Plants that grow from leaves, stems and roots. (1960)

[Music] we know that most plants we grow in our gardens are green plants and that they can grow from seeds this is a radish plant and seeds are growing in these pods by means of seeds this radish plant can reproduce itself but seeds are not the only means of reproduction for green plants the leaves stems and roots of some plants can also be used for a special kind of reproduction called vegetative reproduction let's begin with leaves and see how in some plants the leaves can be used for vegetative reproduction let's cut one leaf from this begonia plant we will see how this leaf can grow into a new plant the leaf is placed on soil and cut to help it absorb water and minerals about three weeks later we can find small roots growing down from the leaf sooner stem will begin growing up and in a few more weeks new leaves are on the stem in about six months the young plant grows into a full begonia plant it would have taken about twice as long if we had grown the plant from a seed instead of a leaf in vegetative reproduction stems of some plants can also be used to produce new plants new geraniums can be grown from geranium stems let's cut a stem from this geranium first we break off a few of the bottom leaves then the stem is placed in water and kept in sunlight in a few weeks tiny roots have grown at the bottom of the stem then it is time to transplant the young geranium so it can become full grown since the new plant is growing from a part of another plant the characteristics of the two are the same if the plant had grown from a seed of the other plant it might have had different characteristics because a seed has two parents this climbing rose plant grows many stems which we call runners runners are another kind of stem that can grow into a new plant roots grow from the tip of the runner into the soil then new stems and leaves grow from the runner as it becomes a new rose plant while most of a plant stem is above the ground part of the stem is underground some new plants can be grown from the underground parts of stems we know the tulips grow from bulbs if we dig up a tulip we can find the bulb from which the tulip grew growing from this bulb are smaller bulbs each of which can grow into a new tulip a bulb is really a special kind of underground stem let's look inside this bulb here are tightly packed layers of leaves containing stored food the leaves surround the bud the tiny beginning of the new plant we can see how a bulb becomes a new tulip plant by means of time-lapse photography which shows in a few seconds the growth of many days the tulip grows at first using food that is stored around the bud as leaves develop it can manufacture its own food tulips have a better chance of surviving when they are grown from bulbs instead of from seeds the vegetable we call the onion is really the bulb of the onion plant the onion bulb like the tulip bulb has layers of tightly packed leaves that contain stored food this food will nourish the tiny buds inside the bulb a gladiolus can grow from another kind of underground stem that is similar to a bulb this gladiolus grew from a corm each of the small corms growing from the large one can grow into a new gladiolus a corm is harder than a bulb inside it there are no rings of tightly packed leaves around the bud a corm is really a thickened part of a stem let's plant a gladiolus corm in a few weeks we can see roots stem and leaves that have begun growing from the corm a few months later the gladiolus plant is full grown this iris plant has grown from still another kind of underground stem this stem that the iris has grown from is called a rhizome smaller rhizomes that are growing from it contain buds that will grow into new iris plants in time lapse photography we can watch this iris rhizome grow into a new plant using food stored in the rhizome roots leaves and stems grow beautiful flowers bloom about a month later when the iris plant is full grown here is a potato plant the part we use grows underground these potatoes are not roots but really thick parts of underground stems we call these thickened stems tubers the little lumps on potatoes that we call eyes are really buds the buds contain tiny leaves and stems that can grow into a new plant from food stored inside the potato if the potato is cut into pieces each containing at least one of these buds and the pieces are planted each bud can grow into a new potato plant in only a few weeks the buds have grown new leaves stems and roots and can begin making their own food for vegetative reproduction the roots of some plants can also be used this is the sweet potato plant its roots have been dug out so we can see them now we can also see the sweet potatoes that grow on this plant unlike the potatoes we saw before that are underground stems sweet potatoes are part of the roots of the sweet potato plant as you can see a root does not have buds we can grow new plants from this root by placing it in water and keeping it in a warm dark place in a few weeks new plants with leaves stems and roots have grown from the food stored in each sweet potato these plants can be broken away from the sweet potatoes and placed in soil in the spring by the end of the summer they are full grown sweet potato plants plants that have been grown from roots we have seen how plants are grown from leaves stems and roots in soil and water but vegetative reproduction can take place in another way from an apple tree that bears good fruit we can cut twigs on which there are tiny buds then these twigs are fastened into a thick branch or trunk of a strong healthy young apple tree we call this process grafting after a few months the sweet apple twigs have grown into new branches these branches when fully grown bear sweet apples like the tree from which the twigs were taken many kinds of fruit are grown by grafting other plants can also be grown in a similar way buds can be cut from a rose bush that grows beautiful flowers but which has weak stems these buds are grafted to another rose bush that has a stronger stem this is sometimes called bud grafting or budding by budding we can grow large beautiful blossoms on sturdy stems we have seen many examples of vegetative reproduction a way of reproducing plants using leaves stems and roots plants grown by vegetative reproduction become full grown faster than those grown from seeds plants grown from leaves stems or roots also have a better chance of surviving and the new plants have the same characteristics as the plants from which they were taken so desirable traits can be carried on these are the main reasons why gardeners and farmers often grow plants by means of vegetative reproduction