Today we’ll take another look at layering, this time with the pepino melon (Solanum muricatum).
Looking at the pepino melon (or as I call it, sweet cucumber. Also known as “pepino dulce” or “tree melon”), you can see a very obvious fruit. And inside the fruit there is obvious and plentiful seed. So our first option is to propagate the pepino melon via seed. The drawback of seed is that it is a very slow method of propagation. If we keep running through our Intuitive Plant Dialogue, we see that it is an unlikely candidate for taking cuttings and for plant division, but that wherever it falls over it tends to make new roots. So we’ll grab a bit of the plant and head over to our Plant Propagation Station.
In this example, you can see that roots have formed at every node. We’ll do layering of 3 nodes. You’ll have noticed by now that layerings are very similar to cuttings; I like to say that plants that layer can take cuttings. Even where no roots have formed, you can take a cutting and it will likely stick. The same is not necessarily true in reverse; cuttings are not a sign that layering will work as a method of propagation with a given plant. I recommend that you start the pepino melon layerings at your Propagation Station either in your box or in nursery bags. It does not matter which end points up, though most layerings do prefer to be planted somewhat horizontally.
I hope this helps to make your garden more fruitful. Happy propagating!
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