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Author Topic: Anise Hyssop cuttings  (Read 17765 times)

Offline Cindi

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Anise Hyssop cuttings
« on: February 14, 2007, 09:26:34 am »
If this weather keeps up being as mild as it is (and it will), save some light frosts possibly occuring until our "last frost free date" of April 30, I will be making cuttings.

I have about 6 "mother" plants of Anise Hyssop.  Two older "mothers" and 4 cuttings from these 2 "mothers" that I planted last year.

From these 6 plants I should be able to take hundreds of tip cuttings, and I know they bloom same year because last year was an experiment to see if the cuttings would bloom.  And that they did.

As we all know the bees love hyssop.  So do I, what a beautiful scent when you walk by and smell the licorice scent permeating the air.  Hmmm...can't wait for summer.

The cuttings I took from the mother plant bloomed about 3 weeks later than the original mother plant.  But all of the bloomed from mid-July, right up until almost frost kill. 

That is the beauty of perennials, once they are established they carry on forever (the same as the self-seeding annuals).  I see borage has already started to show some seedlings that have germinated, these are in a more protected, warmer spot outside the greenhouse.  The hundreds of other self-seeded borage will be sprouting in the next month too.

Yeah, for the spring time a'comin' on.  Awesome day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline danno1800

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #1 on: February 14, 2007, 11:51:56 am »
Can you tell me a little more about how to do 'tip cuttings' form your anise hyssop plants? My bees love mine and I'd love to learn how to make increase from them. Thanks!

Offline abejaruco

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #2 on: February 14, 2007, 05:47:16 pm »
Agastache foeniculum, Anise Hyssop, I didn´t know that plant.
Now I know 3 plants anise flavoured, the Agastache foeniculum-Anise Hyssop, the Foeniculum vulgare -fennel, and the real anise-Pimpinella anisum.

Offline Kirk-o

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #3 on: February 14, 2007, 05:55:52 pm »
They are great honey plants

kirk-o
"It's not about Honey it's not about Money It's about SURVIVAL" Charles Martin Simmon

Offline Cindi

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #4 on: February 15, 2007, 01:07:14 am »
In response to perennial cuttings of hyssop.  Listen closely.

In the spring when the plants begin to really take a good hold and you can see that it will not harm them by taking out their growing tips, then is the time to proceed.

I would suggest the plants be allowed to grow perhaps 12 inches high, no less, before doing any cuts.

The new growing shoots should have the stem say with at least 6 sets of leaves, they will appear alternate of each other.

Cut the stem just slightly above the 3rd leaf down.  In your hand you will have a stem that has 2 sets of alternating leaves and the new growth leaf at the top. 

I remove the bottom two alternating leaves.  The part that has had the leaves removed is the portion that you will place below the growing medium.  If you have the chance, a growth hormone is good to use to dip this little piece of stem into, it assists immensely with the promotion of root growth.  If you do not have this, or choose not to use it, the plant will still root, but it may take a tiny bit longer.  Sometimes nature needs a little boost and growth hormone with cuttings is OK.

If you have done this as I have described, you will see a short stem above the growing medium with two opposing leaves showing and the growth tip showing above these two alternate leaves.  This cutting will root in a couple of weeks.

Keep the medium moist, not wet, and reasonably warm.  When your planting weather has arrived, simply remove the cutting from the tiny container and place in the soil.  Be sure that before you remove the new plant from the growth container that you water it really well and once it is in the soil it is imperative that you water it well too.  Some liquid fertilizer like Miracle Gro is excellent to get the babies off to a good start.  Compost or other soil amendments are excellent too, but are not as quick acting as the water soluable powders.  Plants will use any kind of fertilizer given, believe it or not, they all have their place.  I use organic fertilizers and the water soluable, store bought ones too.  My flower gardens are nothing short of breathtakng.

The seedling will grow leaps and bounds and you can make many, many new little plants from the "mothers".

