The Secret of Rooting Cuttings
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Article by: Michael McGroarty The secret of rooting cuttings can be summed up in two words. "Timing and technique". When you do your cuttings is every bit as important as how you do them. So if you do the right thing, at the right time of the year, your efforts are sure to bring success. Through this article you will learn both. "Rooting Hardwood Cuttings of Deciduous Plants" Hardwood cuttings are much more durable than softwood cuttings which is why hardwoods are the best technique for the home , How to Grow Apples gardener. A deciduous plant , Ellepots/Paper Pots is a plant , The Garden Statue - -Stone, Metal, Or Gnome? that loses its leaves during the winter. , Xeriscaping is Waterwise Gardening All plants , Daylily Just Plum Happy go dormant during the winter, , A Beautiful Rose Is Nature's Gift but evergreens keep their foliage. Many people don't consider Rhododendrons, Azaleas, and Mountain Laurel evergreens, but they are. They are known as broad leaf evergreens. Any plant , A Beautiful Rose Is Nature's Gift that completely loses its leaves is a deciduous plant. , Xeriscaping is Waterwise Gardening There are three different techniques for rooting cuttings of deciduous plants. , The Garden Statue - -Stone, Metal, Or Gnome? Two methods for hardwood cuttings, and one for softwood cuttings. In this article we are only going to discuss rooting cuttings using the hardwood methods. If you are interested in softwood cuttings, you'll find a very informative article at http://www.freeplants.com Of the two hardwood techniques is one better than the other? It depends on exactly what you are rooting, what the soil , Watering Your Garden - How to Make Each Drop Count conditions are at your house, , The Most Popular Flower Fragrances and what Mother Nature , Decorative Outdoor Lighting has up her sleeve for the coming winter. , The Secret to Pruning Apple Trees I have experienced both success and failure using each method. Only experimentation will determine what works best for you. Try some cuttings using each method. When doing hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants, , The Secret to Pruning Apple Trees you should wait until the parent plants , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw are completely dormant. This does not happen until you've experienced a good hard freeze where the temperature , Ideas For Your Front Yard Landscaping Project dips down below 32 degrees F. for a period of several hours. Here in northeastern Ohio this usually occurs around mid November. Unlike softwood cuttings of deciduous plants, , Ellepots/Paper Pots where you only take tip , How to Prune Lilac Shrubs cuttings from the ends of the branches, that rule does not apply to hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants. , When to Vegetaibles For instance, a plant , How to Naturally Dry Hydrangeas such as Forsythia can grow , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! as much as four feet in one season. , Tidy Your Garden Up Cheaply In that case, you can use all of the current years growth to make hardwood cuttings. You might be able to get six or eight cuttings from one branch. Grapes are extremely vigorous. A grape vine can grow , The Omega Garden, The Ideal Commercial Hydroponic System or For The Indoor er up to ten feet or more in one season. , How to Prune Lilac Shrubs That entire vine can be used for hardwood cuttings. Of course with grape vines, there is considerable space between the buds, , Organic Solutions For Pest Control so the cuttings have to be much longer than most other deciduous plants. , A Rather Shady Affair The average length of a hardwood grape vine cutting is about 12" and still only has 3 or 4 buds. , How to Prune Lilac Shrubs The bud , Spring Wild Flowers spacing on most other deciduous plants , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens is much closer, so the cuttings only need to be about 6- 8" in length. Making a deciduous hardwood cutting is quite easy. Just collect some branches (known as canes) from the parent plants. , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! Clip these canes into cuttings about 6" long. Of course these canes will not have any leaves on them because the plant , Summer Vacation and Your Pond is dormant, but if you examine the canes closely you will see little bumps along the cane. These bumps are bud , Garden Hot Tubs unions. They are next year's leaf buds , Tidy Your Garden Up Cheaply or nodes, as they are often called. When making a hardwood cutting of a deciduous plant , Herbal Medicine Chest in Your Backyard it is best to make the cut at the bottom, or the butt end of the cutting just below a node, and make the cut at the top of the cutting about 3/4" above a node. This technique serves two purposes. One, it makes it easier for you to distinguish the top of the cutting from the bottom of the cutting as you handle them. It also aids the cutting in two different ways. Any time you cut a plant , Keeping Houses Alive During Summer Vacation Droughts above a node, the section of stem left above that node will die back to the top node. So if you were to leave 1/2" of stem below the bottom node, it would just die back anyway. Having that section of dead wood , Injury to Trees and Shrubs underground is not a good idea. It is only a place , The Omega Garden, The Ideal Commercial Hydroponic System or For The Indoor Grower for insects and disease , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw to hide. It is also helpful to actually injure a plant , Xeriscaping is Waterwise Gardening slightly when trying to force it to develop roots. , The Secret to Pruning Apple Trees When a plant , Gardening - Plumeria Care is injured, it develops a callous over the wound as protection. This callous build up is necessary before roots , How to Choose Between Goldfish and KOI will develop. Cutting just below a node on the bottom of a cutting causes the plant , Ideas For Your Front Yard Landscaping Project to develop