Plant Propagator's Bible »

MIRANDA SMITH has been teaching horticulture for more than 30 years. Author or coauthor of 13 gardening books, including The Gardeners' Problem Solver and Your Backyard Herb Garden, she lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

With her reader-friendly, easy-to-follow directions, a veteran horticulture teacher demonstrates all the ways to cultivate new plants—whether from seed or cuttings or with techniques such as layering, grafting, and budding

Creating new plants from existing ones is one of the most rewarding aspects of gardening. But to many, the idea of propagating plants seems like a feat that only the most experienced gardeners can master. The Plant Propagator's Bible strips away the mystique and makes multiplying plants easy even for the novice.

Drawing on her many years as a horticulture teacher, Miranda Smith explains the natural process and conditions in which plants grow and reproduce, and shows gardeners how to use these systems to propagate any plant that grows in their garden or greenhouse—or even on their windowsill. The book features:

• an A to Z directory of more than 1,000 individual plant species—with appropriate propagation techniques for aquatics, ornamental plants, houseplants, shrubs, trees, vegetables, and wildflowers

• "What Can Go Wrong" advice for each type of plant, explaining potential problems and how to prevent or fix them

• detailed, step-by-step illustrations and annotated photographs

Including information on essential tools and equipment, this is an indispensable addition to every gardener's bookshelf.

Introduction     6
How to Use This Book     8
Tools and Techniques     10
The Propagator's Tool Kit     12
Hand tools     13
Equipment and supplies     14
Soil mixes     16
Propagation equipment     18
Starting From Seed     20
Seed characteristics     21
Flowers and seeds     22
Starting seeds     24
Leaching     26
Soaking     28
Scarification     30
Stratification     32
Light     34
Dark     35
Relative humidity     36
Temperatures     38
Carbon dioxide (CO[subscript 2]) levels     39
Life cycles and growth / characteristics     40
Saving seeds     42
Pollination     44
Harvesting and cleaning     46
Storing saved seeds     48
Treating seeds to prevent disease     50
Working with hybrids     52
Dividing Established Plants     54
Good digging     55
Dividing plants with fibrous root systems     56
Dividing plants with fleshy or woodycrowns     58
Dividing suckers     60
Dividing plants with rhizomes     62
Dividing plants with tubers     64
Dividing plants with offsets     66
Dividing plants with bulbs and corms     68
Scoring, sectioning, scooping, and coring bulbs     70
Scaling lily bulbs     72
Cuttings     74
Types of cuttings     75
Greenwood cuttings     76
Softwood cuttings     78
Semiripe cuttings     80
Hardwood cuttings     82
Conifer cuttings     84
Cane cuttings     86
Leaf petiole cuttings     88
Leaf vein cuttings     90
Upright leaf cuttings     92
Monocot leaf cuttings     94
Root cuttings     96
Layering     98
Tip layering     100
Simple and serpentine layering     102
Air layering     104
Stooling or mound layering     106
French layering     108
Dropping     110
Grafting     112
Grafting with rootstocks     114
Whip-and-tongue grafting      116
Apical-wedge grafting and saddle grafting     118
Side-wedge grafting     120
Approach grafting     122
Four-flap grafting     124
Side-veneer grafting     126
T-budding     128
Chip budding     130
Grafting a cactus     132
Plant Directory     134
Glossary     180
Hardiness Zones     183
Plant List     184
Index     189
Credits     192