The arrival of March typically has gardeners itching to getoutside and start digging, but with many final frost dates wellinto May it's just too early to do any real planting outside—asso many of us have learned the hard way. To satisfy thegardening bug at Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC, landscapestaff members are mulching and pruning, while the exciting workof planning the year's garden displays for the coming year istaking shape in our minds and on our planning tables. One of themost important jobs landscape staff is currently involved in isgrowing seedlings and rooted cuttings for use in summerdisplays.
When starting plants from seed, we prepare flats with soilamended with peat, perilite and a little bit of pine bark. Wethen scatter seed over the soil (not in it) and top dress with athin layer of fine sand. We label each flat with the plant nameand date we sowed. The flats then go on propagation bencheslined with heat mats. If you'd like to try this at home anddon't have heat mats, try substituting electric heat tape usedto keep pipes from freezing. Once the seeds have germinated andput out their first set of true leaves, the flats come off theheat mats. Throughout, we water our seedlings with permanentmisters mounted over the benches. At home, you can use a mistbottle four or five times daily. Make sure your new plants aregetting plenty of sunlight and if it's only from one direction,turn your flat at least once a day.
Once seedlings have two to three sets of leaves, we transplantthem into a larger container—either cell-packs or small pots.Putting a new seedling into too large a pot will allow excesswater to collect and could rot the plant. Pansies, petunias orother cool weather plants can go onto a porch or covered area inmid to late March. Summer annuals shouldn't go out until dangerof frost has passed (when planting at home, count backwardsusing the germination time on your seed packets).
For cuttings, we start with a two- to four-inch stem from theplant we want to propagate. We strip the bottom leaves, beingcareful not to damage the plant, and then dip the stem into aroot hormone to give it a jump-start. We place the cuttings in aflat using either a sand/bark mixture (good if you over water)or the same peat/perilite mix we use for seedlings. When placinga cutting in soil, we make sure at least one node (where a leafwas removed) is in the soil, as it will root more easily. Wegently press the soil around the stem so the cuttings arestable. If we're rooting something with large leaves, we cuthalf of each leaf off so the stem can put more energy intorooting and less into maintaining leaves. Again, we use a heatmat and mist, mist, mist since plants that already have leavesare more prone to water loss, especially in bright sun. Aftertwo to three weeks, we gently tug on the plant to see if itfeels firmly rooted. When the roots are secure, we transplantinto a 3"-4" pot or container. Once we've stepped up to a largerpot, it's time to pinch the new plant back at least twice so itwill be full and bushy when it goes into the ground.
For both cuttings and seedlings grown at home, it' best toharden the plants off outdoors before placing them in theground. You can acclimate plants by moving them onto a porch ora covered area for a week, then move them into dappled sunlight,then partial sunlight until they are at last ready for fullsunlight. Happy gardening!
When starting plants from seed, we prepare flats with soilamended with peat, perilite and a little bit of pine bark. Wethen scatter seed over the soil (not in it) and top dress with athin layer of fine sand. We label each flat with the plant nameand date we sowed. The flats then go on propagation bencheslined with heat mats. If you'd like to try this at home anddon't have heat mats, try substituting electric heat tape usedto keep pipes from freezing. Once the seeds have germinated andput out their first set of true leaves, the flats come off theheat mats. Throughout, we water our seedlings with permanentmisters mounted over the benches. At home, you can use a mistbottle four or five times daily. Make sure your new plants aregetting plenty of sunlight and if it's only from one direction,turn your flat at least once a day.
Once seedlings have two to three sets of leaves, we transplantthem into a larger container—either cell-packs or small pots.Putting a new seedling into too large a pot will allow excesswater to collect and could rot the plant. Pansies, petunias orother cool weather plants can go onto a porch or covered area inmid to late March. Summer annuals shouldn't go out until dangerof frost has passed (when planting at home, count backwardsusing the germination time on your seed packets).
For cuttings, we start with a two- to four-inch stem from theplant we want to propagate. We strip the bottom leaves, beingcareful not to damage the plant, and then dip the stem into aroot hormone to give it a jump-start. We place the cuttings in aflat using either a sand/bark mixture (good if you over water)or the same peat/perilite mix we use for seedlings. When placinga cutting in soil, we make sure at least one node (where a leafwas removed) is in the soil, as it will root more easily. Wegently press the soil around the stem so the cuttings arestable. If we're rooting something with large leaves, we cuthalf of each leaf off so the stem can put more energy intorooting and less into maintaining leaves. Again, we use a heatmat and mist, mist, mist since plants that already have leavesare more prone to water loss, especially in bright sun. Aftertwo to three weeks, we gently tug on the plant to see if itfeels firmly rooted. When the roots are secure, we transplantinto a 3"-4" pot or container. Once we've stepped up to a largerpot, it's time to pinch the new plant back at least twice so itwill be full and bushy when it goes into the ground.
For both cuttings and seedlings grown at home, it' best toharden the plants off outdoors before placing them in theground. You can acclimate plants by moving them onto a porch ora covered area for a week, then move them into dappled sunlight,then partial sunlight until they are at last ready for fullsunlight. Happy gardening!
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