callous and eventually, roots. , The Most Popular Flower Fragrances Making the cut on the top of the cutting 3/4" above the node is done so that the 3/4" section of stem above the node will provide protection for the top node. This keeps the buds , How to Choose Between Goldfish and KOI from being damaged or knocked off during handling and planting. You can press down on the cutting without harming the buds. , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! When rooting cuttings this way it helps to make the cut at the top of the cutting at an angle. This sheds water , Outdoor Storage Sheds away from the cut end of the cutting and helps to reduce the chance of disease. , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses Once you have all of your cuttings made, dip the bottom of the cutting in a rooting compound. Make sure you have the right strength rooting compound (available at most garden , Who Sells Flower Bulbs? stores) for hardwood cuttings. Line them up so the butt ends are even and tie them into bundles. Select a spot in your garden , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! that is in full sun. , Outdoor Storage Sheds Dig a hole about 12" deep and large enough to hold all of the bundles of cuttings. Place , Spring Wild Flowers the bundles of cuttings in the hole upside down. The butt ends of the cuttings should be up. The butt ends of the cuttings should be about 6" below the surface. Cover the cuttings completely with soil , Ellepots/Paper Pots and mark the location , Maintaining Water Quality in a Garden Pond with a stake, so you can find them again in the spring. , How to Grow Organic Roses I know this sounds crazy, but rooting cuttings this way does work. To increase your chances of success you can cover the butt ends of the cuttings with moist peat moss before filling in the hole. Make sure you wet the peat moss thoroughly, then just pack it on the butt ends of the cuttings. Over the winter , Beauty With Indigenous Species the cuttings will develop callous and possibly some roots. , The Omega Garden, The Ideal Commercial Hydroponic System or For The Indoor Grower Placing them in the hole upside down puts the butt ends closest to the surface, so they can be warmed by the sun, , Outdoor Storage Sheds creating favorable conditions for root , Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements development. Being upside down also discourages top growth. Leave them alone until about mid spring , Ellepots/Paper Pots after the danger of frost has passed. Over the winter , Lattice Patio Covers the buds , Lattice Patio Covers will begin to develop and will be quite tender when you dig them up. Frost could do considerable damage if you dig them and plant , Hammock Chairs - Relax in Style them out too early. That's why it is best to leave them buried until the danger of frost has passed. Dig them up very carefully, so as not to damage them. Cut open the bundles and examine the butt ends. Hopefully, you will see some callous build up. Even if there is no callous, plant , Tidy Your Garden Up Cheaply them out anyway. You don't need a bed , The Most Popular Flower Fragrances of sand , The Most Popular Flower Fragrances or anything special when you plant , How to Grow Apples the cuttings out. Just put them in a sunny location , Daylily Just Plum Happy in your garden. , Hot Tubs Of course the area you chose should be well drained, with good rich topsoil. To plant , Injury to Trees and Shrubs the cuttings, just dig a very narrow trench, or using a spade, make a slice by prying open the ground. Place , A Teak Bench: The Perfect Complement To Any Outdoor Space the cuttings in the trench with the butt ends down. Bury about one half of the cutting leaving a few buds , Teak Furniture for Your Garden: Add a Touch of Something Spectacular above ground. Back fill around the cuttings with loose soil , Lattice Patio Covers making sure there are no air , Summer Vacation and Your Pond pockets. Tamp them in lightly, then water , Maintaining Quality in a Garden Pond thoroughly to eliminate any air , Water Garden - Pond Pumps To Pump Up The Volume pockets. Water them on a regular basis, but don't make the soil , Sheds so wet that they rot. Within a few weeks the cuttings will start to leaf out. Some will more than likely collapse because there are not enough roots , Six Good Reasons For Going Organic to support the plant. , How to Prune Lilac Shrubs The others will develop roots , Daylily Just Plum Happy as they leaf out. By fall, , The Most Popular Flower Fragrances the cuttings that survived should be pretty well rooted. You can transplant them once they are dormant, or you can wait until spring. , Teak Furniture for Your Garden: Add a Touch of Something Spectacular If you wait until spring, , A Teak Bench: The Perfect Complement To Any Outdoor Space make sure you transplant them before they break dormancy. There really is no exact science when it comes to rooting cuttings, so now I am going to present you with a variation of the above method. This method still applies to hardwood cuttings of deciduous plants. , The Most Popular Flower Fragrances With this variation you do everything exactly the same as you do with the method you just learned, up to the point where you bury them for the winter. , Lattice Patio Covers With method number two you don't bury them at all. Instead, you plant , When to Vegetaibles the cuttings out as soon as you make them in the late fall, , Patio Enclosures or anytime during the winter , Maintaining Water Quality in a Garden Pond when the ground is not frozen. In other words, you just completely skip the step where you bury the cuttings underground for the winter. , Outdoor Storage Sheds Plant , A Teak Bench: The Perfect Complement To Any Outdoor Space them exactly the same way as described for method number one. As with all cuttings, treating them with a rooting compound prior to planting will help induce root , Ellepots/Paper Pots growth. Hardwood cuttings work fairly well for most of the deciduous shrubs. , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw