Put your wallet away. You can multiply many plants simply and easily with stem cuttings.

I did this recently with sedum and catmint and had great success. Try it. It's not only economical -- it's fun.

Take cuttings early in the morning or in the evening, when the sun isn't at its strongest. Cloudy days work, too.

To increase your success rate, propagate early in the growing season:

Choose a stem

1. Choose a fresh-looking stem that has not flowered. Cutting diagonally with sharp pruners, remove a three-inch piece from the tip of new growth, just below a leaf.

2. Remove leaves from the bottom half of the cutting.

3. To increase your success rate, dip the cut end of the stem into rooting-hormone powder and plant it in a small pot filled with equal parts of sand or perlite and peat or ground sphagnum moss for a few weeks, until roots begin to grow. Keep the pot in a shady area. You'll know the time is right when a gentle tug on the stem is met with resistance.

4. Plant right into the garden or a container -- 1 1/2 to 2 inches deep -- and water regularly.

Some perennials that can be propagated by stem cuttings:

* Alyssum

* Artemisia

* Aster

* Bee balm (Monarda)

* Bellflower (Campanula)

* Blanketflower (Gaillardia)

* Catmint (Nepeta)

* Chrysanthemums

* Clematis

* Coral bells (Heuchera)

* Coreopsis

* Dusty miller (Senecio)

* Lavender

* Montauk daisy (Nipponanthemum)

* Penstemon

* Phlox

* Sedum

* Shasta daisy (Leucanthemum)

* Yarrow (Achillea)

Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service