How to Propagate Pachysandra

Shade-loving spurges or pachysandras (Pachysandra spp.) are classic ground cover plants for woodland or border gardens and areas beneath trees. Each plant grows 6 to 12 inches tall and 1 to 1 1/2 feet wide. New plants sprout from the rhizomatous roots. Propagate new plants by dividing them or rooting cuttings of a pachysandra growing in your garden.

Japanese spurge or pachysandra (Pachysandra terminalis), the most commonly grown species, grows in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 4 through 8. Alleghany spurge (Pachysandra procumbens) grows in USDA zones 4 to 10. Japanese spurge is considered an invasive species in some areas of the northeastern U.S. Alleghany spurge, a species native to the U.S., is on the endangered species list for Florida and Indiana. Both species can be divided in the spring every four years or propagated from cuttings taken in early summer. The new plants can be planted in full or partial shade.

Japanese spurge plants sold at garden centers and nurseries are almost always male. They will not produce seeds.

Compost or well-rotted manure

Garden spade

Hand pruners

Household disinfectant

Hand trowel

Remove weeds and work a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost, aged cow manure or leaf mold into the top 8 to 10 inches of garden soil at the new planting site. Water the pachysandra two days before dividing.

Push a garden spade straight down into the soil 6 inches from the stems all the way around the section of pachysandra then lift it up out of the soil with the tip of the spade.

Replant the lifted section right away or divide it further into smaller sections.

Shake or hose the soil off the roots. Cut connecting roots with sterilized hand pruners. Sterilize them by soaking them in household disinfectant for five minutes then rinsing the disinfectant off. Each section must have a few stems with leaves and a healthy root system.

Water the area to keep the soil uniformly moist soil for the new pachysandras for a month or two after transplanting while they get established.

When planting beneath trees, do not try to add organic matter to the soil. Dig planting holes between the roots with a hand trowel.

Flower pots or flat

Sterile soilless potting mix

Pencil

Paper towels

Bucket

Hand pruners

Rooting hormone

Small container

Clear plastic bag

Straws or craft sticks

Spray bottle

Potting soil

Water the pachysandra the day before taking the cuttings.

Pour sterile soilless potting mix into a flower pot or flat to moisten it. Use only a pot or flat that has drainage holes. Use a pencil to make planting holes 1 inch deep and 3 to 4 inches apart.

Take the cuttings in the morning. Put moist paper towels in the bottom of a bucket and take it into the garden to put the cuttings in. Use sterilized pruners to cut 3- to 4-inch lengths of stem. Cut right below a leaf or growth node. Cover the cuttings with the moist paper towels right away.

Pour some rooting hormone into a small container. Clip the leaves off the lower 2 inches of stem. Dip the bottom of the stem in rooting hormone then stick the stem into a planting hole. Firm the rooting media around the base of the stem. Trim the outer half of the remaining leaves off.

Throw away any leftover rooting hormone. Putting it back into the container may contaminate it.

Put the entire container or flat into a clear plastic bag and seal the bag. Use 6-inch craft sticks or straws inserted into the soil along the edge of the container to hold the plastic bag off the tops of the cuttings.

Place the cuttings in bright, indirect light and maintain temperatures between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. Mist the cuttings every other day with room-temperature water and moisten the rooting media if it begins to dry.

Grasp the base of each cutting between your finger and thumb and tug gently after a few weeks to check for roots. If roots have formed, you will feel resistance. If they have not formed the cutting will come right up out of the media. Replant any cuttings that have not formed roots. Leave them in the plastic bag but leave the bag open to reduce humidity after they form roots.

Plant the cuttings in small pots with holes in the bottom a week or two after they develop roots. Use houseplant potting soil. Set them in indirect light and water them when the top of the potting soil begins to dry.

Harden off the cuttings in late summer or early fall by placing them outdoors in a shady area for an hour or two each day. Increase the amount of time they are left outdoors by an hour each day. Allow the top 1 inch of potting soil to dry out before watering.

Plant the new pachysandra plants in the garden a week or two after beginning the hardening-off process. Keep the soil uniformly moist for the remainder of fall while they get established.