Making Ends Meet: Growing new plants with clippings

Gardening creates a Zen for some people.

“It’s a release, and it just takes away from everything else,” gardener Carolee Drotos-Swales said.

Drotos-Swales finds balance by digging in the dirt instead of her wallet. That’s because some plants require no money at all by using propagation, a technique when clippings are taken from one plant to grow another.

Nick Gallant is the Berne Davis Gardens caretaker in Fort Myers and says this method can sprout success.

“You can just cut it, jam it in the ground, and they’ll grow,” Gallant said. “That’s probably the easiest.”

Gallant says this propagation method works for popular landscaping plants like red ti and croton. Before putting it in the ground, Gallant suggests dipping the stem in rooting hormone.

But not all clippings develop roots the same way. Many small house plants should be clipped at a node or a bump on the stem and put it in water until roots develop.

If you’re looking to add variety, head to social media and join a gardening group. Groups may host gatherings that include plant swaps, where trades are free.

Finally, shop clearance. Gardeners tell us Walmart and Lowe’s are some of their favorite spots.

The Salvation Army in south Fort Myers also has a nursery on the side of its building, but don’t expect to see plants at their other stores. Interior Plant Scapes, a local business, only donates plants to that Salvation Army off U.S. 41 south of Six Mile Cypress Parkway.