Free Plants for Home and Lawn

People spend hundreds of dollars each year to make their lawns and gardens look beautiful. Thousands of plants are sold every day at garden centers, super centers, and even flea markets. People just like plants. Flowering ones, vining, creeping, it doesn't matter. They all have their place in our home or garden. Some even make it to our kitchen shelves as teas and spices. As you know, these little green critters can become quite expensive. Here is a little tip that makes the cost more effective.

Rooting compound. Yep, good old every day, rooting compound. You can get a bottle of it at most any store or nursery. You don't need a mammoth jar, either. One the size of an aspirin bottle can help you generate more plants than you will know what to do with. This little bottle of instant green thumb is a must for those who want that jungle effect. It is so simple to use. Let me explain.

You will need a good sterile planting medium. I use a mixture of two parts sand to one part potting soil. Make sure the medium is moist, not dry. You definitely don't want it to be soaking wet either. Choose a container that is flat and easy to manage. I like using old planter flats. I have been known to use a 9x13 cake pan when desperate. It is best to start with one type of plant, to get the feel of how this works. It is also easier to have one variety per flat so specific care can be given to each type of plant. Now you want to choose your stock.

Make sure you use a healthy mother plant, as I call it. You want a hearty variety, at first. One that will produce well for you. Honeysuckle is great! Forsythia is a good one too. But just about any plant that produces a soft cutting is perfect. You want to take cuttings from your plants that are six inches in length and have a set of leaves near the cut. Remove those leaves, dip the cutting into the rooting compound and stick it in the plant medium. I generally use a pencil to make small holes when I do this so that the compound is not removed when planting the cutting. Now gently firm the soil around your cutting. That is all there is to it. Except for the watering.

You will want to have a spray bottle of water at hand. When ever you think of it, just spray your cuttings. You can even set up a misting system that does it for you. You are not watering these cuttings, but misting them. If the soil is too damp, the cutting will rot. Too dry and it will die. Just keep the medium nice and moist. You will be able to see how well your little plants are doing by watching the leaves. If the cutting "took", then the leaves will look healthy and perky. After about 3 or 4 weeks, you can give your cuttings a gentle tug. If there is resistance, you did it. You have successfully rooted your new plants.

You can re-pot the new plants or plant them directly into your landscape. Just be careful of these new additions. They are still young and need to be treated as such. Too much sun or water can kill them. So can too little. After a month or two, they will be strong enough to flourish on their own.

The great thing about this system, is that you can do it with house plants and landscaping plants. You and your neighbors can share plants without the cost of buying your own. Just swap cuttings. This is very easy and extremely inexpensive to do. Happy Gardening!