Propagation

I try to spend as much time in my backyard as possible.  I absolutely love listening to the birds, smelling the fresh air and dreaming up new landscape designs.  It’s really a haven of rest for our whole family, not to mention a healthy outlet for me to get mind off of mission things once in a while.  A few weeks ago, I decided to try my hand at propagating trees and shrubs.  I decided to first concentrate on sisal, bougainvillea, mulberry and an ornamental tree common to these parts.  My end goal is to propagate these in mass quantities and then transplant them at our retreat center/ campground called Ciyanjano.  I’ve been pricing bougainvillea plants at the local greenhouses, and they’re costing approx $7.50 per plant.  Instead of the mission buying plants like these for shrubbery I figure I’ll propagate them myself and save.  Right now I have 1,800 sisal plants growing in a long flower bed in the back yard.  The pictures I’ve taken are the result of 4 weeks of growth.  I’d really like to propagate fruit trees to later transplant at the campground.  My next door neighbor James knows how to graft and promises one day to show me the special techniques needed to make that successful.  I’ll probably start with a lemon tree since they have a reputation for establishing themselves quickly.  I can’t get enough of this… it’s so much fun!