The "mother" plant will thrive.  She will consider it a nice pruning and growth will be superb.  You will see and be grateful that you delved into the world of tip cuttings.  Increase of stock is so simple and inexpensive.  Awesome day.  Cindi

If there is any question about my instruction, please ask me to elaborate.  Sometimes things that one is used to doing is hard to put to words because it is such second nature.  I will assist you or others that may need some little bit of advice or help.
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #5 on: February 21, 2007, 03:51:55 pm »
Cindi- do you find this method of propogation to be superior to just splitting the roots and replanting the pieces?
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #6 on: February 21, 2007, 11:57:52 pm »
Cindi- do you find this method of propogation to be superior to just splitting the roots and replanting the pieces?

Konasdad.  Now that is a good question.  I am going to find an answer to it and will reply with found information.

I like to work with cuttings, it is a very enlightening method of propogation and it makes me feel good.  Don't know why, I think that I like to caregive.  Everything.  And that even equates to the cuttings that take root, or seedlings that I love to grow on.

I would imagine that there would be no reason on this good green earthy why the root splitting wouldn't work well too.  But, somewhere in the cobwebs of my mind I may have a thought that Anise Hyssop does not like to have the roots disturbed.  But that is no where close to the truth, cause I just can't quite remember what I read.  I will be doing a little research and will provide good and sound information, like I said.

I divide many many of my perennials.  Yesterday I chomped several of my old hostas up.  Because of the moist climate we have the hostas grow like the jungle plants.  These clumps of hostas I will cut up into a bunch of small clumps and place them in some new areas.   Hostas love to be abused and split up.

The hosta that I grow here is magnificent.  Perhaps the name Royal Standard comes to my mind, can't really quite remember the name as I obtained the original hostas so many years ago.  This hosta has solid green leaves and puts up enormous flower stalks that have a very strong and beautiful fragrance, which smell very much like Gardenia flowers.  Magnificent plant.  Best of days.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #7 on: February 22, 2007, 11:04:11 am »
I have done splits w/ anise hyssop and it works. As you know, this plant is pretty hardy, and an amazing bee plant. Duration of blooms and their bee atrractiveness are amazing. I've never done cuttings your way, and I'm going to try it too!. I have rooting hormone already. It really helps give it a good start. Thinking out loud, I think your system will give you more , but smaller plants. They do grow, quickly though. When I do a split, I usually make just two from one plant, and they are both completely full grown by fall. I'd imagine you could get four or five cuttings from each plant w/o harming it.
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Offline danno1800

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #8 on: February 22, 2007, 03:16:37 pm »
Thanks so much for the directions.

Offline Cindi

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #9 on: February 22, 2007, 11:49:02 pm »
I have done splits w/ anise hyssop and it works. As you know, this plant is pretty hardy, and an amazing bee plant. Duration of blooms and their bee atrractiveness are amazing. I've never done cuttings your way, and I'm going to try it too!. I have rooting hormone already. It really helps give it a good start. Thinking out loud, I think your system will give you more , but smaller plants. They do grow, quickly though. When I do a split, I usually make just two from one plant, and they are both completely full grown by fall. I'd imagine you could get four or five cuttings from each plant w/o harming it.

Konasdad.  OK.  That is good to know.  I am still going into my herb cultivation book to discover what I want about the hyssop.  It is extremely hard, we both know that.  You surely must try the method of stem cuttings, it is simple and you will not be disappointed.   You say that when you do a split, you usually make just two from each plant.  In the realm of cuttings, that is not many per mother plant.  Listen to what I am saying.

If you have a plant that has been established, you can take many, many times more than four or five cuttings per plant, without any harm whatsover.  You must simply remember to leave enough new foliage for the mother plant to do its photosynthesis thing.  OK,  you think that the cuttings give smaller plants.  Maybe so, maybe not.  This is what occurred with me:

I took only a few stem cuttings (to the count of six),  last year because I was doing an experiment with the plant to see if the cuttings bloomed first year.  I know if seed is taken,  because of the perennial nature of this plant, it is most likely that the plants started from seed would not bloom until next year.  That was my wish for the experiment, to see if the cuttings would bloom same season.

