Grow Light And Plant Cuttings

December 2008, Port Charlotte Florida

Right now I am experimenting with rooting cuttings of a few different garden plants. This is December in Florida and it has been cool, however it is warming up quite a bit. I am using a grow light in my house and have selected croton, which is doing very well under the grow light. Within three weeks the croton is rooting. So far I have transplanted one into a pot with regular soil prepared for the transplants. I will be transplanting two more in a few days because they have started to root. It’s a new variety that I want to get stocked up with in order to have stock plants for more cuttings.

I am also experimenting with leaf cuttings of the Kalanchoe plant. Although these plants are beautiful they are deadly. They are not safe to have around children and animals especially dogs.

I had bad luck with trying to root the passion flower. At first it seemed to be doing well, then something happened, it may have been due to contamination of the container; I‘m going to sterilize it and try again. I have a very vigorous passion flower growing on my fence in my back yard and started cuttings from it early last fall and they are doing well.

I have about a hundred croton plants that I started from cuttings of various varieties. They are doing really well and now I have to consider just how I’m going to manage them this spring. I need to develop a planting arrangement for the landscape and still have sufficient stock plants for propagation. That’s going to be a neat trick to pull off, especially with the limited space that I have. I‘m also going to be working with other plants to include with the project; one is the springeri fern that will make a nice addition. I want to keep only one for seed. One plant will produce all the seed that I can handle. I have multiplied these plants from division but choose to grow from seed. They are easy to take care of as seedlings and will take a little longer to grow, but that’s ok. Within a year I’ll have all the stock that I’ll need. That way I’ll have a variety of different sizes to sell and use for Rosie’s landscaping business.

I also have one Foxtail Springeri in a large pot that I hope to have produce seed. So far it has blossomed but it didn’t produce seed. I’m hoping that this spring it will bloom again and this time with a little luck and the right insects to pollinate them I’ll get some viable seed from them.

TriVita Stevia How To Grow Your Own | 154

Growing and Using Stevia which is called : The Sweet Herb.

Stevia rebaudiana is a plant, native to Paraguay and Brazil in South America. Stevia is a broad classification of plants. Rebaudiana is the species name. Remember that name because it is the only species, out of the many found contains the high concentration of sweet glycosides making this sweet leaf such a useful and amazingly wonderful herb. The dried leaf, in fact, is 10-15 times sweeter than cane sugar! Powdered stevia leaf, known as green stevia powder, may be found for sale at natural food stores or online while waiting for your first harvest. However, if you are looking for more stevia information you can order liquid Stevia right here at the bottom of this article.

Stevia is not particularly a showy plant but its sweet taste is its most desirable feature. The plant reaches about a height of about 2 feet. It is a perennial but tender plant and will survive where winters are mild. The stevia leaves are small and narrow, notched on the end. The leaves are much sweeter than the stems. The stevia blooms are white and tiny but so abundant that the plant looks like a greenish white cloud when in bloom Farther north than zone 8 stevia may be grown as an annual.

Stevia will do well in most soils, however it prefers a sandy loam with a good amount of organic matter. It’s home area the soils are a little on the acid side but will tolerate a wide range of soil pH. Stevie likes constantly moist soil, but not watter logged. Watering is essential unless substantial rains come every week. The short days of late fall will cause the stevia plant to blossom.

You can grow stevia from seeds or cuttings from other plants. If you are lucky and know somebody with a stevia plant, you might be able to get some cuttings for your own experimenting. If you want to order some seeds you could go to steviaseed dot com and check it out.

I will be doing some experimenting with the stevia cultivation next spring and will keep you posted to the results. I will be starting them from seeds. If you live in a cold climate you can start your stevia seed under a fluorescent light several weeks before transplanting outside. Stevia is vulnerable to cold temperatures so be sure all sign of frost is past before you transplant outside. Harden the plants at least 5 or 6 days before transplanting. Bring the plants indoors on cold nights. Transplant on a cloudy day. You should put the plant a little deeper than it is growing in its container. They are best kept in beds in rows easy for maintaining, staggering the plants. Plant 12 to 18 inches apart. Using a little much around the plant will prevent drying out during sunny days. Water the plants with gentle soaking right after transplanting.

Stevia plants are brittle and tend to break in the wind. If they break, use the broken stem to start additional plants. When the main shoots are 8 to 12 inches tall pinch off the end and this will encourage branching. When the secondary branches reach 8 to 10 inches long, pinch the ends off to encourage tertiary branching. The pruned leaves are good to eat right on the spot. I’ll have to try them in my salads. Fresh and dried leaves are good for tea.

If you are energetic you can dig up plants and bring indoors for winter use. A fluorescent grow light will work well. The plants tend to look half dead by the end of winter but will sprout and grow back nicely in the spring.

Late winter and early spring are the best time for taking cuttings for propagation. However you must have at least 16 hours of lighting per day to encourage rooting. The cuttings should be at least 4 inches long with at least two leaf buds above ground. Transplant to a larger pot after rooted plant starts to grow. (About 2 to 4 weeks) Then in about a month you will be able to transplant outside, if your timing is right.

You can harvest the stevia leaves through the summer as required. The best quality harvest is just as the plants start their blossoming in the fall. Depending on how you want to develop your plants will determine how you will harvest them. If you leave the stock plant to remain over winter in the gound, you can cut about 2/3 of the stem, leaving about 1/3 for the plant to re-grow. Mixing the stevia leaves with mint make a nice sweet mint tea. Peppermint and spearmint are excellent for this use. The dried leaves of the stevia remain sweet for years. If you use a food dehydrator be sure to dry them on a very low heat. Store the dry stevia in air tight containers, preferably glass jars.

If you don’t want to go through all the trouble of gardening and raising your own stevia plants, you will find that stevia sweetener is a wonderful product and you can order stevia right here.

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TriVita Stevia: 12/15/08

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