Propagating Trees and Shrubs
Homeowners can avoid some of the expense of purchasing trees and shrubs if they invest the time to propagate their own.
Plants such as forsythia or golden bells are easy to start from hard wood cuttings during the winter or early spring. Hard wood cuttings are made from branches of deciduous plants (plants that lose their leaves in winter).
You'll need a container of potting soil, a polyethylene bag, some rooting hormone, pruning sheers or a sharp knife and the plant from which you will take cuttings.
Any good potting soil will root the cuttings. Some gardeners root house plant cuttings in water, but a lot of trees and shrubs will rot with this technique. Use a container with drainage holes to hold the potting soil. A rooting hormone usually helps. Almost any garden supply department carries the major brands.
Take a cutting about 6 inches long from the branch and dip its base in the rooting hormone. Shake off the excess hormone and push the cutting base about 2 inches into the moist soil.
Cut some slits in a polyethylene bag that's large enough to cover the cuttings. (The slits will keep the cuttings from molding.) Place the bag over the cuttings to keep them from drying. Place the container in an area where it receives light but not direct sun. Check the soil moisture every few weeks; check, also, to see if the cuttings are rooting.
Among the easy-to-root plants are willows, poplars, privet, rose, red twig dogwood, English ivy, forsythia, arborvitae and creeping juniper.
You can use seeds to start several species of trees and shrubs. Most tree and shrub seeds require a cool, moist treatment (stratification) before they will germinate.
Collect seeds and place them in a sealable sandwich bag with about a cup of moist (not soggy) sand or potting soil. Place the bag in the refrigerator for three months. This creates a false winter environment, which will allow the seed to germinate.
After removing the seed from the refrigerator, plant in a pot of moist soil and place in a sunny location. Most tree and shrub seeds take several weeks to germinate, so don't give up if you don't see little plants in a few days.
Some tree seeds don't require stratification. These include bristlecone pine, ponderosa pine, mugo pine and catalpa. When in doubt, however, stratify the seeds of trees and shrubs.
in the home and is a good way to increase your number of plants inexpensively. Plants produced from cuttings will be identical to the parent plant, though there are a few exceptions. Plants can reproduce asexually from pieces of stem, leaves and roots because the cambium layer, a tissue located just beneath the plant’s surface, forms a callus tissue once it is cut from which new roots and shoots can develop.
It is important to provide the correct environment for rooting cuttings and to keep them healthy during the process. Select propagating material that is healthy, free of disease and insect problems and of a good green color. Good techniques and proper environment cannot make up for use of poorly selected cutting material.
Adequate light must be provided as well, although cuttings and newly rooted plants must be protected from direct sunlight. Intense light levels cause excess water loss and cuttings may wilt rapidly. Remember, there are no roots on the cutting initially that can take up water.
High relative humidity of 90 to 100 percent is necessary when propagating plants. This decreases evaporative loss of water from the leaves so the cutting will not dry out. Humidity can be maintained around the cuttings by covering the container and cuttings with a plastic bag or 'tent.' Once cuttings are rooted, this covering can be removed.
Almost any container can be used for propagating plants if it provides drainage. Make sure containers are clean. Use a mixture of equal parts of perlite and sphagnum peat moss as a good rooting media that provides moisture retention, good air and water drainage and permits roots to penetrate easily. Keep the media moist, but not soggy during rooting.
Root-inducing hormones are beneficial to use. Dipping the base of the cutting in this material helps obtain uniformity in rooting and development of a heavier root system. Avoid using too much on each cutting as this may inhibit rooting. Remember, hormones are not a substitute for good propagation techniques and using healthy plant material. Root-inducing hormones are available at garden centers.
Stem Cutting:
Probably the most common method of propagating plants in the home is by stem cuttings. Pruning an old plant to acquire cuttings helps recondition the plant and causes new branches to form. Each cutting should be one to three inches long and have two or three leaves attached. Cut 1/4 inch below the node and pull off the leaf at the node. Insert the cutting in the media so this node is covered with soil.
