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Physalis is a large plant family from the nightshade family. This family includes the Andean berry with its bright orange-red, slightly sour-tasting fruits, as well as the poisonous Chinese lantern flower. The plants are very pretty to look at and real beginner plants - they are easy to grow and just as easy to propagate.
Propagate physalis by seeds
Physalis seeds are available in every garden center and of course also on the internet. However, it is not necessary to buy new seeds every year. Instead, you can get seeds yourself from fruits you have harvested yourself or bought. All you have to do is cut open a berry and scrape off the pulp with a knife on a kitchen towel. You should spread it out as thinly as possible - like butter on bread - and then let it dry. You can sow the seeds collected after a few days immediately or keep them in a bag until next spring.
Propagate physalis from cuttings
It is even easier to propagate Physalis by cuttings. The prerequisite for this, however, is that you already have an old plant. From this, in autumn or spring, take a few shoots that grow out of the leaf axils. They should be about 10 centimeters long. The optimal time for propagating cuttings is at the beginning of the vegetation period in spring, as the young plants then develop roots more easily.
cultivate cuttings
Then proceed as follows:
- Fill a pot (about 10 to 12 centimeters in diameter) with potting soil.
- Remove the lower leaves of the cutting.
- Plant the shoot about a third deep in the ground.
- You can also dip the bottom end in root powder first.
- Put the pot in a warm and bright place.
- Keep the cutting evenly moist.
- Fertilizing is not necessary as long as the young plant has no roots.
As soon as the first roots have developed (you can tell by the new leaf buds forming), you can place the plantlet and pot outdoors or plant it out. Potted plants should, however, be replanted in a larger pot.
tips and tricks
Beware of plant seeds or cuttings from the neighbor's old plants: such plants are usually passed on again and again and it is rarely known what type of Physalis it is. Although the fruits all look quite similar, not all of them are edible. For example, the pretty lantern flower is poisonous, but can easily be confused with the edible and very healthy Andean berries.
IJA