Stop Buying More Plants, Propagate Free Ones Instead

Once you know how to propagate plants, the gardening world is your oyster.

Often, when folks think of propagation they think of succulents and pothos, but those are not the only plants that can be propagated!

Almost any plant can be propagated via cutting if given enough patience, trial and error, but today I want to focus on the easy to propagate plants and those that you can “propagate” via dividing as well.

The easiest plants to propagate by cutting in your culinary garden are herbs and nightshades. My all-time favorites are:

Tomatoes & peppers – just stick them in water!
Basil – stick it in water!
Mints – stick stems in water or stick stems with a tiny bit of root straight into the soil

I don’t think there is such a thing as too much basil, so I am constantly planting more plants throughout the growing season. It’s much faster and less space intensive to root cuttings than to start the growing process over again from seed.

I also find myself rooting a lot of tomato plants. I absolutely love to share plants with friends and family, but sometimes those folk’s don’t realize they want to try a garden until they see mine. Because tomatoes are so easy to root from cuttings I can just pop off a couple suckers and stick them in water anytime any of my guests would like their own plants.

Sweet potato slips root really really well in water!

My second favorite way to “propagate” plants is actually through a method called “division”. Many perennials that grow in a bunching formation can be divided, just make sure they don’t have a single large tap root! To divide a plant, you basically dig it up and then cut the plant in pieces from its root ball. Once you have your portions, those pieces can be planted as their own plants.

Some of my favorite culinary plants to divide include:

Lemon balm
Literally any mint
Thyme
Oregano
Echinacea
Strawberries

Lemon balm divides easily and dividing it makes for happier healthier plants in a container garden.

How I divide my lemon balm.

Propagating via cutting and dividing are only two ways to get free plants for your garden. You can also propagate from leaves, seeds and try a technique called air-layering depending on the type of plant you’re trying to propagate.

I hope you feel empowered to make some of your own free plants and I encourage you to use this new knowledge for good! Share plants with your friends and neighbors and hopefully they’l share some with you too!

Additional Resources:

Online Resources:

University of California – Plant Propagation For Home Gardeners: A Comprehensive Guide
Purdue University – Propagate Herbs Now for Yearlong Enjoyment
University of Georgia Extension – Starting Plants From Cuttings
University of Minnesota – How and When to Divide Perennials
Penn State Extension – Dividing Perennials

Books I Love:

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