Grow Your Own Plants

Grow Your Own Plants: from Seeds, Cuttings, Division, Layering, and Grafting is written by Jack Kramer, and illustrated by Michael Valdez. It was published by Charles Scribners’s Sons (New York, 1973). Jack Kramer is an American garden and plant expert who has written over a 100 books, and wrote a syndicated column for the Los Angeles Times for eight years. His books and articles cover a wide range of gardening and landscaping subjects. Other titles include Easy Care Guide to Houseplants, Cacti and Other Succulents, and The Complete Book of Patio Gardening.

The first chapter introduces the domain of sexual and asexual plant propagation, with a summary of key methods. Chapters two through four provide information about sowing seeds indoors and outdoors, and how to create the right environment of heat and light to start seeds. Chapters five and six are devoted to asexual propagation – different types of cuttings, layering, grafting, and others (division, runners, bulbs, and so forth). Chapter seven provides lists of trees and shrubs, perennials, annuals, and bulbs that are ideal candidates for asexual propagation. Chapters eight and nine cover house plant, vegetable, and herb propagation. Chapter ten describes hybridization, and gives a high-level summary of genes and genetics. The back matter includes a glossary, bibliography, and source of supplies (most of which are still current)!

I received my copy of Grow Your Own Plants in a box of gardening books from friend and fellow gardener, Charles (Chuck) Konigsberg (see Sunset Magazine Contributions to Western Gardening). It grabbed my attention, since one of my goals this year is to learn about plant propagation. I have been referring to the book to propagate plants, especially from cuttings. Even though the book is over 40 years old, it still stands up. The book is current, easy to understand, and full of practical information. The book reminds me of the “back to the land” movement of the 1970’s, and I love the line drawings by Michael Valdez. I recommend this book for your collection if you are interested in plant propagation.

Twin Corn

Here is a reproductive oddity – twin corn! This specimen came from my local grocery store, and piqued my curiosity about corn in general, and the phenomena of “twin ears” or “double ears”.

Twin corn - two ears of corn from a single shank.

Corn plants are monocots that grow a single stalk from 7 to 10 feet high, with multiple nodes. Leaves wrap around the stalk at the nodes. Corn plants are monoecious, with the male tassels growing at the top of the plant and producing pollen; and the female floral structure, or ears, growing at the nodes and providing the eggs. Corn silk attaches to each egg, or kernel, and pollination occurs when pollen falls on the silk. Corn, or maize, originated in the Americas, and is an example of ancient genetic engineering.

Roger W. Elmore and Lori J. Abendroth reported on multiple corn ears for Iowa State University in November 2006. Companies have been developing corn hybrids to produce multiple ears of corn per node (sometimes up to eight ears on a node). The extra ears are typically barren. In other instances, two ear shoots share a single shank on the same node. The second ear is typically much smaller with fewer kernels. According to the article, multiple ear shoots sharing the same shank is not unusual, but, in 2006, the number of “bouquets” of up to three to five ear shoots sharing the same shank increased significantly, and could not be explained. The concern was that the corn yield would be reduced by this oddity. They cited a report by R.L. (Bob) Nielsen from Purdue University about these “bouquets”.

In the end, I separated the twin ears, boiled them with the rest of the corn ears, and served them up with butter, salt, and pepper. The smaller twin was as flavorful as its sibling, but was smaller and with fewer kernels. Eating corn from the smaller ear reminded me of Tom Hanks, as Josh, eating the mini corn appetizer in Penny Marshall’s 1988 movie, Big!

Learn More:

• Plant & Soil Sciences eLibrary. “Anatomy and Reproduction of Corn”. Learn basic information about corn plants, and how they reproduce.
• Iowa State University, Agronomy Extension. “Multiple Ears Per Node: Iowa 2006 Situation & Hypothesis”. Roger W. Elmore and Lori J. Abendroth, Extension Corn Production, Iowa State University. November 2006. Learn about multiple corn ears per node, and per shank.
• Purdue University, Department of Agronomy. Corny News Network Articles, “A Problem with “Bouquets”. R.L. (Bob) Nielsen, September 12, 2016. Learn about the phenomena of corn “bouquets” from a single shank.

Birds and Bees – Seed Dispersal

Seeds dispersal refers to the transport of seeds from their plants of origin to new locations, where they can germinate and grow (or lie dormant until the right conditions exist). The seed shape and its characteristics help determine this locomotion, typically by wind, animals, water, bursting, or by humans.

Seed dispersal mechanisms - (C) Encyclopaedia Britannica (2006)

• Some seeds are equipped with parachutes, sails, wings, and propellers, and are carried on the wind. You might have blown on a dandelion to disperse its tiny parachutes, or seen a cottonwood tree release its seed fluffs.
• Animals play a part as well, by burying seeds, transporting burrs on their fur, or ingesting seeds, which pass through their digestive systems. (If you have been instructed to scarify a seed before planting, chances are in the wild the seed type must pass through an animal’s digestive system before it can germinate).
• Riparian plants may rely on water for pollination. Some seeds, like the coconut, are light enough to float to a favorable location.
• Some seeds burst out of their pod or container when the conditions are right (some actually need fire to be released).
• Humans also play their part, through planting crops, or transporting seeds from the nursery to their gardens.

I typically do not deadhead, because I love to see my plants go through their entire reproductive cycle, including producing seeds. I had once planned to remove a messy, and awkwardly placed black cherry tree in the back yard, until I witnessed a group of little brown birds devour its tiny cherries in an afternoon. How could I remove this food source, and dispersal system from our tiny ecosystem?

Learn More:

• Botany for Gardeners, by Brian Capon (Timber Press 2005). See Part V Reproduction, Chapter 9, “From Flowers to Fruits”.
• Pollination and Fertilization, derived from Pollination and Fertilization, by Robert Bear and David Rintoul, for Open Stax, Rice University (Creative Commons).