyone else is making plans for the upcoming days. Be it a trip to the Beach, Lake, Book Store, the Mall or just staying indoors and cooling off. Though I am not fond of High Winds, these are the times I really wish for them as they always help alleviate the hot weather conditions.

My garden looks lovely and the plants are thriving in this hot weather. I deadheaded some Roses and some Petunias. After going around the property searching for Squirrels holes (none so far) and making sure that no plants have been disturbed/damaged on the Raised Garden Beds; I checked on some of my Succulents to see if the leaves I planted a couple of weeks ago had sprouted roots. And what a pleasant surprise!

I use two methods to propagate my leaves:
1. Setting the leaves on top of the soil
2. Sticking them into the ground.
The second method is the one I use when propagating my Succulents outdoors. I made the mistake of setting some leaves on top of the soil, just to find out that they had all disappeared the following day. I blamed the disappearance on the Wind. I can’t say for sure that some Squirrels ate them; however, I have seen one gnawing on my Aptenia Cordifolia (Baby Sun Rose), Portulaca Oleracea (Purslane) and Portulaca Grandiflora (Moss-Rose).

After that unfortunate incidence, I decided to stick a few leaves in the ground, all disappeared except for one. As I gently pulled it out, I was happy to see that it’s been busy growing roots and what appears to be leaves? I moved it to a bigger planter along with my Sedum Morganianum (Donkey Tail). I will continue to water it regularly while allowing the soil to dry a little between watering (to avoid killing the plant).

Happy Gardening!

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By JM Perez

Plant Propagation Gardening High Desert

Cutting Down The Pine Tree

By JM PerezJune 14, 20133 min read531 views

With Summer rapidly approaching and all the gardening projects almost complete, we were faced with one question: to cut down the Pine Tree or let it be? It stands tall between the deck area and the carport, providing some shade to these areas. However, the amount of pine needles falling from this tree alone is overwhelming. It requires high maintenance and constant clean up as the needles fall year-round. These trees are quite messy, the pine needles are always falling and piling up in the backyard. When the weather is good, clean up is easy and when the weather is erratic (with high winds lasting up to a week), clean up becomes quite painful as they get everywhere. Now I understand why some people allow trash to pile in their yard. It’s hard work, it’s endless and those needles are dangerous. Have you ever been poked by a pine needle?

After much considerations (six years of deciding the fate of the Tree), we cut approximately one-third of its branches a week and a half ago. Yesterday, with the help of our handy neighbor and his tools, we were able to cut down the Tree. We’ve been poked so much by the needles and covered in sap. It was worth the pain and we have no regrets. We’ve opened up the area and best of all, no more pine needles to deal with.

*Neighbor helping us cut down the Pine Tree.*

I love conifers and I prefer Fir Trees (Fraser Fir, Balsam Fir, Silver Fir, Spanish Fir and Korean Fir amongst my favorites). Pine Trees are gorgeous, especially when planted in groups or lined up and I love decorating my garden with pine cones. Unfortunately, my Pine Tree did not produce cones and it was growing at a slant. The Tree simply didn’t meet our needs and we needed the space, which is the perfect location for an upcoming project.

Pine Needles Uses:

Mulch and Pest control.
Products/Crafts such as hand-woven baskets, dolls, jewelries and so much more. They also make great Christmas decorations as well as fun stamping projects.
Pine Needle Oil. According to WikiPedia, It is used in aromatherapy, as a scent in bath oils, as a cleaning product, and as a lubricant in small and expensive clockwork instruments. It is naturally deodorizing, and antibacterial. It may also be used varyingly as a disinfectant, massage oil and an antiseptic. It is also used as an effective organic herbicide where its action is to modify the waxy cuticle of plants resulting in desiccation.
Pine Fragrances such as Agua Brava by Antonio Puig, Hugo by Boss Hugo, Fou d’Absinthe by L’Artisan Parfumeur, PI by Givenchy and Polo Crest by Ralph Lauren just to name a few.

Health Benefits

According to Wikipedia, Some species have large seeds, called pine nuts, that are harvested and sold for cooking and baking. The soft, moist, white inner bark (cambium) found clinging to the woody outer bark is edible and very high in vitamins A and C. It can be eaten raw in slices as a snack or dried and ground up into a powder for use as an ersatz flour or thickener in stews, soups, and other foods, such as bark bread. A tea made by steeping young, green pine needles in boiling water is high in vitamins A and C. More information here.

Learn How to Make Pine Needle Tea. Click here to learn about the right Pine Needle to choose. Yew, Norfolk Island Pine and Ponderosa Pines are poisonous.

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By JM Perez

Plant Propagation Flowers Shrubs & Trees Gardening High Desert

‘Little Pete’ Rose Sucker

By JM PerezMarch 25, 20132 min read612 views

Today I finally pulled out what was left of my Snow White Tea Tree in my backyard. I have been suspecting for a while now that something wasn’t right with the plants and decided to give them a few more weeks. It turns out that some White Curl Grubs were happily and vigorously feeding on the roots of the plants which resulted in the plant’s death. I also pulled out what was left of my Crimson Rose Tea Tree which I was growing in a barrel in my front yard. They were beautiful drought-tolerant plants and a wonderful addition to my garden. I have had those plants for four years and every year, during this time, they would be covered in blooms.

It seems like every time I loose a plant in my garden, I get blessed with a new one from my garden. Just a few weeks ago, I discovered a Rose sucker around the base of one of my favorite Rosebush. Last year I gained two more Roses using the propagation by simple layering method. This year on the other hand, my ‘Little Pete’ Rose Tree has a Sucker which is rapidly growing just a small distance from the mother plant. I carefully removed it along with its roots and transplanted it in a pot to create a new Rosebush. My first thought was to just separate the sucker and the mother plant and allow both to grow along side, but I quickly realized that the space between both wasn’t enough to allow them to thrive. It’s such a beautiful Rose and I hope my new growth survives.

Click here, here and here to learn about Propagation by Simple and Tip Layering.

'Little Pete' Rose. — *‘Little Pete’ Rose.*

On a much happier note, we are weed free! I will blog about it in a different post and let you know how we got rid of weeds on our half-acre property in less than two weeks (using just a hoe, rake and a hand shovel).

Happy gardening!

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By JM Perez