Gardening Adventures With Cheap Plants

I've been puttering in the garden lately, so I have no excuse for not getting back into shape. Aside from attacking prickly weeds with a garden hoe, there have been bushes and trees to trim, seeds to plant, and a new garden to fill with soil.
Some of the wooden ties in the garden were rotten, and a portion near the house was oddly unfinished. So V. came over one sunny day and went to work at rebuilding it. It looks much nicer now and we immediately filled it with nice, new soil.

Unfortunately, I also dumped the old strawberry container upside down into it (I wanted to divide them again). It turns out the container was its very own anthill, complete with ant swarms and ant babies that look like rice. Oh joy. I just added an ant infestation to my new, uncontaminated soil...

So all those plants you see there in the picture? They didn't get planted yet. I have to wait for the ants to finish rescuing all their ant babies.
This is my new giant composter! Ooohhh! Aaaaahh! My sister got it for free at a yard give-away thing so we're putting it to good use. No more bucket and "stir stick"!
I stopped by Home Depot and raided their clearance center for plants. They had overgrown dahlia plants there that had just finished flowering. They didn't look so great to the average person, but I could see that they were in the perfect stage for propagating! And for only $1 a pot, it was a steal! V. took them up to the cashier, put them down, and said, "Three dead plants, please" to the cashier. He thought it was pretty funny that I was buying "dead plants", but I know good stuff when I see it :P

The only difficult part with dahlia plants that have just finished flowering is that it's hard to tell what colour their flowers will be unless a wilted flower is still attached to the plant.
Here are some dahlia cuttings ready to become new plants. Note that I just made 9 plants out of one. As the original dahlia continues to grow and flower, I will snip more stems off so I can continue to add to my dahlia garden all summer and fall.

You can follow the tutorial here if you want to propagate some dahlias of your own.
They had a sale on impatiens and petunias so I picked up some of those too. They were also perfectly overgrown (which is why they are on sale), so all those plants in the photo above are cuttings that will be grown into new plants of their own. I have also propagated some fuchsias.

I have been careful to keep them shaded and well watered over the past few days so that they have a chance to put down roots and not dry up. (My dad even put up a big red umbrella for me on some sunny late afternoons!)

I've never propagated petunias before so this is an experiment for me. If it works, I'll post a tutorial.
Meanwhile, I've also been experimenting with crafts. Someone sent me a matchbook notebook and I found it surprisingly useful to keep in my purse to jot down emails and contact information. So I figured I'd make some for a friend, and now I have a whole lotta them! I'll put some in the shop for you.

I'm just making them for fun, so you're welcome to snatch one up for 50 cents a piece. If you want a batch to give out to your friends, just let me know and I'll make you a custom order.

Have a happy weekend!

The Propagated Planter - Travelling in Time

I thought I'd show you how the planter full of propagated plants is doing. Everything in these planters, except the Marigolds is a propagated plant. The Marigolds were grown from seed saved from last year's flowers.

You should save your seeds if you have Marigolds in your garden this year. Just keep the fully wilted flower heads, dry them out, and save the seeds. I'll probably show you later on this year when the Marigolds are in bloom. Right now, they're just fancy leaves :)
So here is the planter right after I put all the little propagated plants in. I put dahlias in the middle, marigolds around them, and impatiens on the outside.
Here is the planter 11 days later. Some of the impatiens have started to bloom. I have discovered that impatiens are really, really good at propagating, so you can keep the tiniest blooms on the cuttings instead of taking them all off. That way, you will have flowers sooner. These cuttings had all of their flower buds removed, but they are already flowering anyways. In the middle, the dahlia has a flower bloom ready to open.
This is the same planter 17 days later. This picture is a little closer, but you can still tell that the plants are getting bushier and that the flowers are starting to really open up. All of the impatien cuttings have flowers open now, and the dahlia has one in bloom with two more ready to go. There are actually 3 dahila cuttings in the middle, so that means one flower bud per cutting so far.

One of the lovely blog readers here asked me how soon she could expect flowers from the dahlia cuttings, so this gives you a pretty good idea of how some dahlias will have flowers ready in about 11 days, and some won't be ready until 17 days later. This is based on a finished cutting that is already about 3 weeks old and in full sun, as you'll see in a bit.

Dahlias are also really good at being propagated so you could also experiment with leaving the tiniest of flower buds on the cuttings. Don't leave any large flower buds or open flowers on your cuttings initially as this will drain too much energy from the cutting too early. Give the cutting a chance to grow strong before it focuses energy on supporting flowers.This is another planter that I started at that same time. I was experimenting with a different kind of arrangement. This one has flower varieties in clumps, and I added some other kinds of flowers like geraniums, some kind of white flower, and some of the pansy/lobelia seedlings.
11 days later, the plants are getting bigger and one of the impatiens has bloomed. This planter is on a somewhat shaded shelf and I notice that the plants are not as big as the ones in the sunny planter. Even the impatien flowers are smaller!
17 days later, there are more small-flowered impatiens in bloom and the geranium leaves are bigger. However, the dahlias are still reluctant to bloom. I think dahlias must really like full sun better. I kept one very healthy, strong dahlia in the propagating area which is bright but shaded all day, and it is also having trouble blooming. It has 2 flower buds, but they are very slow to open up. Hm...

