IT’S TIME TO START . . . 

Make your potting mixture using peat moss, pearlite, water, and a plastic bag. Peat moss and pearlite may be purchased from your local garden center. Add to the plastic bag, 1 part peat moss, 1 part pearlite and a little water. Stir the potting mixture until all of it is moistened. Be careful not to inhale the dust while stirring the mixture. 

Add the moistened potting mixture to your container. Fill it only 2/3 full. 

Depending on what plant materials you have decided to use, do the following . . . 

USING YOUR HOUSEPLANT CUTTINGS: With a pencil poke a hole in the potting mixture. Place the cut end of the plant in the potting mixture. Press the “soil” around the cutting to hold it firmly. Because cuttings lack roots, you will need to keep the potting mixture moist until roots form. 

It’s best to begin with common houseplants (philodendron, jade plant, snake plant, wandering jew). They can still grow in less than ideal situations. You might also want to try planting the green base of a carrot top or a piece of potato with a bud in it. 

PLANTING FROM PLANTLETS: Some plants (spider plants, strawberry begonia) develop offspring plants using a long trailig stem called a runner. You can remove the offspings and plant them. You will need to make sure that the “root” area is covered with the potting mixture. 

PLANTING SEEDS: A seed carries a “baby” plant. It also protects the plant and stores food for the plant. In nature, it helps the plant travel to its sprouting place. Sprinkle tiny seeds (grass, lettuce, mustard) lightly over the area of “soil” you want them to grow. Mixing a little peat moss with tiny seeds will help “plant” the seeds. If you have chosen larger seeds (radish, oranges, beans). It is best to let them soak overnight in water before planting them in the ground. You will need to plant larger seeds about 1/2 inch in the potting mixture. 

USING BULBS: Although it may not look it, a bulb is a seed. There are different types of bulbs: corms, rhizomes, tuberous roots and true bulbs. If you decide to use a bulb (onion set, garlic clove) be sure to plant almost all of it, leaving only the tip to show through the potting mixture. 

Once you’ve finished planting your “face”, water the potting mixture well (but don’t soak the soil) and cover the pot with a plastic bag (to hold the moisture in). It’s important not to let the potting mixture dry out. 

Place the pot in a warm (70-degree F.) spot which has strong light but no direct sunlight. At this stage, indirect sunlight is best until the plants begin to grow. 

FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS: Over the next two weeks you will need to check your planting. You may need to water your planting if the pot begins to dry out. IF YOU PLANTED SEEDS, check the pot every 3 days or so to see how much the seeds have grown. Once you see a second set of leaves on each seedling it’s time to remove the plastic and put your planting in full sun or very bright light. HINT: To keep your seedings growing straight, you will need to turn the pot a quarter turn each day. IF YOU PLANTED CUTTINGS, After the third week, tug gently on the cuttings to see if roots have formed. Don’t worry if they haven’t, each plant requires a different amount of time for roots to grow. Once the plants have strong roots, you can remove the plastic and move the pot closer to sunlight. 

After six weeks your plants will be ready to transplant. Please don't be discouraged if your plants happen to die, even the best Master Gardeners have failures . . . Just try again! 

SOME THINGS TO THINK ABOUT . . . TO WATCH . . . TO TRY . . 

Look at the seeds, cuttings, bulbs, and plantlets--how are each different, how are each the same? What do you think starts a new plant? What do plants need in order to grow? 

Look at your planting. Not all plants grow the same way, how do you think it might look in two or more weeks? Will you need to cut it’s hair if you planted grass seed? What part of your “face” will grow the fastest? The slowest? Do you think we could plant parts of ourselves and have them grow into new people? 

Try using coleus for red hair or a mouth. Coleus can be planted from seeds or cuttings. Try snake or jade plants for ears, and garlic cloves or spider plantlet for eyes. Can you come up with a face made of “kitchen scraps” such as carrot tops, ginger, onions or potatoes? 

After a few weeks, look for changes in the plant parts above the soil. What do you think is happening below the ground? Does your “face” look like you thought it would? What’s the same? Different? 

BRANCHING OUT . . . 

Label the picture you drew with the names of the plant materials you used. Look through seed catalogs and gardening books to learn more about plants and seeds. 

Growing certain types of plants takes time, you might want to draw pictures, take photographs or make a flow chart of your planting to help make the wonder of the growing process more visible. 

Plants need air, warmth, light, water, and nutrients to grow. Make several “faces”, place them in several locations, determine what is the best location to grow them and why--experiment to see if a particular plant might root faster in water than in potting mix. 

Transplant your “face” to several containers. Which plants need to become houseplants? Which ones will be able to go outdoors? Why? 

Don’t know what to do with all your new plants? Why not donate them to a person or group who could use some living beauty to brighten their lives. 

What new questions do you have about growing new plants from parts?