Woodlanders · Propagation Record

The Prop House

How we grow

How a plant grows here

Most of what we grow begins one of two ways, from seed or from a cutting, and both paths meet on the potting bench to grow on. Select a stage to look inside, in the words you will see on each plant.

Green seedling plants growing in a black plastic nursery tray filled with bark mulch.

Stage one

Germinating seeds

The very beginning. Seed saved from our own stock plants is cleaned, sown, and coaxed out of dormancy, often the slowest and most patient step of the whole process.

Seed from: Our own stock plants, hand-collected and cleaned as the fruit and pods ripen through the season.
Breaking dormancy: Many Southeastern natives will not stir until they have felt a winter, so a good number are sown in fall to chill outdoors, or given a cold, moist spell in storage that stands in for it; hard-coated seed is nicked or scarified first.
How we sow: Cleaned seed goes into flats of a light, free-draining mix, barely covered, then kept evenly moist and out of harsh sun.
We watch for: Clean flats, steady moisture, and the first pale hook of a seedling breaking the surface.

Close-up of a plant with green and brown stems growing in a black plastic planter filled with soil and small white perlite pieces.

Stage two

Rooting cuttings

Cuttings taken from healthy stock plants grow their first roots in the warm, close air of the prop house, the slow and hopeful middle of the work.

Taken as: Softwood cuttings from tender new growth in late spring and early summer, semi-hardwood as that growth firms through the season.
How we set them: Each cutting is trimmed, the lower leaves stripped, the cut end dipped in rooting hormone, and set into a light, gritty mix that drains fast and holds a little air.
Under mist: Warm benches under intermittent mist, with gentle bottom heat below; the fine mist lets a leafy cutting hold on to the foliage and pour that energy into new roots, back before there are roots to drink with.
We watch for: A gentle tug that meets resistance, the first white roots taking hold, and fresh growth at the tip; from a few weeks to several months, the slow woody kinds taking their time.

Rows of small green plant saplings in black plastic nursery pots with white labels, arranged in a greenhouse or garden center.

Stage three

Growing out in pots

Well rooted at last, each young plant is potted on into a container of their own and grown on, building the size and strength to make the trip to your garden.

Potting on: Once the roots hold the mix together, each plant moves into a deeper pot with a richer, longer-feeding blend.
Hardening off: Plants leave the close, misted air for cooler and brighter benches, then are eased out into real sun and weather.
Growing on: Steady feeding and a step up to larger pots as the roots fill in, sometimes over a season, sometimes over a few years for the slow woody kinds.
Ready when: At a strong, garden-ready size a plant graduates from the Prop House to the shop, and everyone on the waiting list for that plant hears from us first.

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01 Coming soon

Browse by season

02 Fresh cuttings

Just entering propagation

The newest arrivals in the prop house, only just beginning their journey.

Do not want to watch the record? We will tell you the moment anything is ready.

03 The living record

Every plant in propagation 262 entries

The full record of what we are growing on right now, listed by their place in our propagation register. The earliest entries sit at the top, usually the plants closest to leaving the Prop House. Follow any entry to be told the moment that plant is ready.

View all 262 entries →

04 Stay close

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Tell us where to reach you, and we will send word whenever new plants are released from the Prop House.

05 Questions

Good to know

Timing: Each entry shows the season we expect. Growing is not an exact science, so a season may shift, but we keep the dates as honest as we can and update them as plants progress.
Notifications: Ask to be notified on any plant in the record, or sign up here for all new releases. When a plant reaches a saleable size, everyone waiting on that plant hears from us first.
Availability: Plants in the record are still growing on and are not yet for sale. The moment a plant is ready, that page becomes an ordinary product page and your notification goes out.
Ready now: Browse plants available today →

Aerial drone view of Woodlanders nursery.

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The Prop House

How a plant grows here

Germinating seeds

Rooting cuttings

Growing out in pots

Browse by season

Just entering propagation

Sabal tamaulipensis

Araucaria angustifolia

Asimina obovata

Baptisia alba

Every plant in propagation 262 entries

Be the first to know

Good to know

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