Well, good luck with all your propagating experiments!

Happy gardening!

Weekend Gardening - Orange Dahlia Experiment

With the arrival of the weekend, I've got only one thing on my mind - gardening! I spent the whole morning digging around and examining my many experiments.

One experiment that turned out very well was another dahlia propagation. This one was to see if dahlias could be propagated without rooting powder as well as the ones I tried with rooting powder. The result? It's just as effective either way. Dahlias just seem to propagate easily.

I noticed that the propagation with rooting powder seemed to grow more roots from all over the dipped stem, but the important part is that roots grow so that the cutting gets water from the soil by itself.

I'd say, if you have a dahlia, just snip off a stem and try it.
The recent dahlia propagation experiment was on an orange dahlia that my mother brought home. It's just as lovely as the pink one I have, so I was waiting eagerly for some side stems to grow out so that I'd have a good-sized one to work with. Make sure you snip it off under a leaf node since the roots will grow out from the leaf node.
See the nice roots? Success! The best condition for propagating these cuttings is to place them into a shady spot out of direct sunlight. The sunlight dries out the cuttings too fast. Make sure you plant the cuttings into a sterile soil free of bugs that might attack the cutting. The container should have good drainage so that you can water the cuttings daily to keep the soil moist without drowning the plant.
You can see clearly where the roots grew out from in this picture. Notice that it comes from the leaf node instead of the base of the cutting. For the cuttings that were coated with rooting powder, the roots also grew from the stem area above the leaf node. It was kind of an explosion of roots. I'm not actually sure if that's a good thing. I read something about fibrous roots being a bad thing, but I wasn't sure what that meant.

Happy gardening!

Dahlia Propagation - Three Weeks Later

Another week has gone by! My how time flies! It's time to see how the dahila stem cuttings are progressing.I gently tipped the dahlia cuttings out of their pot. Unlike last week, the cuttings did not separate from the soil easily. Do you know why?
Because they had grown roots! And the roots were actually clinging to clumps of soil! Despite gentle rinsing in the water, some clumps of dirt just wouldn't separate from the roots. That was okay with me; it's a good sign that the roots are growing well and doing their job.
Check out this Dahlia! Not only does it have a flower bud that will likely bloom in the near future, it also has an amazing root system!
It's a whole bushel of roots! What a difference one week makes, huh? And this was just a bunch of tiny root buds last week!

So far, I have found the most success in propagating dahlia cuttings and impatien cuttings. I have had a 100% success rate with these dahlia cuttings, and the impatiens are doing similarly well. It's fantastic!
The dahlias that I transplanted last week are doing really well. Their leaves look alive and fresh, and they hold their shape, so I know that water transfer from the roots to the leaves is going smoothly.I turned the pot sideways, and I noticed that the roots are growing so well that they're actually growing out of the bottom of the pot!

I hope you're having fun with your gardening too! If you have a dahlia in your garden this year, don't forget to try this fun project of propagating them!

Happy Gardening!

Dahlia Propagation - Two Weeks Later

While I was checking up on the 3 week old geranium cuttings, I also checked on the Dahlia stem cuttings I propagated 2 weeks ago.
All of the cuttings are still alive. The original larger leaves look a bit pale and thirsty (prompting me to shower them regularly with water), but additional leaves are developing readily.
I gently tipped the contents out and rinsed the stems in a pot of water to inspect the progress of root development. Almost all of the stems show some root growth. Some stems had a single strong root growing out.
Some show budding root tips all along the buried portion of the stem. It's quite amazing.
Some are a little farther along in root development than others. I put this particular stem in its own pot since I know for sure that it will do fine. My friend Joanne will probably call dibs on it when it's ready to transplant :) (Right, Jo?)
It's amazing to watch Nature at work. I love how resilient these plant species are in trying to create new life from cut-off stems and leaves.

UPDATES!
Dahlia Propagation - Week Three

Happy Gardening!

How to Propagate Dahlias Using Cuttings

We have this gorgeous dahlia in the garden, and I want to make more of this lovely plant. Here's how to do it.
To propagate dahlias, you will need sharp scissors, potting soil in a container, and something to poke holes into the soil with like a dibber, a pencil, or a spoon handle. You can also use rooting powder to encourage root growth.
On a healthy dahlia plant, find a long side shoot with at least 3 leaf nodes.
Cut just under the last node you want to include. (The roots will grow from the bottom and the last node)
Keep your cuttings fresh in a container of water while you collect more.
Trim off the leaves on the last node, and remove any flower buds. You want the cutting to focus on growing roots instead of supporting flowers.
Dip the cutting, including the last node, into the rooting powder and tap off the excess. Be careful not to touch or inhale the rooting powder. Use gloves if necessary.

Note: it is not necessary to use rooting powder.
Make a deep hole into your potting soil with your poking device, and insert the dahlia stem. Use your poking device to push soil against the cutting so that it is buried.
Water your cuttings generously and put them in a warm location with indirect sunlight. They should be ready to transplant in 2-4 weeks.

UPDATES!
Dahlia Propagation - Week Two
Dahlia Propagation - Week Three

Happy Gardening!