Division - Asexual/vegetative propagation

 

Division

Division is a simple means of vegetative propagation for plants that produce suckers, stolons, bulbs, tubers, or rhizomes. To propagate by division, dig up the plant and divide it carefully using a spade or secateurs. The newly divided portions of plants are potted into appropriate potting media, containing controlled-release fertilizer.

Division, in horticulture and gardening, is a method of asexual plant propagation, where the plant (usually an herbaceous perennial) is broken up into two or more parts. Both the root and crown of each part is kept intact. The technique is of ancient origin, and has long been used to propagate bulbs such as garlic and saffron. Division is mainly practiced by gardeners and very small nurseries, as most commercial plant propagation is now done through plant tissue culture.

Propagation from the following plant parts can be considered a layering, as the new plants from before they are detached from their parent plants.

• Runner: Strawberry, begonia, spider plant
• Bulb: Narcissus, hyacinth, amaryllis, lilies
• Corm: Gladiolus, freesia, crocus
• Crowns: Iris, sansevieria, prayer
• Off-sets: Date palm, haworthia, bromeliads, cacti, succulents
• Tuber: Potato, cassava, dahlias

Runners/Stolons:

A stolon is a horizontal, often fleshy stem that can root, then 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, spider plant, mint, grasses, begonia, etc.

Bulbs:

Bulbs are inflated parts of the stem within which lie the central shoots of new plants They are typically underground and are surrounded by plump and layered leaves that provide nutrients to the new plant.

New bulbs form beside the originally planted bulb. Separate these bulb clumps every 3 to 5 years for the largest blooms and to increase the bulb population. Dig up the clump after the leaves have withered. Gently pull the bulbs apart and replant them immediately so 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, narcissus, onion, etc.

Corms:

Corms are solid enlarged underground stems that store nutrients in their fleshy and solid stem tissue and are surrounded by papery leaves Corms differ from bulbs in that their centers consists of solid tissue while bulbs consist of layered leaves.

A large new com forms on top of the old corm, and tiny cormels form around the large com. 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 com from the old corm. Dust all-new corms with a fungicide and store in a cool place until planting time. Examples: crocus, gladiolus, freesia, etc.

Crowns:

Plants with more than one rooted crown may be divided and the crowns planted separately. If the stems are not joined, 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, daylilies.

Off-sets

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 be simply lifted off the parent stem. Examples: date palm, haworthia, bromeliads, many cacti.

Tubers:

Tubers are enlarged structures in some plant species used as storage organs for nutrients. They are used for the plant's perennation (survival of the winter or dry months), to provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season, and as a means of asexual reproduction. Stem tubers from thickened rhizomes (underground stems) or stolons (horizontal connections between organisms). Common plant species with stem tubers include potato and yam. Some sources also treat modified lateral roots (root tubers) under the definition; these are found in sweet potatoes, cassava, dahlias, etc.

Tubers develop from either the stem or the root Stem tubers grow from rhizomes or runners that swell from storing nutrients while root tubers propagate from roots that are modified to store nutrients and get too large and produce a new plant.