Asexual propagation, also known as vegetative propagation, is a type of plant reproduction that does not involve the fusion of gametes or change in the number of chromosomes. Instead, it involves taking a part of one parent plant and causing it to regenerate into a new plant or, in some cases, several plants. The resulting new plant is genetically identical to its parent. Asexual propagation can be done in a variety of ways, including:

• Cuttings: Cutting a portion of a leaf, stem, or root off the parent plant then replanting and therefore the plant begins to grow. This is the most common and widely used form of vegetative propagation.

• Grafting: Propagation by combining a scion of one plant and connecting it to the stock of another. This form of propagation is primarily used with woody plants.

• Layering: Propagation by means of allowing the plants stolons or runners to root themselves and grow into their own plants. Common plants that display this type of propagation are the vines and spider plants.

• Division: Separating a clump of plants into smaller sections, each of which can grow into a new plant.

• Budding: The process of taking the bud of one plant and grafting it onto another.

The advantages of asexual propagation include that it may be easier and faster in some species, it may be the only way to perpetuate some cultivars, and it bypasses the juvenile characteristics of certain species. Asexual propagation is also the best way to maintain some species, particularly an individual that best represents that species. Clones are groups of plants that are identical to their one parent and that can only be propagated asexually.