Botany Quiz: What is an adventitous root?

I had found out about this from a friend. She was telling me about a plant of hers that had suddenly began growing roots from a stem. She put a pot under it and after it had developed a good system she cut the stem off and had a second plant. I just don't remember what the plant was. But I remember she said she'd never seen it before or since.

Most plants that have adventitious roots are very easy to propagate. It is also quite frustrating when you're trying to get rid of something too. Even the smallest shred of a stem can grow into a full-grown plant in a short time.

Adventitious (with another i) roots also grow from the buried stems of tomato plants - a practice which gives much stronger plants. There are many plants that form adventitious roots, not just vines.

Do we ever find out who/which is right?

The answer is right at the bottom of the poll results.

Is it ONLY vines??? Back in Botany 101 - in the dark ages - we learned it was from an unexpected place ........I am trying to think of what non-vine plant does this. Brain is dead, right now

yes, plants other than vines can do this as well, but nothing comes to mind at the moment for an example.

Hmm... Maybe I'm invisible. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/p.php?pid=7700368

LOL, we got that cj, but why is it considered a new plant? It is still connected and coming up away from the stem. I suppose if you dug down and cut that stem then you would get another plant. Is that what it means?

Little dense here.

I don't understand what you mean by a new plant....

I clicked the wrong one and thought I'd clicked the right one which I didn't cause I can't control were the cursor will stay cause I'm impatient. That's my story and I' sticking to it.

CJ - you have it right - and I wouldn't debate the new plant thing. Apologies for making you feel invisible - I was begging the last posting by the DG Admin person and didn't acknowledge your answer which fit right into my Bot 101 learnings. Leaves of Christmas Cactus or Jade plant will grow adventitious roots if they fall from plant and land w/ favorable orientation in the soil. Obviously a new plant emerges from that. A forsythia twig that touches the ground will grow new roots.....I had one root in the roof gutters which obviously needed cleaning.....arrrgggghhh. Now I admit to mechanically separating it into two plants. Formation of adventitious roots in vine plants doesn't guarantee a new separate plant, either. In any event - I guess I would agree that being adventitious is more common in vine plants, but certainly not limited to them.



This message was edited Apr 13, 2010 8:03 PM

How about rhododendron? A number of shrubs too - deutzia for example.

Tam

cj, "another" plant would have been a better word. Maybe a "sprout" rather than a plant would have been a better term.

I would not think it would be another plant until it is cut off, disconnected, from the first plant.

Many plants do this. Even my overgrown forsythia will send down roots from any branch that touches the ground. As a matter of fact, any plant that you can propagate from air layering is adventitious.

yes, and plants you can propogate by layering, pinning a stem down - honeysuckles etc. My penstemons do it as well and can naturally cover a large area with new plants by rooting along any stems that touch the ground. Great plants for donating to charity plant sales :)

I had to google it to find out.

I think I had something like that happen with a shasta daisy plant one year. I sorta forgot to get the plant support ring around it and it sprawled. Some of the stems ended up laying perpendicular to the soil and wherever there was half decent contact w/ the soil near the leaf nodes the stems started rooting.

I ended up with several cuttings once I laid a stem over some small pots of potting mix at a few leaf nodes and let them root in well. Shared w/ a few friends.

My mother-in-law gave me some mint a while back. I can't get rid of it! Does it have an adventitious root system? Any help would be appreciated...:)

Almost all mints (and a lot of their relatives) are notoriously fast and furious spreaders. Not sure about the rooting system but it's best to contain them (some people sink containers in the ground or only use them in containers) or give them a place to run wild.
I'm not an expert, but we did have a tiny plant grow into a 6 x 6 ft patch of mint in our backyard. It was in a spot where the soil was eh and we couldn't get anything to grow there so we let it go and just fought it back when necessary. Smelled great whenever dad would mow it down--it recovered very quickly so we always had mint for tea and stuff.

Hello All,
Would those plants that air-layer such as Ficus and Dieffenbachia be considered so?
And would I count, seeing as how Gardens seem to take root wherever I plant myself for any length of time? ;o}