It's Easy Being Green

Since I’m a rogue gardener, I’m also not shy about “stealing” plants.  Actually I’m pretty sure it was my wife who turned me onto the act, lasciviously telling me to uproot certain plants so she could divide, steal and replant so nobody would ever know.  Now I “steal” on my own without having to be told.

There are so many plants out there that require dividing because they multiply and sometimes at great rates.  Iris plants are just one such plant that benefit from frequent dividing.  The benefit to you is that you get more plants, so-called clones that you get to insert into your garden in another spot or give away to friends for planting in their gardens.

The other day I was working near a nicely landscaped series of garden beds and much to my surprise, noticed large, vibrant mint plants rambling throughout the bed.  Mint of course will take over anything if you let it because it sends up runners anywhere it can.  I simply plucked one of those runners from the soil, made sure to get some whispy roots on that plucking and dropped it in a glass of water at home.  It’s been sitting in a sunny window for about two weeks now and is about ready to find some soil I think.  The roots look great!  Now I’ll have my own mint plant thanks to “stealing”.

Other plants that you can “steal” and root in water include tomatoes (check out my previous writing on that), basil, avocado (the pits), pepper, willow, african violet, pothos, coleus, sweet potato vine, gardenias and spider plants.  I’m sure there are many more out there.  If you have a plant that you like to “steal” and plant or root in water, leave a comment and share with your fellow gardeners.

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