During some weekend pottering, I was staring at the emerging shoots of lobelia tupa and wondered if basal cuttings would be a suitable method of propagation for this architectural plant. This is what the RHS has to say on the topic:
“Basal cuttings may be possible, but few are produced”
One way to find out, give it a go!
There aren’t many stems, but I think I can spare a couple. I cleared away the soil from around two stems then dived in with my penknife, cutting away the stem, trying to remove a piece of rhizome with it.
I gave the two stems a bit of a clean up, then trimmed off some of the excess material that might rot during the wait for rooting.
I am hoping that roots will emerge from the base. As this is the part of the plant that normally produces roots, it should be pre-disposed.
I decided that I would put one in the hydropod and one in good old fashioned gritty cuttings compost. I’m using a 7cm pot and have popped it into a sealed Ziploc bag to keep it nice and humid. The bag is now in the heated bench.
I’ll be back in a while with an update on rooting.
Update 16th March. Both these cuttings rotted off within a few weeks. Too humid maybe?
The Propagator 
I dug into my lobelia tupa by accident in early march? I planted a small piece (no roots, 1 1/2 “) of the rhizome in ordinary potting soil at surface level. There was a bit of last years stalk attached so I knew what side was up. Planted in Mid March…tiny leaves have emerged in late May. Its been outside in a sunny spot in Seattle.
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Oh good, glad it has worked for you.
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I noticed emerging shootlets on my L. tupa when I cleared around it. Think I’ll have to try this. Thanks for info
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No idea if it will work, we shall see!
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What else is in your hydro pod at this time of year?
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Bunch of (late) penstemon and gaura cuttings, plus some hardwood cuttings of rose and cornus.
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I really do not remember how we propagated our lobelia (that resembled the cardinal flower), but I think that we brought them in as rooted cuttings, rather than propagate them ourselves. That was a long time ago. I think that cardinal flower is commonly grown from seed.
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