Tag: cuttings

Phlower & Planting – Geranium

On By TimelessladyIn Phlowers, Planting16 Comments

Yesterday, I was able to text my son a photo of this beautiful puff of salmon. I told him it was a cutting grown from a Geranium he gave me on Mother’s Day two years ago. Plants given as gifts are especially dear to me.

Before frost arrived last year, I dipped a cutting of the geranium in honey and placed it in loose soil with a Ziplock bag over the plant to keep it humid. Not every cutting works, so I usually grow three for every plant I want to save.

I also tried bagging/boxing up a few bare-root geraniums, and the photo shows what I found just an hour ago when I opened the bag. I will continue to grow cuttings and, in the future, leave bare root storage to the experts.

The geranium is part of Cee’s Flower of the Day.

Plants & Perspective – Cuttings

On By TimelessladyIn Perspective, Plants9 Comments

In August I took about three dozen cuttings of plants I liked. Oh my! They all took to rooting in water and soil and I soon had them growing under lights in the basement. My success surprised me even though I have rooted cuttings for years. The small plants quickly became another demand of my time.

Where are the plants now? You might cringe and ask ‘why,’ when I tell you they are in the compost heap. I am getting wiser. I am cutting back on things that tie up my time and energy. Do I really need to carry over so many plants? I live in an area with many garden nurseries. My flowering perennials grow larger every year. I don’t really need as many plants as I did in the past.

I’ve decided I must cut away successful endeavors that might kill me. Sounds funny, but those of you with too many projects going on know exactly what I mean. Growing older for me means less really does give me more…and by that I mean TIME. By the way, I also have a glorious compost heap to use next year. Hooray!

Planting – The Scraggly Ones Reborn

On By TimelessladyIn PlantingLeave a comment

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Every year, at summer’s end, I take cuttings from outdoor plants I hope to save over the winter. They usually root for me, but never seem to thrive. They stay alive, but only put out minimal new growth. I do realize that winter is the dormant season for many plants. Combine that with how cold we keep our home at night, and my cuttings don’t have much of a chance to really take hold and grow quickly. A week or so ago I gathered all these “scraggly ones” together on my kitchen table. Along with several pots of houseplants I had rooted from cuttings, I had about eighteen plants in total. I decided that it was going to come down to “Survival of the Fittest,” and put six each of the plants/cuttings into hanging basket pots. I was pretty pleased with the resulting mix of shapes, sizes and textures. I think they will be rather unique as they grow on outdoors. For now I’ll put them outside on their hooks when the days are warm, and in a few weeks post an update.

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It will be interesting to watch how they develop over the next few months.

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Plants – Herb Whisperer

On By TimelessladyIn Plants12 Comments

And God said, “Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed…” Genesis 1:29 (KJV)

Years ago, my mother surprised me with this gift, a rack of bottles for floral arrangements, or as in my case, a place to root plant cuttings. From the day I received this gift, until now, my bottles have not been without sprigs of plants. Placed in a bright window, without strong direct sunlight, the cuttings thrive. My home is filled with plants I have rooted in these bottles.

Lavender

A week or two ago, I cut a piece of lavender from the garden with hopes of enjoying it through the winter. Lavender is a plant I find hard to start from seed or cutting, but it is not impossible. Even if this sprig doesn’t root for me, I will still enjoy its soft scent through the cold months. I consider myself a herb whisperer of sort. I can imagine you shaking your head, “A what?” you ask. Yes, a herb whisperer. I coax a whiff of beautiful fragrance from my herbs by gently running my hand over the leaves. I don’t need to press. I don’t need to rub. A soft brushing of my fingertips against the foliage releases the oils, and the scent reaches my nose, instantly elevating my mood and energy level.

Peppermint

Whether it is the calming effect of my lavender, or the invigorating swoosh of peppermint, or the contentment found in the fragrance of rosemary, not many days go by without me calling up the herb whisperer within my character.

Rosemary

In winter two of these herbs are still easy to find, peppermint and rosemary are often sold in local supermarkets in the produce section. Lavender might be a bit more difficult to locate in the winter, but if you have a dormant plant in your garden or in a friends, cut a sprig and bring it inside, it will reward you with weeks and weeks of subtle fragrance.

Aromatherapy effects:

Lavender – calming, mood enhancing, cures insomnia and headaches. Read more here: Benefits of Lavender

Peppermint – anti-inflammatory, kills viral infections, clears lung congestion. Read more here: Benefits of Peppermint

Rosemary – aids in digestion, eases stomach cramps, relieves headaches. Read more here: Benefits of Rosemary

More on the care and culture of these three herb plants can be found in the links below:

Lavender
Peppermint
Rosemary

Projects & Plants – Rooting Cuttings with Honey

On By TimelessladyIn Plants, Projects22 Comments

My Lemon Verbena plant is thriving, but it is in definite need of a trim. I want to grow several lemon verbena plants in my herb garden this year so today was the perfect day to take cuttings. In the past I have used rooting hormone on the stem ends of the cuttings, but this year I am aiming to go as natural and organic as possible. I have heard in the past that Honey is a natural rooting compound. I always have honey in my pantry so I pulled it out and gave it a try.

I followed the same protocol I use with rooting hormone. I punched out a drainage hole in 3 oz plastic cups and filled these with sterile soil. I watered the potting medium and created a hole with a plastic highlighter.

I dipped the lower inch and a half of the verbena cuttings into the honey and inserted them into the soil. I avoided brushing the sides of the planting hole to keep the honey intact on the stem end.

I gently firmed up the soil around the stem and then inserted the cup in a plastic bag and sealed it. The honey is anti-fungal and will create a seal on the cut end of the cutting and help retain moisture.

When I was finished I had six small pots. I used a recycled cookie tray to hold the six cuttings steady, and placed them under lights in my basement.

The lovely smelling leaves I stripped away were also put to good  use. I simmered them in a pot of water and freshened up the house with a little extra moisture and lemon scent in the air.

Pleasures and Promise – Cobalt Blue

On By TimelessladyIn Pleasures, PromiseLeave a comment

I enjoy this cobalt blue dish hanging from my ceiling. It holds five cobalt blue vases of various sizes in which I root cuttings from my houseplants. Vintage ceramic bluebirds peer out at me from the rim of the dish…reminding me of my Grandmother Broadwell who loved little glass birds…especially bluebirds.

The cobalt blue color also reminds me of my Heavenly Home. The place where I will dwell with the Lord forever. I love color, deep rich color of all kinds, especially the blue and green tones. I feel such a sense of joy when I read the description of heaven promised in Revelation. There are some scary and hard to understand sequences in Revelation, but there are also many promises. God will bring his believers through the storms of life, whatever they may be, and into his promise.

“Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was

the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the

glory of the LORD. When I saw it, I fell facedown,

 and I heard the voice of one speaking.”

 Ezekiel 1:28

“The foundations of the city walls were decorated with every kind of

precious stone. The first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire,

the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth ruby,

the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth

turquoise, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.”

Revelation 21:19-20

“And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A

rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.”

Revelation 4:3