Plant Babies! – Tissue Cuttings

If we want to grow a plant, we usually do this by planting a seed. The seed is produced by sexual reproduction (two parents), meaning that the egg from one plant and the pollen from another have met and formed a seed, resulting in the plant having qualities from both its parent plants.

However, what if you had a most beautiful plant with the prettiest colour flowers and you wanted to ensure that another plant had that colour flower – what could you do?

Clone them?

Not as silly as you might think.

Tissue cuttings are the simplest way to produce a cloned or identical plant.

How to clone a plant

What you need

• compost
• small plant pot
• small plant trays
• an original/parent plant ( we used geraniums)
• rooting powder or gel

Instructions

1. Take a healthy plant (I used geraniums) and cut a small length from the stem

2. Place this in water for a few minutes

3. Dip the end into rooting powder or gel

4. Pot the plant up with some lovely compost

5. Keep the pot away from direct sunlight and cover it in a clear plastic bag to keep it moist.

Your cutting will now grow into another plant exactly the same as your original!

You then need to nurture them, like any parent would!

Last Updated on May 4, 2023 by Emma Vanstone