Ground cover plants are without question a great thing - they readily decorate bare floor areas, are extremely easy to care for and also promote soil life. If you want more of them, you can usually easily multiply them - we'll show you how.
How can ground cover plants be propagated?
Ground cover plants can be propagated by four different methods: cuttings, rhizome cuttings, cuttings and seed propagation. These methods are simple and allow for quick multiplication of plants in the garden.
Why propagate ground cover plants?
On the one hand, you can of course really fall in love with certain ground cover plants. After all, their practical, soil-improving and often very decorative advantages cannot be denied. Planting several places in the garden with wonderfully fragrant scented rocks, pretty-looking spring carnations or decorative soapwort can delight the gardener's eye in many ways. This also creates an attractive repeat structure.
The use of ground cover plants in accurately laid out beds has an almost artistic design appeal. Creating cushion-forming ground cover in perennial borders or planting rock gardens with a varied cushion structure requires clear planning - and it is not uncommon for the same type of ground cover to be planted multiple times.
Last but not least, gardeners are often communal and like to exchange ideas with one another. Giving other plant enthusiasts some of a beautiful ground cover is common practice among friends and after all it doesn't cost anything - just a little friendly effort.
The ground cover propagation reasons at a glance:
- Culture of favorite ground cover plants
- Repetitive structure in the garden
- clear, small-structured design of beds and rock gardens
- Supply for gardening friends
How does reproduction work?
Ground cover plants are usually not very difficult to propagate due to their usually very vigorous and robust nature. Propagation options are:
- offshoot
- Rhizome cuttings
- Cuttings
- Seed propagation
Especially the varieties that form runners, such as cranesbill or periwinkle, can easily be propagated by cuttings. To do this, cut off edge pieces with rooted shoots and reinsert them in the desired location. Depending on the desired size of the area to be repopulated, you should cut off a correspondingly large number of shoots.
Rhizome-forming ground cover plants are propagated by rhizome cuttings. To do this, separate a leafy runner and first let it root in a cultivation pot with regular watering. Once this is done, you can plant it outdoors.
You can of course also make cuttings. This propagation method works particularly well with the creeping spindle, for example. To do this, you cut off a woody shoot of the ground cover that is not yet more than 2 cm thick, remove the lower leaves and place it in a peaty substrate, which you water evenly.
Finally, of course, there is the option of seed propagation by collecting the seeds after flowering and growing them in the pot.
