As a true high-altitude beauty, gentians are right at home on rocky slopes, wild meadows, or along the sunny edges of forests. In the wild, they develop seed pods after blooming, letting the wind do the heavy lifting of spreading them around. However, if you’re growing gentians in your own garden, you might not want them deciding on their own where to plant their next generation!
Propagating Gentians
If you’re looking to expand your collection, there are a few different ways for home gardeners to propagate gentians:
- Natural self-seeding
- Controlled sowing (starting from seed yourself)
- Dividing established perennials
- Taking cuttings
Growing from Seed
The downside to letting your plants self-seed is that you’ll eventually find gentians popping up in spots where they might not belong. Controlled sowing is usually the better way to go. You can use store-bought seeds or harvest them from your own plants. The best trick is to sow them immediately in the fall. Gentians are “cold germinators,” meaning they actually need a period of freezing temperatures to wake up and sprout. Planting them before winter lets nature take care of this requirement for you.
If you’d rather wait until spring to sow, you’ll need to “stratify” your seeds. This is just a fancy gardening term for giving them an artificial winter. Simply pop the seeds in the refrigerator for about four weeks. When you’re ready to plant, cover them with just a thin layer of soil and keep them lightly moist. Once the seedlings are big enough to handle, you can thin them out. After they’ve grown into sturdy little plants, they’re ready to move to their permanent home in your garden.
Propagation by Division
This method is perfect for older perennials that have a well-established root system. Carefully lift the gentian out of the ground—a garden fork works best to avoid damaging the roots—and divide the clump. While you can use a spade, it’s actually gentler on the plant to pull it apart by hand. Just make sure both sections have plenty of leaves and a healthy share of the roots. Once divided, you can replant both sections in a suitable spot.
Taking Cuttings
Once the blooming season is over, you can try your hand at taking cuttings. Cut a shoot about 4 inches long from the mother plant. To give it a head start, you can dip the end in some rooting hormone. Plant the cutting in well-draining, nutrient-rich soil and keep it consistently moist. Pro tip: always take more cuttings than you think you’ll need, as not every single one will successfully take root.