Some common plants that can be propagated using this method include boxwood, citrus, coleus, croton, fittonia, some peperomias, prayer plant, velvet plant and zebra plant.
Cane Cutting:
Plants such as Chinese evergreen, Dieffenbachia and Dracaena that develop cane-like stems can be propagated by cane cuttings (actually a type of stem cutting that has no leaves). A stem that has lost many older leaves can be cut into one-inch long sections, each including at least two 'circular rings' (leaf scars). Between these rings are dormant buds that will grow into new plants. The piece can either be laid horizontally on the soil or set vertically so that half the piece is covered with soil. It may take some time for these pieces to root and sprout.
Leaf Cuttings:
The leaf blade, or the leaf blade and its stem, is used to propagate a few plants such as Rex begonia, African violet, Sansevieria, Jade plant and some peperomias. Roots and shoots form at the base of the leaf; the original leaf does not become a part of the new plant, but is usually discarded when the new plant is transplanted. It usually takes longer for this kind of cutting to root than stem cuttings.
Leaf-Bud Cutting:
This cutting consists of the leaf blade, the leaf stem and a short section of stem with the attached bud. This method can be used to produce many plants from a single parent plant--at least twice as many as produced from stem cuttings, though it may take more time for new growth to develop.
These cuttings are best made from material having well-developed buds and healthy, actively growing leaves. Pothos, philodendron, Jade plant, ivies and most of the plants propagated from stem cuttings can be propagated this way.
How to
Propagate Plants from Cuttings
When people speak of propagating plants, they usually mean taking
cuttings — using pieces of stems, roots, and leaves to start new plants.
Softwood stem cuttings, taken from spring until midsummer, root the quickest.
During this time, plants are actively growing, and the stems are succulent and
flexible.Here’s how to take a softwood stem cutting:
1. Cut
a 4- to 5-inch-long (10 to 12 cm) stem (or side shoot) just below a leaf, and
remove all but two or three leaves at the top.
Make sure you use a sharp knife to
minimize damage.
2. Dip
the cut end into rooting hormone.
Rooting hormone is a powder or
liquid containing growth hormones that stimulate root growth on cuttings. Some
also contain a fungicide to control root rot. Local nurseries or garden centers
carry the product.
3. Insert
the cutting into a box or container, filled with about 3 inches (8 cm) of
moistened pure builder’s sand, vermiculite, or perlite.The ideal container should have
drainage holes.
4. Slip
the container into a self-sealing plastic bag.
Prop up the bag with something
like toothpicks or short twigs so that the plastic doesn’t touch the leaves.
Seal the bag to minimize water loss, but open it occasionally to let in fresh
air.
5. Place
the covered container in indirect light.
Easy-to root perennials include
begonia, candytuft, chrysanthemum, carnations or pinks (Dianthus), geraniums
(Pelargonium), penstemon, phlox, sage, sedum. Woody plants that you can root
include bougainvillea, fuchsia, gardenia, heather, honeysuckle, ivy,
pyracantha, star jasmine, and willow.
6. When
the cuttings are well rooted (4 to 8 weeks, for most plants) and are putting on
new growth, transplant them into individual containers of potting soil.
As they continue to grow,
gradually expose them to more light. When the plants are well established in
the pots and continue to put on top growth, harden them off (acclimate them to
your weather conditions) and plant them in their permanent garden location.
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How
to Propagate Your Plants
Growing your own plants is a satisfying and
inexpensive hobby. Propagation of plants refers to producing more plants by
dividing, grafting or taking cuttings from existing plants. If you have seen a
beautiful plant in your neighbor's garden or somewhere else in the area, here
is your opportunity to include it in your garden too. Unlike seed, cuttings and
divisions of plants will result in an identical plant that will reproduce the
same beautiful flowers, blossom etc. that probably attracted you to it in the
first place.
Dividing
1 Dig the plant up when the flowers have faded.
2 Shake the soil from the roots.
3 Break the plant into several pieces. The divisions should follow fairly
natural points on the plant (at nodes, or between leaves etc.). The important
thing is to make sure each divided piece has shoots and roots on it.
