Native Plants
Q. Who is Mr. Smarty Plants?
A: There are those who suspect Wildflower Center volunteers are the culpable and capable culprits. Yet, others think staff members play some, albeit small, role. You can torture us with your plant questions, but we will never reveal the Green Guru's secret identity.
Did you know you can access the Native Plant Information Network with your web-enabled smartphone?
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants
Ask Mr. Smarty Plants is a free service provided by the staff and volunteers at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.
rate this answer
Tuesday - May 12, 2009
From: Cairo, NY
Region: Northeast
Topic: Propagation
Title: Propagation of woody plants by cuttings in Cairo, NY
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
I have a tree in my yard and I am not sure what it is, it has these gorgeous pink cluster like flowers on it, my friend loves the tree and wants to know the steps to take a piece of my tree so she can plant it in her yard. Can you please help me to understand how that works and what pieces of the tree I would need?ANSWER:
Your description sounds a little like Lagerstroemia indica, Crapemyrtle, which is native to Asia and therefore out of our range of expertise, but the USDA Plant Profile doesn't show it growing in New York. However, it doesn't really matter; what you are asking is how to propagate a woody plant by cuttings. We have found a website that can give you much better instructions than we could. It will help you decide what time of year to take the cuttings, how to care for them while they are rooting, and how to transplant them. The cuttings will not all "take" so be sure and do several.
North Carolina University Horticulture Information Plant Propagation by Stem Cuttings: Instructions for the Home Gardener.
More Propagation Questions
Transplanting and germination of Pride of Barbados in Adkins, TX
April 02, 2012 - What is the root system like of the Pride of Barbados? I have a lot of new plants coming up in my beds from seeds. Can these be transplanted to a new location easily without damaging the plants? If...
view the full question and answer
Edibility of non-native garlic sprouts from Brancburg, NJ
March 12, 2013 - I have regular garlic in my refrigerator. It had sprouts growing out of it so I put it in a cup of water. Now that the stems are large enough to put in food, my question is.. Is that part of the garl...
view the full question and answer
My Niagara grape cutting is not growing; be patient
May 19, 2008 - Hello. I live in a city about 10 miles from Chicago IL. I like grapes they are my favorate fruit to just eat. I bought a niagara grape plant that was a cutting (it looked like nothing more then a st...
view the full question and answer
Growing Big Red Sage from Seed in San Antonio
November 04, 2010 - I harvested some seed this year from my Big Red Salvia (Salvia penstemonoides). I have searched multiple sites looking for information on growing this wonderful salvia but cannot locate any informati...
view the full question and answer
Grafting edible plums onto Cherry Laurel in Austin
May 18, 2010 - Grafting edible plums onto Cherry Laurel - possible? Insane? What? Could I do that? Could I graft, say, Green Gage Plum, or Mexican Plum, or Saturn Peach, on a Cherry Laurel and have any success? I ha...
view the full question and answer
| Support the Wildflower Center by Donating Online or Becoming a Member today. |