However, they are not likely to work for some of the more refined varieties of deciduous ornamentals like Weeping Cherries or other ornamental trees. , How to Choose Between Goldfish and KOI Rooting cuttings of ornamental trees , Decorative Outdoor Lighting is possible, but only using softwood cutting techniques. Now let's discuss rooting cuttings of evergreens, using hardwood techniques. Hardwood cuttings of evergreens are usually done after you have experienced two heavy frosts in the late fall, , Organic Solutions For Pest Control around mid November or so. However, I have obtained good results with some plants , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw doing them as early as mid September, taking advantage of the warmth of the fall , Lattice Patio Covers sun. When doing them this early, they need to be watered every day. Try some cuttings early and if they do poorly, just do some more in November. Hardwood cuttings of many evergreens can be done at home , Water Garden - Pond Pumps To Pump Up The Volume in a simple frame filled with coarse sand. , How to Grow Organic Roses To make such a frame, just make a square or rectangular frame using 2" by 6" boards. Nail , Who Sells Flower Bulbs? the four corners together as if to make a large picture frame. This frame should sit on top of the ground in an area that is well drained. An area of partial shade is preferred. Once you have the frame constructed remove any weeds , FREE: How You Can Make a Hypertufa Flowerpot or grass , Xeriscaping is Waterwise Gardening inside the frame so this vegetation does not grow , Shrub Roses and Climbing Roses up through your propagation bed. , Keeping Houseplants Alive During Summer Vacation Droughts Fill this frame with a very coarse grade of sand. , Who Sells Flower Bulbs? The sand , Xeriscaping is Waterwise Gardening used in swimming pool filters usually works. Mason's sand , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw is a little too fine. If you have a sand , Summer Vacation and Your Pond and gravel , Gardening - Plumeria Plant Care yard in your area visit the site and inspect the sand , Tidy Your Garden Up Cheaply piles. Find a grade that is a little more coarse than masons sand. , Hammock Chairs - Relax in Style But keep in mind that most any sand , Daylily Just Plum Happy will work, so just pick one that you think is coarse enough. If water , Patio Canopies: Protecting Your Patio From The Elements runs through it easily, it's coarse enough. Make sure you place , Watering Your Garden - How to Make Each Drop Count your frame in an area where the water , Beauty With Indigenous Species can drain through the sand, , Six Good Reasons For Going Organic and out of the frame. In other words, don't select a soggy area for your cutting bed. , Water Garden - Pond Pumps To Pump Up The Volume Standing water , Gardening - Plumeria Plant Care is sure to seriously hamper your results. Making the evergreen cuttings is easy. Just clip a cutting 4-5 inches in length from the parent plant. , Summer Vacation and Your Pond Make tip , Planting Tomatoes in Your Garden cuttings only. (Only one cutting from each branch.) Strip the needles or leaves from the bottom one half to two thirds of the cutting. Wounding evergreen cuttings isn't usually necessary because removing the leaves or needles causes enough injury for callous build up and root , Patio Enclosures development. Dip the butt ends of the cuttings in a powder or liquid rooting compound and stick them in the sand , Teak Furniture for Your Garden: Add a Touch of Something Spectacular about 3/4" to 1" apart. Keep them watered throughout the fall , Tidy Your Garden Up Cheaply until cool temperatures , Hammock Chairs - Relax in Style set in. If you have some warm dry days over the winter, , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw make sure you water , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw your cuttings. Keep in mind that sand , How to Naturally Dry Hydrangeas in a raised bed , Patio Enclosures will dry out very quickly. Don't worry about snow. , The Omega Garden, The Ideal Commercial Hydroponic System or For The Indoor Grower Snow , A Guide for Servicing Your Chainsaw covering your cuttings is just fine, it will actually keep them moist, and protect them from harsh winter , How To Divide Bulbs For Bigger Gardens winds. Start watering again in the spring , 6 Factors that Directly Decide the Landscaping Design of a Home Garden and throughout the summer. , Garden Hot Tubs They don't need a lot of water, , How to Choose a Snow Blower for Your Garden but be careful not to let them dry out, and at the same time making sure they are not soaking wet. This method of rooting cuttings of evergreens actually works very well, but it does take some time. You should leave them in the frame for a period of twelve months. You can leave them longer if you like. Leaving them until the following spring , Weathervanes - Monitor your Wind Direction with Beauty! would be just fine. They should develop more roots , A Rather Shady Affair over the winter. , Garden Hot Tubs Rooting cuttings of the following plants , A Rather Shady Affair is very easy using this method. Variegated Euonymus varieties, Taxus, Juniper, Arborvitae, Japanese Holly, Boxwood, and English Holly. Rhododendrons and Azaleas prefer to have their bottoms warmed before they root. , Sheds You are welcome to use this article on your website or in your newsletter as long as you reprint it as is, including the contact information , Beauty With Indigenous Species at the end. Website URLs must be active links. You are welcome to use this article with an affiliate link, http://www.freeplants.com/resellers.htmMichael J. McGroarty is the author of this article. Visit his most interesting website, http://www.freeplants.com and sign up for his excellent gardening , Good Tools and Hard Work is What Creates EyeCatching and Functional Gardens newsletter. Article provided by http://gardening-articles.com |
  
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