The non-toxic Wollziest is very well protected from drying out in summer with its finely hairy, woolly soft leaves. The plant can therefore also be propagated well in exposed locations with rather dry and poor soil.
Wollziest can be propagated by cuttings, for example
Propagation by division
Since the Wollziest spreads out on its own in a suitable location anyway, it is possible to obtain offshoots by cutting off rooted leaf rosettes. In principle, these can be transplanted in spring and autumn, but the division usually works better in spring just before the fresh shoots. Since some bred varieties of the Wollziest, such as the "Silver Carpet" variety, hardly ever flower, propagation by division is naturally more important than breeding from seeds. When replanting the offshoots obtained, as in general when planting Wollziest, care must be taken to ensure that locations at risk of waterlogging are first “dried out” with a little sand or a loose substrate layer made of compost.
Cultivation from seeds
The seeds of the hardy Wollziest can be sown in trays or directly in the field from April. During the germination phase, the seeds should:
- never completely dry out
- not be exposed to direct sunlight for more than 2 or 3 hours a day
- not be covered too deeply with soil
During the germination phase, the growing substrate with the seeds, which are only a few millimeters deep covered with soil, should be kept evenly moist. The young plants, like older specimens, can also tolerate a bit of drought. After a few weeks, these should be separated to a distance of about 25 to 30 centimeters between the plants. Many garden owners remove the inflorescences of the woolly ziest with a general pruning immediately after flowering. However, if you hope that the plants will self-seed in the garden bed, you will have to let the seed pods mature for a correspondingly long time and accept visual losses.
Allow cuttings to root
The Wollziest forms relatively easily rooted offshoots when its longer shoots touch the surrounding garden soil. You can take advantage of this by weighing down individual shoots with a branch or a similar weight and thus stimulating the Wollziest to form so-called sinkers. However, it is also relatively easier to grow offshoots from cuttings of the Wollziest. To do this, shoots about 10 to 15 centimeters long are simply cut off and placed in an evenly moist seed tray in the shade. The cuttings usually root within a few weeks in spring and autumn.
tips
Spring is the best time for comprehensive care of the woolly ziest: use the time before new sprouting to cut off wilted leaves, gain offshoots by dividing them and transplant seedlings that have sprouted on their own.