Layering and Division

B.
Layering
Stems still attached to their parent plants may form roots where they touch a rooting medium. Severed
from the parent plant later, the rooted stem becomes a new plant. This method of vegetative propagation,
called layering, promotes a high success rate because it prevents water stress and the loss of carbohydrate
shortage that plagues cuttings. Some plants layer themselves naturally, but sometimes plant propagators
assist the process. Layering is enhanced by wounding one side of the stem or by bending it very sharply.
1. Tip layering
Dig a hole 3 to 4 inches deep. Insert the shoot tip and cover it with soil. The tip grows downward first,
then bends sharply and grows upward. Roots form at the bend, and the recurved tip becomes a new plant.
Remove the tip layer from the mother plant and plant it in early spring or fall. Examples: purple and
black raspberries and trailing blackberries.
2. Simple layering
Bend the stem to the ground. Cover part of it with soil, leaving the last 6 to 12 inches exposed. Bend the
tip into a vertical position and stake it in place. The sharp bend will often induce rooting, but wounding
the lower side of the branch may help. Examples: rhododendron and honeysuckle.
3. Compound layering
This method works for plants with flexible stems. Bend the stem to the rooting medium as for simple
layering, but alternately cover and expose stem sections. Wound the lower side of stem sections to be
covered. Examples: heart-leaf philodendron and pothos.
4. Mound (stool) layering
Cut the plant back to 1 inch above the ground during the dormant season. Mound soil over the emerging
shoots in the spring to enhance their rooting. Examples: gooseberries and apple rootstocks.
5. Air layering
Air layering is used to propagate some indoor plants with thick stems, or to rejuvenate them when they
become leggy. Make an upward slanting cut one half way through the stem just below a node. Hold the
slit open with a toothpick laid sideways or a bit of sphagnum moss. Surround the wound with wet,
unmilled sphagnum moss. Wrap plastic or foil around the sphagnum moss and tie it in place above and
below the wound. When roots pervade the moss, cut the plant off below the root ball. Examples:
dumbcane and rubber tree.
Note: The following propagation methods can all be considered types of layering, as the new
plants form before they are detached from their parent plants.
6. Stolons and runners
A stolon is a horizontal, often fleshy stem that can root and produce new shoots where it touches the
medium. A runner is a slender stem that originates in a leaf axil and grows along the ground or downward
from a hanging basket, producing a new plant at its tip. Plants that produce stolons or runners are
propagated by severing the new plants from their parent stems. Plantlets at the tips of runners may be
rooted while still attached to the parent, or detached and placed in a rooting medium. Examples:
strawberry and spider plant.
7. Offsets
Plants with a rosetted stem often reproduce by forming new shoots at their base or in leaf axils. Sever the
new shoots from the parent plant after they have developed their own root system. Unrooted offsets of
some species may be removed and placed in a rooting medium. Some of these must be cut off, while
others may simply be lifted off of the parent stem. Examples: date palm, haworthia, bromeliads, and
many cacti.
8. Separation
Separation is a term applied to a form of propagation by which plants that produce bulbs or corms
multiply.
a. Bulbs
New bulbs form beside the originally planted bulb. Separate these bulb clumps every 3 to 5 years for
largest blooms and to increase bulb number. Dig up the clump after the leaves have withered. Gently pull
the bulbs apart and replace them immediately so that their roots can begin to develop. Small, new bulbs
may not flower for 2 or 3 years, but large ones should bloom the first year. Examples: tulip and narcissus.
b. Corms
A large new corm forms on top of the old corm, and tiny cormels form around the large corm. After the
leaves wither, dig up the corms and allow them to dry in indirect light for 2 or 3 weeks. Remove the
cormels, then gently separate the new corm from the old corm. Dust all new corms with a fungicide and
store in a cool place until planting time. Examples: crocus and gladiolus.
C. Division
Plants with more than one rooted crown may be divided and the crowns planted separately. If the stems
are not jointed, gently pull the plants apart. If the crowns are united by horizontal stems, cut the stems
and roots with a sharp knife to minimize injury. Divisions of some outdoor plants should be dusted with a
fungicide before they are replanted. Examples: snake plant, iris, prayer plant, and day lilies.
1. Most perennials left in the same place for more than 3 years are likely to be overgrown, overcrowded,
have dead or unsightly centers, and in need of basic feeding and soil amendment. The center of the clump
will grow poorly, if at all, and the flowers will be sparse. The clump will deplete the fertility of the soil as
the plant crowds itself.
a. To divide mature clumps of perennials, select only vigorous side shoots from the outer part of the
clump. Discard the center of the clump. Divide the plant into sections of three to five shoots each. Be
careful not to overdivide; too small a section will not give much color the first year after replanting.
b. Divide perennials when the plants are dormant, just before a new season of growth, or in the fall so
they can become established before the ground freezes.

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B.

6. Stolons and runners

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