How to Clone Plants

Hi this is Yolanda Vanveen from vanveenbulbs.com. And in this section we're going to talk about how to clone plants. Not this subject I really am very interested in because I've found that most of the plants in the world have been cloned. And it's fascinating to me, the whole process and how it works. But it's very simple. Plants are Asexual that means that have all the genetics within themselves. They don't need a boy and a girl plant to make babies. And it's really easy to see that when you look at a lily bulb. A lily bulb clones itself. So each little clove just like a garlic will make its own plant. So when there's a new variety of lily comes out that is special or exciting, one that they want to reproduce they clone it by just separating it into little pieces. And that way they'll start 30 40 new plants from one. And it'll be identically genetic to the mother plant. And that way if you have a new breed of color that's really interesting or worth a lot of money you can clone it very easily. And through... There also cloning through tissue culture now too. So all they need is one cell. Every little cell, just a fingernail scratching of that plant has all the DNA makeup for it. And they can clone form that one little sample, through tissue culture. And they just let it grow into a bulblet and then it grows into a bulb from one little cell. It's amazing to me. So plants can also clone themselves by roots. So what happens is the mother plant just makes more roots and makes a baby. So the baby is exactly the same as the mother and there's no genetic difference between the two. And that's an easy way for grass, for example this flax to multiply. They also produce seeds and seeds are mixed with other types of grasses, and they can be different genetically. But clones are never different genetically than the mother plant. Another way that plants clone themselves is through runners. So a lilac will have different shoots coming out the bottom and you can actually pull that shoot up, and that's basically a clone of its mother, it's no different than the mother. And plants like this geranium, you can actually take root cuttings, you can take stem cuttings and it will make its own plant. And those are clones, they're an exact reproduction of the mother plant. And the easiest way that I have found to clone plants or to take root cuttings is just take basic honey and put it into a straight shot jar or a straight shot glass, it makes it really easy and you don't use a lot that way. And when you're taking a stem go to where two starts meets. So at this point as long as I break it away from the stem. And I always try and do it where the next leaf is and that way it will fill in together all together. So just by taking a cutting. You can tear it off or cut it off, it doesn't really matter I have found because they'll grow roots. And a lot of times, say cut it at an angle but I found by leaving it at a little bit of a shred it'll root even better. So the easiest way to start a new geranium and I have done this without even dipping it into honey, just put it right into soil. Just dip it into a little honey. And the honey actually acts; it gives it energy too because of the sugar. So it seems to bond and that way the roots seem to grow better. And you just put it maybe one to two inches, one to two inches in the ground. And it also helps to cut some of the bottom leaves off so that just the top leaves are left. And that way they seem to grow better because they've got more energy to put to the top leaves. And if you keep checking on it, I have found in geraniums will grow quite quickly and within a month you'll have another plant.