onionrhizomewhitepotato garlicstrawberryrunnerYou willobserve: Stems, leaves and roots will grow from the"eyes"of
the whitepotatopieces. Stems and leaves will grow from the top of the sweet
potatoandrootletsfrom thebottom. Lovely green stems and feathery leaves
willsproutfrom the top of thecarrotslice. Long green leaves will growout
ofthe top of theonion,white roots from thebottom. Fromthe top of each
garlic clove, long green leaves will grow and from thebottomofeach, white
roots. The same typeofgrowthwill occur in the narcissus as in the onion.
Afterabouta week, roots will begin to grow from the cut end of the ivy
(philodendronor geranium)thatis under water.
You can often grow an entirely newplantfrom a partof aplantother
thanits seed. Professionalgardeners prefer thismethodbecause it is faster
thanraising plants from seeds, which are slow to germinate. Inaddition,you
can be more sure what will grow from a partof a known plantthanfrom
commercially packaged seeds. A newplantgrowing from apartofa plant
otherthanthe seed will bealmostidentical to theparent. Plants grown from
seeds may have unforeseen combinationsoftraits or even veryundesirable
features.
A whitepotatois actually a thickundergroundstem. The eyes in the
potatoare stem and leaf buds. Each piece ofpotatocontainingan eye has
enoughstoredfood tonourishthe buds until green leaves grow from them.
Thenthe green leavesmanufacture food for the new plantby the process
ofphotosynthesis.