I bought three Melampodium leucanthum 'Blackfoot Daisy' two years ago at a local native plant nursery. I only have one left. I've learned they are short-lived. Does anyone have experience with propagating these or any wildflower from a cutting? If so, when, what kind of wood, how, etc. I've never done propagation from cuttings, so I thought maybe that's the way to go. The birds get the seeds before I do. I would love to have a few more of these. The bees and I love them! I have Chocolate Flower and these daisies, which smell like honey. On a warm morning, when I'm deadheading, my garden smells like a cup of hot cocoa with honey. Mmmmmm! Thanks!

Bonnie

Just root it like any other green/softwood cutting .. make the cutting about four to 6 inches long, remove the lower leaves and any buds or flowers on the top and stick it in some soil making sure a leaf node is under the soil. You want to keep the soil moist .. more on the dry side than wet side.

You can also take cuttings and put them in water - some plants will root this way.

Once it roots, you want to remove any buds that form until it has had time to make a good root system. Flowering take a whole lot of energy out of a plant and it's better for that energy to go into making roots and leaves rather than flowering.

Thank you very much!

You're welcome! Try various methods and see which one works best.

droughttolerant said:... The birds get the seeds before I do. ...

You could always "bag" some of the seedheads for long enough to ripen the seeds.

That's easy if you buy some organza bags. Craft stores may have tiny organza bags in the "weddings" isle. They breath and can be re-used. I think dark green is least obtrusive in the garden, but you can get white, red, or almost any color.

But this place has ALL sizes of organza bags, including some big enough to hold a bottle of wine. One of those will "bag" an entire stem. And their prices are good and you can buy a small quantity at the low price:

Best Organza Bag Source: found by Patti1957
order sizes around 10 to 30 bags
http://www.yourorganzabag.com/...

(these prices may be outdated)
3"x 4" Flat Organza Bags 30 bags / $2.70 (9 cents each)
4"x 6" Flat Organza Bags 30 bags / $3.90 (13 cents each)
6-1/2"x 15" Organza Wine Bags 10 bags / $3.90 (39 cents each)

Thank you, for all the ideas. I've never heard of Organza bags. Sounds like just the ticket for collecting seeds before the birds do. Now I have three new things to try: rooting softwood, rooting in water, and bagging their heads. One of these has to work. And then...
Okay and so this morning I went out to set out seedlings and guess what? The two Blackfoot Daisies I lost are baaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack. I never had time to clean the area and the so called by me 'dead stumps' have little green leaves on them. Plants are amazing! I am going to try the new suggestions to get some more anyway.

Plants are very forgiving for sure! But for some reason, it's usually the ones you don't want that bounce back the best.

I use the organza bags to sequester flowers for hand pollination and for collecting seeds. I get mine at the Dollar Tree in the Baby Shower Department.

droughttolerant said:... Now I have three new things to try: rooting softwood, rooting in water, and bagging their heads. One of these has to work. And then...
... and the so called by me 'dead stumps' have little green leaves on them. Plants are amazing! I am going to try the new suggestions to get some more anyway.

If three or four methods of propagation aren't enough, I wonder if those stems would respond either to air layering or serpentine layering?

http://garden.org/ideas/view/d...