Everyone at some point, whether motivated by curiosity or a school assignment, has sprouted a seed, even beans. It is an amazing thing to see how from something so small a plant can grow and develop into an adult plant capable of producing fruit, flowers and seeds.

But not all plants follow this cycle to reproduce, because depending on their species they have other means at their disposal. Believe it or not, not all plants produce seeds.

Flowers and bees: How plants reproduce

Plants are complex living beings, with a great variety of particular characteristics depending on their species and forms of reproduction, but for practical purposes we will summarise in two: sexual and asexual.

• Sexual reproduction involves male and female plants. Pollen from the stamens of male plants is transported by various means (on the legs of bees, in the wind, or with the help of insects or birds) to the interior of flowers, which are female reproductive organs, where seeds are produced. Depending on the plant species, these seeds can form in weeks, months or years. There are some that form inside fruits, as is the case with avocado, peaches and apples, for example.
• Asexual or vegetative reproduction does not require pollination. The new plant is formed by cell mitosis and the new plants are exact copies of their parent. It is typical of non-vascular plants and can occur by spores, bulbs or by human action, which takes portions of this plant and makes vegetative multiplication.
  

A classic example of plants with asexual reproduction are ferns. If you take a frond of a Boston fern you will see little brown dots that look like seeds, but are actually the plant's spores, which do not require pollination to become new plants.

We ship plants to all locations, you can see more options here.

Boston fern

€29.00

Regulates the humidity level

Buy

Blue Star Fern

€35.00

A climbing fern

Buy

We ship plants to all locations, you can see more options here

Continue shopping

is it possible to reproduce a seedless plant?

Almost all houseplants can reproduce without seed, even if they have the ability to do so. For example, Sansevieria in its natural habitat produces white, pink or red flowers and even fruits. Indoors it is difficult for them to develop flowers (and takes some time) so it is more common to propagate them using leaf cuttings. This applies to most succulents.

Cuttings are another shortcut to propagate your plants without having to wait for seeds to sprout. It is much easier and quicker to make a cutting from a healthy plant develop roots and become a new plant. As long as they have the right substrate, watering and lighting conditions you can create new plants from cuttings taken from your other plants. If you have a poto or pilea, you can try a small cutting. These plants reproduce without much drama and you can give baby plants to your friends as gifts, in fact it is considered good luck and attracts prosperity.

We ship plants to all locations, you can see more options here.

Pachira

€54.00

Purifying and resistant

Buy

White Bamboo Orchid

€37.00

A very tropical orchid

Buy

We ship plants to all locations, you can see more options here

Continue shopping