Editing Plant propagation (section)

{{Short description|Process of growing new plants}}
[[File:Gentiana punctata seedlings (13900812284).jpg|thumb|right|[[Gentiana|Gentian]] seedlings in a plant nursery]]
'''Plant propagation''' is the process by which new plants grow from various sources, including [[seed]]s, [[Cutting (plant)|cuttings]], and other plant parts. Plant propagation can refer to both man-made and natural processes.

Propagation typically occurs as a step in the overall cycle of plant growth. For seeds, it happens after ripening and [[Seed dispersal|dispersal]]; for vegetative parts, it happens after detachment or pruning; for asexually-reproducing plants, such as strawberry, it happens as the new plant develops from existing parts.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vegetative plant propagation|url=https://www.sciencelearn.org.nz/resources/1662-vegetative-plant-propagation|access-date=2021-06-15|website=Science Learning Hub|language=en}}</ref>

Countless plants are propagated each day in [[horticulture]] and [[agriculture]].

Plant propagation is vital to agriculture and horticulture, not just for human food production but also for forest and fibre crops,  as well as traditional and herbal medicine. It is also important for plant breeding.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Wenle |last2=Xu |first2=Jinfan |last3=Fang |first3=Huiyong |last4=Li |first4=Zhijun |last5=Li |first5=Minhui |date=2020-09-01 |title=Advances and challenges in medicinal plant breeding |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0168945220301795 |journal=Plant Science |volume=298 |pages=110573 |doi=10.1016/j.plantsci.2020.110573 |pmid=32771174 |issn=0168-9452|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last=Bradshaw |first=John E. |date=2017 |title=Plant breeding: past, present and future |url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10681-016-1815-y |journal=Euphytica |language=en |volume=213 |issue=3 |doi=10.1007/s10681-016-1815-y |issn=0014-2336|url-access=subscription }}</ref>