At the conclusion of their presentation, Ella Cowen of Sea Island Savory Herbs briefly spoke about some of the plants they brought along. Sea Island Savory Herbs visited the Daniel Island Garden Club on March 14 and brought many of their plants for members and visitors to buy. Danielle Spies of Sea Island Savory Herbs demonstrates how to make a cutting, even if all you have are craft scissors. Sea Island Savory Herbs owners Danielle Spies (left) and Ella Cowen (right) gave a presentation on how they propagate their plants at the farm.

Plant growers share tips with DI Garden Club on proper propagation

Propagating plants in your garden can be an inexpensive and easy way to yield new plants from plants you already have. While some plants are harder to propagate than others, taking cuttings of plants such as mint and rosemary, which are found in most people’s gardens, is simple and can save you a good chunk of money in the long run, explained Danielle Spies and Ella Cowen, owners of Sea Island Savory Herbs, at the Daniel Island Garden Club meeting on March 14.
Even at the Sea Island Savory Herbs farm, though it’s on a much larger scale, many of the plants are grown through the process of propagation, added Spies.
“Instead of spending $4 on rosemary, you can take a snip and move it around,” she said. “We grow all of our plants, most of them are from cutting and some of them, like parsley and chives, are from seed, and then obviously vegetables. Some are root cuttings. That’s the fun thing about it…figuring out the best way to get results.”
While there are various ways of taking a cutting, Spies and Cowen demonstrated the technique they use. When first taking the cutting, Cowen explained, you want to start in a small container. Additionally, unlike when planting a seed, the soil in each container should be tightly packed. At their farm they utilize cell packs, but an egg carton with a hole in the bottom could suffice.
“You want to start in a small container because you want the plant to root out and it can do that quicker in a smaller container,” said Cowen.

When it’s time to take the cuttings, the key is to take the time to find the perfect “baby,” explained Spies. At first, this can be difficult to spot, but with time, she added, it becomes easier.

“The baby that you take to propagate, that’s going to reflect how strong the next generation is,” said Spies. “…You don’t want to take a cutting of a sick plant. You want it to be a nice cutting so you have a nice baby.”

Once you have your cuttings, the next step is to cut the leaves down so that the bottom of the stem is exposed, Spies continued. This is to ensure that the roots are able to escape and take hold in the soil. If there is a lot of leaf on the plant, like in a hydrangea, it is also important to remember to cut the leaves down, so that the water is evenly distributed throughout.

“You want the plant to be focused on taking up water and not losing it immediately to the leaves,” said Spies. “A nice trick is if you have a big leaf, you can cut a lot of those leaves down, especially when you’re doing it when it’s warm and sunny. Leave a little bit so there is still some green but you can get rid a lot of that leaf.”

If completing propagation on a larger scale, it is also vital to make sure all of the cuttings are the same height, added Spies. This is to ensure that all are receiving the same amount of sunlight, water and nutrients needed to grow. After making sure all of the cuttings are the same height, simply take a stick, like a chopstick, poke a hole in each cell pack or container and stick the cutting in.

“The trick is you don’t want to lose the cutting in [the container],” said Spies. “You stick it in and do a little quad finger pinch and get the soil really nice and tight around the root. That’s why it is important to have that soil nice and compact. If you have your plants all cut at the same height, it should be similar looking. The stems should pretty much be all the way to the bottom of the pot.”

After planting the cuttings, to ensure their success, it is vital to remember to water them two to three times a day, especially during the first few days, continued Spies.

“If people have done seeds or cuttings or anything like that and haven’t been successful, it’s probably because they’re not watering it enough, especially during the first three to five days,” said Spies. “These little call packs dry out quickly…Once I see that this is rooted, I back off watering and treat it like it’s any other plant. To tell, you can kind of look at the bottom and see. Be patient, if you tug on that thing and it has a couple roots it might pop right out.”

For more information about Sea Island Savory Herbs, located at 5920 Chisolm Road on John’s Island, visit http://www.seaislandsavoryherbs.com/.

The Daniel Island Garden Club meets the second Wednesday of each month at Providence Baptist Church at 294 Seven Farms Drive. To learn more, visit http://www.digardenclub.com/.

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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