FREE PLANTS!
After landscape consults through the years I always feel bad when I tell someone that a plant they just bought to add to the landscape could have been taken from the plants they already had in the yard. You may have no idea how many plants you already have that can be cut, re-seed or simply plucked from the existing plant and stuck right in the ground and it will grow! Here is my favorite list.
Plants like Iris and Daylily can be split every few years by digging them up and gently separated them from one another. You will end up with dozens of new plants this way and it is an economical way to spread the love.
Succulents of all kinds can be broken off at the stem, or the small leaves can be planted to create a new plant for a friend or for a new place in the garden. Below is a small plant and root system that’s already begun.
Sedum and succulents you may already have or those you can take cuttings from friends can be plucked and replanted. Each leave is actually a seed for a new plant (above). Plant the leaves very shallow in the soil and keep moist but not wet until established.
Below, this Aloe Vera has produced dozens of “pups” that call be gently pulled apart like the daylilies and Iris, then replanted as new plants that will grow to a mature size than produce more pups and so on.
Pencil Cactus is another great plant to just cut and stick in the dirt, you can make as many of these as you wish.
Angel wing and standard Begonia are excellent plants to break off a piece and create a new plant. Use excellent potting soil with moist, but not wet soil and never leave water in the saucer or the plants newly forming roots will rot. Allow to dry slightly between watering. Root stimulator or growth hormones can also help this process along.
Paddle Cactus can be cut almost anywhere a potential “node” or bud is attached and planted right into the soil. This was actually a small piece that fell off a clients cactus and I just stuck it in the ground. This is it only a couple of years later. Free! The mint in this shot is also a creeping plant that can be dug up in sections and replanted in other sections, as are the Bluebonnet’s re-seeding.
Plants like ice plant are also easy to break off a stem and just plant into a pot or bed.
Then let’s not forget about the other re-seeding plants. Some people may see these as a little extra work, but herbs and flowers that freely re-seed are free plants all day where I come from.
Even potatoes can be recycled…
These are aloe Vera pups just removed from their mother and planted with sprouting sweet potatoes . Then in no time it goes from here…
To here…
Moon flower seeds are excellent gifts. Each spikey lunar looking seed pod contains potentially dozens of new plants. This little baby below planted itself in just the right place. Moonflower Datura or Jimsonweed is a beautiful, low water plant for Central Texas and provides striking white flowers all summer long.
Allow the seeds of these plants to dry in a cool place or just throw them in a paper bag to dry on their own for planting, as a gift, or safe keeping next year.
Hopefully I’ve inspired you to see what little jewels you may already have or experiment with plants you can add to the landscape like zinnias (below) that can provide seeds for years to come, with plenty to share as well.
if you’re looking for a great list of plants for Central Texas that are low water, low maintenance and easy to use in the garden, call me for a plant or educational consult at 512-733-7777 or email me at lisalapaso@gmail.com.
Lisa LaPaso
Lisa’s Landscape & Design
“Saving the Planet One Yard at a Time”
- Posted in: Gardening in Central Texas