sam’sgarden By Sam Saunders Saunders Landscapes, LLC Propagation 101 Have you ever found yourself in a park, botanical garden or even your neighbor’s yard and wanted to grab a cutting because you covet one particular plant that you have seen? Don’t worry, you are not alone. This is a common everyday occurrence in the nursery business. The key is to finish the job – to actually get the plant home without damaging it and process it so that you end up with a younger version of its parent plant. Believe it or not, it is not hard – you just have to follow some basic steps. You will need a number of things in order to pull this off successfully – a healthy, disease free mother plant, IBA or rooting hormone (talc or liquid), clean sharp pruners, plastic Zip-Loc bags, bedding plant mix (or any mix that has those white little prills in it called Perlite), tray or cell pack, Osmocote and a cold-frame. Most softwood cuttings should be taken in the 1st to 3rd week in June once the new growth has begun to strengthen up a bit but not totally harden off. Your cutting, which should be taken from this year’s growth, should be around 6 inches in length. Once taken just drop it
into your Zip-Loc bag that has a little moisture in it and then preferably into a cooler with ice in it. Once you get home try to process your cutting(s) immediately. This procedure involves stripping the lower half of the cutting of all foliage and then removing any leftover or active blooms by either pinching or cutting them out. For plants with big leaves like hydrangeas, cut the leaves in half (the half that is away from the stem) in an effort to reduce the surface area whereby the plant can transpire water. Now take the cutting and dip it into your rooting hormone (if you are using a powder, first wet the cutting). Now place it into tray or cell pack that has been filled with the potting media, trying to keep a little space between other cuttings for disease purposes. Next find a shady spot to place your tray in and mist the foliage frequently so that a gleam of water is on the leaf for the entire day (obviously there is no need to worry about your cutting once the sun has set). Some people cover the area with burlap or a fabric that is then moistened and therefore increases the humidity below. Once you begin to see roots, you can begin to water
less frequently and more thoroughly – making sure that your media, not your leaf so much, stays moist to the touch. With the onset of roots the plant will require food - sprinkle Osmocote onto the tray around the roots and for the rest of the summer keep the soil moist in order to encourage thorough rooting of your new plant. Around November 10 or so create a covered cold-frame or similar structure to protect the cuttings from the freezing temperatures. During the winter, keep the soil moist
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but not wet. Be sure to open your cold-frame on warm winter days so that your cuttings do not prematurely break dormancy. Once spring arrives and the threat of frost subsides, remove your rooted cutting from the cell pack and place in either a 1 gallon container or a deck planter and closely monitor its progress. One season in either container is enough to move from the pot to your landscape bed. Until our next article, Happy Propagating!
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