<\/p>\n
Here\u2019s how:<\/p>\n
Place dry seeds in a plastic ziptop bag, with all the air squeezed out. Some gardeners add sphagnum peat moss, which raises the risk of rotting and is best avoided.<\/p>\n
Place the bag in the refrigerator\u2019s main compartment for three months.<\/p>\n
After chilling, bring the bag to room temperature before opening it.<\/p>\n
Scarify the seeds lightly with a nail file, then soak them overnight in tepid water.<\/p>\n
The next day, dry them on a paper towel and sow one or two seeds about half an inch deep in three-inch pots filled with potting medium.<\/p>\n
Place the containers in full sun.<\/p>\n
Keep the soil moist but not soggy during germination.<\/p>\n
When the seedlings sprout their first true leaves, thin them to one per pot.<\/p>\n
After the last frost date for your region, transplant outdoors as discussed below.<\/p>\n
As mentioned, suckers grow up beside the shrubs in early spring. You can dig these up and plant elsewhere.<\/p>\n
Use a long-handled shovel to dig around and six to eight inches below a clump of suckers.<\/p>\n
Lift the entire clump of earth. Transplant the suckers as desired.<\/p>\n
Carolina allspice roots easily from softwood cuttings, the tender new growth.<\/p>\n
To do this, select a fresh, leafy stem and cut a section six inches from the tip, making your cut at a 45-degree angle.<\/p>\n
Fill a six-inch container three-quarters full of potting medium.<\/p>\n
Pinch off all of the leaves except a few at the tip.<\/p>\n
Dip the cut end in rooting hormone powder.<\/p>\n
Use a pencil or chopstick to make a three-inch hole in the center of the medium.<\/p>\n
Push the cut stem gently into the hole and tamp the soil around it.<\/p>\n
Water well, place in full sun, and keep the medium evenly moist.<\/p>\n
New foliage indicates successful rooting, at which point you can transplant outdoors.<\/p>\n
Ground layering is the easiest way to start a new shrub.<\/p>\n
In the spring, select a flexible, low, woody branch that bends readily to the ground.<\/p>\n
About six inches from the leafy tip, girdle the bark in a two-inch strip about six inches from the tip, just deep enough to penetrate the outer bark layer.<\/p>\n
Press the barkless section to the ground. Note where it touches and make a shallow depression in the soil and cover it with a mound of soil four to six inches deep.<\/p>\n
Place a rock or brick on top of the mound.<\/p>\n
By the following spring, roots should form at the wound. Cut the new plant free from the parent and transplant.<\/p>\n
Whether you\u2019ve grown a plant from seed, divided a sucker, rooted a cutting, or layered a branch, the transplanting process is the same.<\/p>\n
Prepare a planting hole twice as wide and twice as deep as the root mass. Work the soil until it is friable and free of debris.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n