This Week's Experiment - #283 Getting to the Root
This week's experiment is from my wife, Lisa. She truly has a green thumb
and has flowers growing on almost every square inch of our yard, the deck,
the kitchen table, the kitchen counter,.....well, you get the idea. While we
do make regular trips to buy plants, many of them she produces herself by
rooting cuttings. To learn some about how this works, you will need:
scissors
a few plants
a clear glass of water
IMPORTANT WARNING! Do not cut any plant until you get permission from the
owner. Cutting your mom's favorite flowers can get you in quite a bit of
trouble.
First, we have to pick some plants to root. This method does not work with
all kinds of plants, so we will try more than one, to have a better chance of
success. Many common houseplants root quite easily. Begonias, Coleus, and
Moss Roses (Portulaca) are some that Lisa recommends, but she says that most
"juicy" plants root easily. You can even try rooting wild plants (often
called weeds.)
Once you select two or three plants, we want to choose a cutting from each.
Look for a healthy stem or branch. You want one that is growing well with no
disease. It is best to choose a stem with no flowers. If your cutting has
flowers on it, the plant will use its energy for the flower, instead of for
producing roots. If you must use a stem which has flowers, remove the
flowers and any buds. You want to cut a section of the plant that is about 4
to 6 inches long. Remove the leaves from the bottom 2/3 of the stem, leaving
3 or 4 leaves at the top. Do the same for cuttings from a couple of
different plants.
Normally, you root plants in a special soil mixture designed for cuttings and
seedlings, but for this experiment, we want to watch as the roots develop.
Fill a clear glass with about 3 inches of water. Place the cuttings into the
glass. You want to do this as soon as they are cut to avoid air bubbles in
the stem of the plant. A bubble trapped in the stem can kill the plant. Set
the glass in a sunny spot where it will not be disturbed. Look carefully at
the cuttings each day, watching for tiny, white roots to grow. Depending on
the plant, it may happen as quickly as a few days, or it may take a week or
more. Some plants will not grow this way, so if you do not have roots within
a week, you should probably try a different plant.
If the water level gets low, add more to keep the water about 3 inches deep.
Let the roots grow until they are at least 1/4 of an inch long. Then you can
transplant your cuttings into a pot filled with good potting soil. Keep them
watered and give them plenty of sunlight and soon you will have a new plant.
Or is it? Really, it is a part of the original plant. You have produced a
clone!
Now, wait a minute. Everyone in the news is always talking about cloning.
If it is this easy, why is it such a big deal? The difference is in what you
are cloning. Cloning plants is easy. You just did it. People have been
cloning plants for thousands of years. Cloning animals is much different.
You can't cut off your finger and place it in a glass of water to grow
another you. I would not do it, even if we could. Lisa says one of me is
all the world can stand.
From Robert Krampf's Science Education Company
PO Box 60982
Jacksonville, FL 32236-0982
904-388-6381
krampf@aol.com
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