Division: Cutting plants into pieces along natural division lines. Very easy and dependable for some plants. Most bulbs and herbaceous perennials do well. Can be done when dormant, although iris and daylilies can be done at most anytime.
Spores: Used for fern propagation. Collect spores by gathering leaf with "pustules" on bottom of fern leaf. Lay the leaf on a white piece of paper and allow to dry. Dust-like spores will be shed on the paper. Sterilize a brick by boiling in water and sow the spores on the brick. Place the brick in a shallow pan of water and enclose in a plastic bag. Hold in indirect light until true leaves appear and plants are large enough to transplant. May also be sown on soil in a plastic pot which has had boiling water poured through the soil to sterilize. Enclose the pot in a plastic bag. Be patient. It will take several months to complete the process.
Seed: All higher plants reproduce from seeds. This method ranges from easy to difficult. Collection of seeds is seasonal. Some plants require cold, moist stratification (place in moist seed starter in a plastic bag in the refrigerator for 3-4 months) to germinate. Hard seed coats may need rough scratching to break the seed coat, and some fleshy fruits need cleaning. Refer to more in-depth manuals for each type of plant.
Layering: Involves taking a branch and rooting while attached to the parent plant. One of the easiest ways to do woody plants as the mother plant provides nourishment while rooting. Bury a section of the branch in the ground or enclose branch in potting media and plastic to air layer. You may apply a rooting hormone to hasten rooting.
Cuttings: Involves taking off a piece of the plant from the parent. Very essential to provide adequate moisture. A deeper media is needed than when planting seeds, as the cutting will be stuck deep in the mix and good aeration is needed. With woody materials, a ground bed in shade can be used with a plastic tent covering. Then root directly in the ground and transplant when dormant.
Budding and Grafting: More skill is required to do this successfully. Two pieces of plants are brought together so that the cambium leaves of each match and will grow together to form one plant.
Tissue Culture: Used widely by commercial growers, but difficult for the average homeowner.
