How to propagate alias for fun and medicinal purposes has long been a mystery to students of horticulture. The plant is an evergreen (it grows almost anywhere in the world), but it can also be dormant, so it’s not surprising that most gardeners are unaware of how to get the best yield from the plants they grow. Savia plants have excellent drought resistance, so they’re great plants for growing in dry regions where traditional gardens can be a problem. However, in the right conditions, how to propagate alias is easier than you might think.
There are three different types of alias: Puereria salvia or the P. salvia, Planaria salvica or the Planaria plicata, and the scripts acutsus or the S. acutes. All are native to tropical and subtropical areas of North America, except for the Scripus acutsus, which is found only in the eastern part of Mexico. These plants are part of the salvages plant group, which are plants with fleshy gray-green leaves and pinkish purple flowers. They’re named because of their tendency to wrap up and arch in the wind.
How to propagate alias for fun and medicinal purposes is fairly straightforward. All three types of plant require cool weather for successful growth; therefore, if your region doesn’t go through a long, active winter, you’ll need to plant them either in the spring (pilot) or the fall (cuttings). Most plants go into hibernation in the fall, so cutting a leaf early in the spring will encourage growth. The plant will then spend the rest of its life in storage, waiting for the perfect temperature conditions to start growing again in the fall.
To get your plant to start growing in the spring, you need to prepare the soil, mix compost, sand, peat moss, and fertilizer. The depth of the hole you dig depends on how much material you’re going to put down, but it’s a good idea to put at least three feet of dirt in the bottom of the hole. If you want to know how to propagate alias, consider growing them from cuttings instead of seeds, since you’ll be able to control the amount you plant without damaging your plants.
After digging, pour off all the soil except for a layer that will help contain the new root system as it grows. This layer will later be mixed with mulch, leaving a layer of at least three inches deep. This depth is important because the plant’s roots will need room to grow. The depth also gives the plant room to develop a white bloom that resembles a purple flower, called stamens. Once the stamen has grown to about two or three inches, you can remove it and divide the plant into two or three separate plants according to how you want to propagate alias.
One method of how to propagate alias is through pruning. To do this, divide the plant into about four separate plants and remove any leaves on the lower surface of each one. Do this in the spring, when the foliage is very light. Then, just gently press the stem of one leaf at a time into the newly divided middle section of the other leaf, pushing it down gently. This should cause the leaf to curl up into a little ball, which you can remove and keep as a souvenir of your trip to the hobby greenhouse.
Another way to propagate alias is by cutting small pieces from leaf cuttings and putting them into moist moss, which should be inside a jar with an airtight lid. The next day, put the pieces of moss into your pot plant tray. Allow the cuttings to remain in the moss for about a week, until they’re ready to go into a container. If you have a large plant cut into two sections and then placed them in a bag, the cuttings will go into the bag instead of being scattered all over the pot plant tray.
You can also easily propagate annual salvias can be grown in poor soil but will perform best if you work in some fertiliser before planting. Put about half a cup of dry alfalfa meal into a large bowl, mix thoroughly and let stand for five minutes. Then add one tablespoon of lime per 10 litres of water and gently soak the plant for twenty minutes, turning the water several times during this time. Fertilising is essential for annual plants as they need regular fertilising.
