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| Propagation- Water plants |
There are a number of methods of propagating water and marginal plants e.g. seed sowing, division, cuttings including root cuttings, and runners to name a few.
Cuttings;
As the water begins to warm up in spring, and early summer, oxygenating plants can be propagated by cuttings.
This done by cutting off sections of healthy young shoots and inserting them into pots containing a mixture of sieved organic matter (home made compost) and potting compost.
Submerge the pots into the pond to root.
At this time of the year the cuttings should root quite quickly.
Once rooted pot up the cuttings into their permanent containers and position in the pond where required.
Division; Fibrous rooted plants;
Most marginal plants can be divided in a similar manner to those used with plants elsewhere in the garden, e.g. ripping the plants apart with your hands, or for extra large clumps use two forks placed back to back and split the plant in to manageable sections.
Select the outer sections of the clump for propagation, discarding the older, less-productive centre of the plant.
Tidy up the divisions including removing dead leaves and damaged or old roots.
Replant the divisions back into containers and position back into the pond ensuring the top of the container is about 50-75mm (2”-3”) below the water surface.
Division; rhizomous rooted plants;
Cut the rhizomes with a sharp knife ensuring that each section has at least one bud on it, two / three buds for water lilies.
Tidy up the division by trimming the foliage, and cutting back any long roots, replant in suitable containers, placing the rhizome just below the compost surface.
When established transplant into their final quarters.
Root cuttings;
Tuberous water lilies can be propagated from root buds or 'eyes' that are cut from the rhizome.
Pot up into suitable containers and keep just submerged.
Runners;
Some plants such as water hyacinth produce plantlets.
These can be snapped off and placed on the water surface to grow on separately.
Seed sowing;
Collect seed after flowering and sow on the surface of containers filled with aquatic compost.
Cover the seed with a 6mm (¼”) of fine grit.
Submerge the pot just a few millimeters below the water surface in a well lit spot.
Germination will take place the following spring.
When large enough to handle prick out the plants into individual containers and grow on, until such times as they are of a size to put in their final quarters.
Plants raised from seed can take three or four years to reach flowering stage
Turions; Are a thick fleshy young shoot or sucker
Some water plants produce fleshy young shoots or suckers that sometimes become detached from the parent and survive the winter months at the bottom of the pool.
In spring, these float to the surface, where they can be collected and potted up, then grown on until they are of a size where they can be planted out into their final quarters.
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