My account of the experiment.  I took approximately 6 stem cuttings, when the mother plant had sent up her myriad of new shoots.  I waited until the mother plant had shoots that had developed several sets of leaves.  This one mother plant I worked with.  The other mother plant I left alone to her own devices.  The cuttings that I took from the one mother plant did not change the growth of her one iota, not even slightly, she still set heavy, heavy flower growth.  The other untouched mother plant bloomed as much, neither was stronger or weaker.  (get that eh?).

The cuttings rooted very easily and within two weeks (I know, I dumped one of the cutting pots gently in my hand to see if roots were developing, and yes, they were).  I gently put the cutting back into its pot to carry on with growth.  I left these cuttings untouched for a little while longer.  I planted them out after our last frost free date, which is about April 30.

By the way, I looked at the two original mother anise hyssop today, and the new shoots are starting to poke their nosy little noses above the ground level.  I anticipate taking cuttings in about 3 weeks time.

Once in the soil these cuttings took off like wildfire.  They bloomed approximately 2 weeks after the mother plants set flowers, and of course, as the anise hyssop does, it bloomed strong and hard until frost kill.  Approximately 3rd week of October.

At the maturity of the baby "stem cutting" plants, I would say there was absolutely no less than 30 to 40 flower stocks on each plant.  Of course the mother plants had more than 100.  I don't believe that there is an exageration on my part about the numbers of flower stalks.  This is an amazing plant and it is one that is covered with bees.  An added bonus to this plant is the sweet smell of licorice that pervades the air when one walks by the plant, especially if the leaves are touched.  Incredible.

Flowers that I highly recommend for bee forage (that I grow here with extreme ease) (and will grow beautifully in most conditions) are:

borage officinalis
phacelia tanacetifolia
anise hyssop (perennial) --  (or agastaches) (which are mostly treated as annual here)
all types of sunflowers that not sterile (which basically means, not the pollen free cultivars)
California poppy
bachelors buttons (cornflower)
wallflowers (for early spring pollen)
canary creeper vine
migonette (stock)
comfrey (cousin to borage)
cosmos

These are just to name a few,  but these I am familiar with and grow en masse by seed saved from previous year and the seeds that dropped off the plants, that germinate in spring when they are good and ready.  Annuals are wonderful, in that many self-seed, and once you have them, they are yours forever more.

Oops, told you all that I can ramble.  Awesome day.  Cindi

There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #10 on: February 23, 2007, 09:22:34 am »
Thanx. Based on your recomendation, I purchased some canary and borage seeds. Agree w/ rest of your bee list too. I'll give your propogation method a try. You get more plants your way. Do you "prune" your hyssop to give it a bushier plant w/ more flowerettes?

One plant not on your list thats a very good bee plant that is in bloom from july to frost is russian sage. Smells good, gorgeous bloms for a long period and very cold/heat hardy! Can be placed in a more formal perrenial garden too. Bees use this plant when others exhaust themselves. Same w/ my butterfly bushes. The bees use them between spring and fall flows, but will leave them when the goldenrod begins for the most part.
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Offline Cindi

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2007, 10:58:22 am »
Konasdad.  Glad you bought the seeds.  You can start borage indoors if you want.  But it also does really nicely if you just place the seed on the ground, scruff it up a little bit, with a VERY light bit of soil over it, mostly to hold the seed in place.  Borage self-seeds pretty hard and the seeds germinate quickly.  In nature the seeds are not covered (obviously if they just drop off and germinate), so don't cover heavily, they won't come up.  Harvest your own seeds from this plant for next year, but also, bear in mind that next year you will find borage coming up all over the place.  Prolific self-seeder, this can be good, or this can be bad, depends on how much you care about plants coming up where you don't expect them.

