LADYBUG SAYS... NOW IS A TIME TO PROPAGATE NEW HOUSE PLANTS, REPLACE OLD ONES

Now is a good time to propagate new house plants to replace those tired, overgrown, non-productive plants you have had all spring and summer.

There are many ways to propagate house plants and some of them are quite simple and easy. These include stem cuttings, divisions, leaf cutting, runners and offsets.

A cutting is a portion of a plant which can be induced to develop roots and top and eventually become a duplicate of the parent plant. Some stem cuttings (our grandmothers called them "slips") will root in water. Nothing could be simpler.

Weak cuttings seldom produce healthy plants. Make sure the stem used is clean, strong and healthy. Cuttings should be three to six inches long, with the cut made about 1/4 inch below a leaf node (where the leaf attaches to the main stem). Let the foliage remain on the cutting, except that which would be below the water line. This would rot and pollute the water.

Coleus, impatiens, wax begonias, philodendron and wandering Jew are house plants which root readily in this method. Outside plants such as pachysandra, willow ivy and wintercreeper will also root simply in water.

The crucial period for all of these plants comes when young plants are removed from water and placed in soil. This can be done preferably when roots are about an inch in length. Pot in good potting soil and keep adequately moist while new leaves get started.

Certain plants multiply by divisions. This is exactly what it sounds like-dividing the parent plant into parts. Nearly any plant with more than one stem can be divided into two or more plants.

Simply knock the plant from the pot and separate into new plants. The plants will need to be cut apart with a sharp knife. Cut through the crown of the plant where the root and top growth join. Repot the division, using a good potting medium such as that which the parent grew in. Water the plant thoroughly and set into indirect light.

Plants that can be propagated by divisions are clivia, umbrella plant, sansevieria, spider plant, aspidistra (cast iron plant), and several of the ferns.

Two materials have been found good for almost any cuttings. One is perlite, a sterile white material of volcanic origin which holds moisture, but remains better aerated than vermiculite. The other rooting medium is a mixture of equal parts of coarse sand and vermiculite.

Select a stem that is short, stocky, young and brittle enough to snap off. It should have three to five nodes and be two to five inches long. Make a slanting cut 1/4 inch below a node. Remove any flowers, buds or seed heads, for they will be a drain on the cutting's vitality.

Trim off lower leaves that would be below soil, but retain two or three leaves to manufacture leaves while the plant is making roots. Let the cut end dry in the air for about an hour before inserting it in the rooting medium. Next dust the cut with a rooting hormone powder.

Insert the stem into the moistened medium, which can be a flower pot with a drainage hole in the bottom, or a flat. Fix some method of keeping the humidity high. A polyethylene bag fitted over the top of the pot or flat is one of the easiest methods. Keep the cuttings out of direct sun. Soil should be kept moist but not wet. Transplant cuttings as soon as they are well rooted.

Among the plants which are easily started from cuttings are begonias, shrimp plant, lantana, periwinkle, coleus, candy tuft, chrysanthemums, geraniums, fushia, gardenia, poinsettia and verbena.

Leaf cuttings are fun because they root so readily. Such plants as African violets, Rex begonias, crassulas, piggyback plants and sansevierias can be propagated by leaf cuttings.

Add a little charcoal to water (to purify) when starting African violet leaves in water. Place wax paper over a glass, securing it with a rubber band. Poke holes through the paper with a pencil and place the stem into the water. Keep in indirect light until roots and little leaves appear and then pot it immediately and watch it grow.

Leaves of kalanchoes will produce young at their tips, or around their edge whether in soil or not. Sansevieria cut into pieces three to six inches long and placed upright in a rooting medium quickly produce new plants.

Rex begonia leaves can be removed from the parent plant with a short piece of stem and placed flat on damp sand, with the stem tucked into the sand. Cuts made through the main veins of the leaves will produce new plants at the points.

If autumn seems to be dull, just look around at all the new babies that are beginning to grow and will further develop this winter.