Plant propagation

Plant propagation is the process by which new plants grow from various sources, including seeds, cuttings, and other plant parts. Plant propagation can refer to both man-made and natural processes.

Propagation typically occurs as a step in the overall cycle of plant growth. For seeds, it happens after ripening and dispersal; for vegetative parts, it happens after detachment or pruning; for asexually-reproducing plants, such as strawberry, it happens as the new plant develops from existing parts.

Countless plants are propagated each day in horticulture and agriculture.

Plant propagation is vital to agriculture and horticulture, not just for human food production but also for forest and fibre crops, as well as traditional and herbal medicine. It is also important for plant breeding.

Seeds and spores can be used for reproduction (e.g. sowing). Seeds are typically produced from sexual reproduction within a species because genetic recombination has occurred. A plant grown from seeds may have different characteristics from its parents. Some species produce seeds that require special conditions to germinate, such as cold treatment. The seeds of many Australian plants and plants from southern Africa and the American west require smoke or fire to germinate. Some plant species, including many trees, do not produce seeds until they reach maturity, which may take many years. Seeds can be difficult to acquire, and some plants do not produce seed at all. Some plants (like certain plants modified using genetic use restriction technology) may produce seed, but not a fertile seed. In certain cases, this is done to prevent the accidental spreading of these plants, for example by birds and other animals.

Plant roots, stems, and leaves have a number of mechanisms for asexual or vegetative reproduction, which horticulturists employ to multiply or clone plants rapidly, such as in tissue culture and grafting. Plants are produced using material from a single parent and as such, there is no exchange of genetic material, therefore vegetative propagation methods almost always produce plants that are identical to the parent.

In some plants, seeds can be produced without fertilization and the seeds contain only the genetic material of the parent plant. Therefore, propagation via asexual seeds or apomixis is asexual reproduction but not vegetative propagation.

Techniques for vegetative propagation include: