Propagating Plants: Layering Shrubs and Climbers

The stems of climbers and shrubs sometimes root when they touch the soil, and you can harness this tendency to make new plants.

Excerpted from How to Grow Practically Everything
Filed under: Shrubs, Gardening, Plants

Ivy and Honeysuckle

Climbers, such as ivy and honeysuckle, often root where their stems are in contact with the soil. Either pin stems down yourself in fall or spring, or check your plants for any stems that have rooted naturally. Use a hand fork to lift any stems with roots, and cut them between each rooted section to make new plants, which you can then grow on.

Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited

Blackberries

In summer, propagate blackberries and their hybrids by burying the tip of a healthy, young stem in a hole 4 inches deep. In a few weeks a new shoot will appear; transplant it the following spring.