4 Replant each piece in good soil in a pot or sheltered garden bed and
water thoroughly.
Taking Cuttings
1 Select a suitable pot for your cutting. You might want to use a
normal-sized flower pot for one plant or you can even establish a number of
cuttings in the same pot, planted apart from each other. Seedling tubes are
also a good idea for many plants.
2 Prepare the pot. Get a plastic (polythene bag) and place gravel at the
base of the bag. The pot will be placed in here after you have made the
cutting. Fill the pot with suitable soil - sand and peat for drainage make an
ideal combination for many plants. Finally, the pot must be able to drain well
(the water will go onto the gravel, rather than pooling in the plastic bag).
3 Cut a firm, young shoot from the current season's growth. Cut it off
just below a leaf or joint (node).
4 Prepare the cutting. Once you have cut the plant piece, strip or cut off
any leaves on the lower half. You can strip or cut off as high as two-thirds if
necessary. If the bark looks like it will tear, use scissors. You can also make
a small incision to the lower end of the stem to encourage root growth from
this "wound".
5 Insert the cutting into sand and peat in the pot. Use a skewer, pencil
or similar long object to create a hole for the cutting to sit in. Do not use
the cutting itself to push in a hole or you will damage it. The idea is to
gently drop the cutting into the hole and carefully in-fill with dirt.
6 Cover in plastic bag. Place both the pot and the cutting into the bag. Make sure that the pot
is sitting snugly on the gravel.
7 Tie the top of the bag together with a twist tie. This makes it very
easy to undo for watering and to place back on again.
Final Steps for
Both Methods
1 Keep the soil moist. Do not soak or over-water the cutting or divided
plant or it may rot and not take root. Water spray works well for many plants
but take care with succulent and furry leaves. They are best only watered
directly at the soil level, otherwise the combination of humidity and water may
encourage fungal growth.
2 Pull the cutting or divided plant gently in about 6 - 8 weeks. If you
can feel resistance, you'll know there are roots. Most plants will root within
6 - 8 weeks, although some species of plants can take up to 12 months! Do your
homework on the plant if you aren't sure. Most common garden variety plants
will root quickly.
3 Transplant to a larger pot or the garden when the seedling is
well-established.
Understand the
difference between asexual and sexual propagation
1 Use sexual propagation for increasing plant numbers by germinating seed
and growing the seedlings to maturity. This is probably the most widely used
method by the majority of growers, including many agricultural grain crops.
There are many different ways to pre-treat seed for attempting
germination in the artificial setting of a greenhouse. These are processes used
in an effort to overcome seed dormancy and reach successful germination on a
human driven schedule. Mother Nature does a wonderful job of overcoming
dormancy so seed will germinate at the safest time for the seedlings to emerge
into a growth friendly environment. We try to imitate those processes to
successfully grow plants indoors.
2 Use asexual propagation for processes that involve using the leaf, stem,
and root cuttings. All of these asexual methods develop plants that are
essentially clones of the original specimens. Putting slips into a jar of water
in the kitchen window until roots form are stem cuttings. This method as a high
risk of mold developing.
Divide clumps of plants, such as Hostas, when they get very large is
another form of asexual propagation.
Plant bits of a rhizome root will give rise to new plant growth and is
another form of cutting. The practice of grafting which is often used with
roses & fruit trees is a type of asexual propagation.
Use layering with raspberry canes where they are bent over to the ground
and covered with soil where new roots will develop.
Tips
- Some people like to dip the ends of cuttings into a "rooting hormone". This adds a bit more expense, but its growth promoting elements give the cutting a better start. This should be available at gardening stores.
- Avoid woody or hard plant pieces when cutting or dividing. These are unlikely to strike. The same goes for very soft and wilted pieces of a plant. However, sometimes where a plant is rare or unusual, you may have no choice but to make do with whatever divisions or cuttings you can get.
- Plants can be propagated from cuttings or by dividing at any time of the year but be aware that roots form much more slowly during winter months. If you are in a very cold climate, indoor propagation is the only suitable method during the depths of winter.
