![Gentiana punctata seedlings (13900812284)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6c/Gentiana_punctata_seedlings_%2813900812284%29.jpg)
Plant propagation is the process by which new plants grow from a variety of sources:
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s,
cuttings, and other plant parts. Plant propagation can also refer to the man-made or natural dispersal of seeds.
Propagation typically occurs as a step in the overall cycle of plant growth. For seeds, it happens after ripening and dispersal; for vegetative parts, it happens after detachment or pruning; for asexually-reproducing plants, such as strawberry, it happens as the new plant develops from existing parts. Plant propagation can be divided into four basic types: sexual, asexual (vegetative), layering, and grafting.
Countless plants are propagated each day in horticulture and agriculture. The materials commonly used for plant propagation are seeds and cuttings.
Sexual propagation
Seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s and
spores can be used for reproduction (e.g.
sowing). Seeds are typically produced from
sexual
Sex is the biological distinction of an organism between male and female.
Sex or SEX may also refer to:
Biology and behaviour
*Animal sexual behaviour
**Copulation (zoology)
**Human sexual activity
**Non-penetrative sex, or sexual outercourse
** ...
reproduction within a species because
genetic recombination has occurred. A plant grown from seeds may have different characteristics from its parents. Some species produce seeds that require special conditions to
germinate
Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or spore. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, fer ...
, such as
cold treatment. The seeds of many
Australian plants and plants from southern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and the
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
west require smoke or fire to germinate. Some plant species, including many
tree
In botany, a tree is a perennial plant with an elongated stem, or trunk, usually supporting branches and leaves. In some usages, the definition of a tree may be narrower, including only woody plants with secondary growth, plants that are ...
s, do not produce seeds until they reach maturity, which may take many years. Seeds can be difficult to acquire and some plants do not produce seed at all. Some plants (like certain plants modified using
genetic use restriction technology
Genetic use restriction technology (GURT), also known as terminator technology or suicide seeds, is the name given to proposed methods for restricting the use of genetically modified crops by activating (or deactivating) some genes only in respo ...
) may produce seed, but not a fertile seed. In certain cases, this is done to prevent the accidental spreading of these plants, for example by birds and other animals.
Asexual propagation
![Rose cuttings with plastic bottle greenhouse](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/ea/Rose_cuttings_with_plastic_bottle_greenhouse.JPG)
Plants have a number of mechanisms for asexual or
vegetative reproduction
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or spec ...
. Some of these have been taken advantage of by
horticulturists
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
and to multiply or
clone plants rapidly. Humans may utilize these processes as propagation methods, such as
tissue culture
Tissue culture is the growth of tissues or cells in an artificial medium separate from the parent organism. This technique is also called micropropagation. This is typically facilitated via use of a liquid, semi-solid, or solid growth medium, su ...
and
grafting.
Plants are produced using material from a single parent and as such, there is no exchange of genetic material, therefore vegetative propagation methods almost always produce plants that are identical to the parent. Vegetative reproduction uses plant parts such as roots, stems, and leaves.
In some plants, seeds can be produced without fertilization and the seeds contain only the genetic material of the parent plant. Therefore, propagation via asexual seeds or
apomixis is asexual reproduction but not
vegetative propagation
Vegetative reproduction (also known as vegetative propagation, vegetative multiplication or cloning) is any form of asexual reproduction occurring in plants in which a new plant grows from a fragment or cutting of the parent plant or spec ...
.
Techniques for vegetative propagation include:
*Air or ground
layering
Layering has evolved as a common means of vegetative propagation of numerous species in natural environments. Layering is also utilized by horticulturists to propagate desirable plants.
Natural layering typically occurs when a branch touches ...
*
Division
Division or divider may refer to:
Mathematics
*Division (mathematics), the inverse of multiplication
*Division algorithm, a method for computing the result of mathematical division
Military
*Division (military), a formation typically consisting ...
*
Grafting and
bud grafting, widely used in
fruit tree propagation
Fruit tree propagation is usually carried out vegetatively (non-sexually) by grafting or budding a desired variety onto a suitable rootstock.
Perennial plants can be propagated either by sexual or vegetative means. Sexual reproduction begins wh ...
*
Micropropagation
Micropropagation or tissue culture is the practice of rapidly multiplying plant stock material to produce many progeny plants, using modern plant tissue culture methods.
Micropropagation is used to multiply a wide variety of plants, such as th ...
*
Stolons or runners
*
Storage organs such as
bulbs,
corm
A corm, bulbo-tuber, or bulbotuber is a short, vertical, swollen underground plant stem that serves as a storage organ that some plants use to survive winter or other adverse conditions such as summer drought and heat (perennation).
