Synopses & Reviews
A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR POTTING SHED AND GARDEN
From containers and planting mediums to tools and essential techniques, Seeds and Propagation is a fully illustrated, single-subject guide that's basic enough for the novice and a capable reference for the experienced gardener. Including:
Seeds Sowing, seedling care, and transplanting time. Seed saving. Germination enhancement. Plants easily started from seed.
Stem Cuttings and Root Cuttings Herbaceous, softwood, and hardwood. Rooting hormones. Plants suitable for all types of cuttings. Handling different root types.
Division Corms, crowns, rhizomes, and stolons. Life of a bulb. Perennials and their division preferences.
Layering Just bend, nick, and bury. How to air-layer a ficus, tip-layer a raspberry bush, mound-layer a forsythia.
Synopsis
In Seeds and Propagation, Susan McClure helps gardeners discover the thrill of nursing plants to life. Chapters include equipment to use; seeds, with information on seed structure, hand pollination, thinning, and transplanting; cuttings; division; and layering, which occurs when a living branch or stem is rooted.
Synopsis
Propagating, sowing, dividing—though no longer necessary for our survival, these basic tasks add a special dimension to gardening, instilling the simple pleasure of nurturing new life.
But more than that, propagating is also a way to fill a garden inexpensively with diverse, high-quality plant life. Here in one efficient book is everything a gardener needs to know to harness the magical regenerative power of plants. Starting with the basics of equipment and how to use it, Seeds and Propagation makes it easier to get a jump on spring by starting a range of seeds; successfully dividing a favorite perennial for friends; giving new life to a meadow of daffodils, snowdrops, grape hyacinths, and tulips; and learning the rudiments of becoming your garden's own nurseryman.
About the Author
Susan McClure is the author of Smith and Hawken: Seeds and Propagation. Her other books include The Herb Gardener, The Harvest Gardener, and The Gourmet Gardener.
Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION
PROPAGATION EQUIPMENT
Containers
Soil and Potting Mixes
Water
Lighting
Labeling
Temperature Control
SEEDS
Seed Structure
Flower Structure
Tips and Technology
Seed Sowing Basics
Prestarting Seedlings Indoors
Direct-Sown Seeds Outdoors
STEM CUTTINGS
Structure of a Stem
Tips and Technology
Cutting Basics
Softwood Cuttings
Hardwood Cuttings
ROOT CUTTINGS
Anatomy of Root Cuttings
Tips and Technology
Root Cuttings, Basics and Beyond
DIVISION
Anatomy of Division
Tips and Technology
Division Basics
LAYERING
Tips and Technology
Layering Basics
Tip Layering