I wonder if the butterfly bush that you speak of is the same that I am familiar with.  I know it by the name of Budleah.  I grow a white cultivar, but don't recall bees on it, butterflies yes.

I do not prune the anise, just let it grow.  The mother plants I will be digging out a hunk of root though.  I am of the belief that the perennials thrive if they are split down every couple of years.

Ah, Russian sage.  That sounds good and I will get some for next year blooms (.  Last year I planted some seed of the Mediterranean Sage that a fellow beeclub member gave to me.  I see that it is perking up now, still has lots of leaves from last year, but new growth is coming.  I wonder how long this one will bloom.  I will be keeping a record of it and I will report back about the length of its bloom time.

Last year I purchased a couple of Pineapple Sage plants.  Man were these a pretty flower.  The flowers were red and had a weeping habit and hung down about 4 inches.  I did not protect it from the winter and I see that they look pretty dead.  It may still come back, but doubtful.  I will get more of this cultivar of sage as it was so pretty.

In remembering plants that the bees really loved, I also remember catnip.  The bees loved the flowers of it too.  Heliotrope is quite attractive to the bees as well, and it is also very fragrant to the human nose.  Smells somewhat like vanilla I would say.  Loves the heat, but needs a fair amount of moisture.  Enough said.  Great day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline KONASDAD

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #12 on: February 23, 2007, 02:17:11 pm »
Russian sage is not an herb that I am aware . Its a perennial that has flowers like lavender on 3-4 ft stems. Butterfly bush is a budelia bush. Look closely, particularly in late afternoon. When other plants stop producing nectar in afternoon, the bees move onto the R.sage and budelias. Just my observation. Cant wait for a full spring weather!!!!
"The more complex the Mind, the Greater the need for the simplicity of Play".

Offline Cindi

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #13 on: February 25, 2007, 02:17:43 am »
Konasdad, oooh, you are probably right about the time of day the plants are bee-attractive.  For example, buckwheat only is attractive to beneficials in the morning and then again in late afternoon.  Interesting how the plants emit their nectars at different times.

I think that there are several ways of spelling Buddleah.  You spelled Budelias.  Not certain though.  Greatest of days.  I should check for my own curiosity.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service

Offline reinbeau

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #14 on: February 25, 2007, 07:14:07 pm »
Cindi, according to this page, depending on your hardiness zone Pineapple Sage is at least root hardy for you, don't do anything til you see whether or not there's growth at the base.

Quote
Hardiness: Pineapple sage is a semiwoody subshrub in USDA zones 9-11, and an herbaceous perennial, dying to the ground in winter but resprouting in spring, in zones 8-9. Gardeners in colder areas grow pineapple sage as an annual, or bring it indoors in the winter

I love it, and grow many salvias in addition to it every years.  The bees seem to love them all!

Offline Cindi

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Re: Anise Hyssop cuttings
« Reply #15 on: February 26, 2007, 12:14:55 am »
Ann, I checked out the site.  Thanks.  We are in zone 7b, according to our weather in our town.  I am closer to the mountains, so I would suspect it would be at leats 7a.  That is a fairly mild zone.

The salvia that is depicted on the site is indeed the same salvia that I had growing.  I do not see any sign of it yet, but I will certainly be patient.  I know to do that.  I see the bee balm (I have the red one) has started growing like wildfire.  Today, I dug up clumps and moved them to several different places.  Man are they a beauty.  I also see the mother anise hyssop sending up shoots like crazy too.  I didn't see any new shoots on the cuttings of the hyssop that I took last year, but I know that they are coming too.  I have seed from the hyssop.  I read that it can flower same year as seeding, so I am sowing these seeds in specialized areas to keep an eye on them.  That would be great to do this experiment and see if they set flower.

The only "salvia" that I plant here is the Victoria.  I love the deep blue flower spikes and they are my favourite in the summer bouquets.  Awesome day.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service