The word ' ...
s,
tuber
Tubers are a type of enlarged structure used as storage organs for nutrients in some plants. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growin ...
s, and
rhizomes
*
Striking or cuttings
*
Twin-scaling Twin-scaling is a method of propagating plant bulbs that have a basal plate, such as:
* ''Hippeastrum'', ''Narcissus'', ''Galanthus'' and other members of the ''Amaryllidaceae'';
* some members of the lily family ''Liliaceae'';
* '' Lachenalia'', ' ...
*
Offsets
Heated propagator
A heated propagator is a
horticultural
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...
device to maintain a warm and damp environment for
seed
A seed is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer covering, along with a food reserve. The formation of the seed is a part of the process of reproduction in seed plants, the spermatophytes, including the gymnosperm and angiospe ...
s and
cutting
Cutting is the separation or opening of a physical object, into two or more portions, through the application of an acutely directed force.
Implements commonly used for wikt:cut, cutting are the knife and saw, or in medicine and science the scal ...
s to grow in.
This can be in the form of a clear enclosed bin sitting over a hot pad, or even a portable heater pointed at the bin. The key is to keep the moisture in the clear bin, while keeping lighting over the top of it, usually.
Seed propagation mat
An
electric
Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...
seed-propagation mat is a heated
rubber
Rubber, also called India rubber, latex, Amazonian rubber, ''caucho'', or ''caoutchouc'', as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene, with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand, Malaysia, an ...
mat covered by a metal cage that is used in
gardening. The mats are made so that planters containing
seedlings
A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embryo ...
can be placed on top of the metal cage without the risk of starting a
fire
Fire is the rapid oxidation of a material (the fuel) in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction products.
At a certain point in the combustion reaction, called the ignition point, flames a ...
. In extreme cold, gardeners place a loose plastic cover over the planters/mats which creates a sort of miniature
greenhouse. The constant and predictable heat allows people to garden in the winter months when the weather is generally too cold for
seedlings
A seedling is a young sporophyte developing out of a plant embryo from a seed. Seedling development starts with germination of the seed. A typical young seedling consists of three main parts: the radicle (embryonic root), the hypocotyl (embryo ...
to survive naturally. When combined with a lighting system, many plants can be grown indoors using these mats.
See also
*
Adventitious Important structures in plant development are buds, shoots, roots, leaves, and flowers; plants produce these tissues and structures throughout their life from meristems located at the tips of organs, or between mature tissues. Thus, a living plan ...
*
Clonal colony
*
Fruit tree propagation
Fruit tree propagation is usually carried out vegetatively (non-sexually) by grafting or budding a desired variety onto a suitable rootstock.
Perennial plants can be propagated either by sexual or vegetative means. Sexual reproduction begins wh ...
*
Orthodox seed
*
Recalcitrant seed
Recalcitrant seeds are seeds that do not survive drying and freezing during ex-situ conservation. By and large, these seeds cannot resist the effects of drying or temperatures less than 10 °C (50 °F); thus, they cannot be stored for long periods ...
*
*
Propagation of grapevines
The propagation of grapevines is an important consideration in commercial viticulture and winemaking. Grapevines, most of which belong to the ''Vitis vinifera'' family, produce one crop of fruit each growing season with a limited life span for ind ...
*
Weeping willow (tree)
''Salix babylonica'' (Babylon willow or weeping willow; ) is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the Silk Road to southwest Asia and Europe.Flora of China' ...
is an ornamental tree (''Salix babylonica'' and related hybrids
*
Propagation of Christmas trees
*
Hemerochory
Hemerochory (Ancient Greek ἥμερος, hemeros: 'tame, ennobled, cultivated, cultivated' and Greek χωρίς choris: separate, isolated) is the distribution of cultivated plants or their seeds and cuttings, consciously or unconsciously, by hu ...
*
Escaped plant
Escaped plants are cultivated plants, usually garden plants, that are not originally native to an area, and due to their dispersal strategies, have escaped from cultivation and have settled in the wild and bred there, whether intentionally o ...
References
External links
Reference Guide to plant care handling and merchandising
Bibliography
Charles W. Heuser. The Complete Book of Plant Propagation, Taunton Press, 1997.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plant Propagation
Propagation
Propagation can refer to:
* Chain propagation in a chemical reaction mechanism
*Crack propagation, the growth of a crack during the fracture of materials
* Propaganda, non-objective information used to further an agenda
* Reproduction, and other fo ...
Horticultural techniques
Agronomy
Forest management