Bulbs and seeds, plant types - basics

Hi,

Do certain types of plants come in bulbs not seeds?

Are bulbs easier to grow but more expensive? Can they be planted earlier/later?

Do annuals re-seed themselves

What is a pirrenial? - Bi annual?

Would a Hardy but not frost hardy plant/shrub die if the temp dips below zero (i.e. every winter)

 

Hi Men8ifr. I find the best way to learn about a new subject is to Google it. And if there are references I am uncertain about I Google those. But this site is to help people trying to learn (which is all of us), so don't feel shy about asking.

All plants propagate themselves via seed - its nature's way. So in general all plants start from seed. However seeds like children are usually not exact copies of their parents, so the result may be a bit variable. But there is another way; If you take a bit of an existing plant, and plant it, it will usually grow into a larger new plant. This is a clone and an exact copy of its parent. Many cultvars (ie highly developed garden plants) as opposed to species (naturally occuring plants in the wild) are cultivated this way to ensure that they are all absolutely identical. These are called cuttings, or propagation by division when you dig up a big clump and just divide it into two large pieces.

Some plants live for only a year. These are called annuals. They invariably propagate by reseeding themselves. Because annuals rely on the seed process they are usually very easy to grow from seed.

Some plants live for two years, growing vegatitively in the first year and then flowering in the second and then dying. These are call biennials (bi= two). They often flower earlier in the year than annuals, because they have a head start growing in the previous year.

Anything that is capable of growing for more than two years is called a perennial. They also self seed, but they do not need to do it as vigorously as annuals. Because of our cold winters they often hibernate over the winter by hiding underground. To do this they will store energy in their roots. Consequently things like tubers and bulbs are just the storage vessels of perennial plants - ie they are mature plants, or parts of them, in hibernation. Being mature plants they will generally grow bigger and better than plants from seed, but will be more expensive.

The RHS defines fully hardy as withstanding temperatures down to -15C, frost hardy to -5C, and half hardy as 0C. (like you - I find the names slightly confusing!)

 

Amazing ! thanks so much for that advice

 

Great advice. you are so kind to take time to give this much details. I am also very new to gardening - but very keen.... Hope you don't mind a few Q's

 

Most plants are easy to propagate. Annuals and biennials are usually only grown from seed. And, because they rely on this method, they generally grow very easily from seed.

For perennials the simplest method of propagtion is by division. This works for plants that form clumps, ie after two or three years there is not just one stem growing from below the ground, but several. You simply lift the plant with a fork. Put it on a bench and divide it into two or more pieces, making sure that each piece has several stems with a fair chunk of root attached. It's safest to cut it into fairly big chunks, as they have a better chance of survival and will grow back again fast. But if you really need an lot of plants you can cut it into very small pieces, as long as each piece has a stem and some root. Some plants can be very tough to divide, and I use an old bread knife, or even an old saw, to saw through them.

Tradition says that you divide plants in winter, and a lot will survive this treatment. But the best time is really early spring, when they has just come into growth. When you divide a plant you cut into and damage it, leaving it open to infection by bacteria and viruses in the soil. In spring plants are starting to grow strongly, and they are able to repair the damage quickly. You can also divide plants in autumn, but that is a bit less common.

Division is so easy that it is the prime method for many gardeners, But if a plant has only one stem then you can't divide it, and this is where cuttings are useful, though you can take cuttings of most plants. A plant only has growing points at certain places, such as the tip of growing shoots and at nodes. A node is the place on the stem where a pair of leaves grow. This spot is full of growing hormones and new buds are able to grow from the axil between the stem and the leaf. So a cutting needs two of these nodes. You cut off the stem just below the lower node and remove the leaves. This part is inserted into the compost and new roots will start to grow from this point. And you cut the stem above the upper node leaving on one or two leaves. The new foliage will grow from this node. Cuttings will grow roots automatically, but you can use rooting powder as well if you like. For a soft stemmed plant, roots might take from 10 to 20 days to grow. During this time, within the cutting, there is a race between growing new roots and dying from dehydration. Obviously the plant can't take any water in till its roots have formed. So it pays to water the mother plant well 24 hours before the cuttings are taken. And it also helps to enclose the pot and cutting in a polythene bag to reduce the water loss from the cutting. A little bit of ventilation is usually advised to prevent mould growing. You can grow most soft stemmed plants from cuttings easily. But woody cuttings from trees and shrubs can take a lot longer. Its a complicated area and it may be worth buying a little book on propogation.

Common and easy biennials to grow from seed include:- Bellis perennis (ornamental daisy), Myosotis (forget-me-not), Digitalis (foxgloves), Cheiranthus cheiri (biennial wallflowers), Hesperis matronalis (sweet rocket), Alcea (Hollyhock), Lychnis coronaria, Lupins and if you want something slightly different try Salvia sclarea, shown below just about to flower.