Rooting Shrub and Plant Cuttings

Once begun, propagating plants may become a captivating hobby, and each plant a challenge. In the beginning you may choose to try some of the more easily rooted plants, such as forsythia, but finally everyone attempts those more difficult. When the cutting, or slip, is taken from the mother plant, its supply of water is greatly reduced. Therefore, the cutting must be put in something sufficiently enclosed to keep a high humidity around it.

For rooting a few cuttings, a covered aquarium may be used. Flower pots, milk cartons, wooden boxes or flats all make suitable containers when covered with transparent plastic. A large plastic bag may be easily slipped over a large flower pot to provide excellent conditions for rooting cuttings on the window sill. Outdoors, a large box or cold frame covered with glass sash or plastic covered frames makes a good propagation bed for the home. It should be located in the shade, such as on the north side of a building.

Large numbers of cuttings are usually rooted under mist systems which spray over the foliage intermittently to keep the foliage moist. One part clean sand and one part peat moss mixed together make a good all-purpose rooting mixture. Vermiculite also may be used alone or mixed with peat moss. Perlite is another material often used in the propagation bed. These materials, if handled carefully, should not need sterilization.

Because some diseases thrive in the moist, warm conditions of the propagation bed, cleanliness is very important. Cuttings from many woody plants should be made just as the new wood is beginning to mature. Do not take cuttings from excessively vigorous shoots, from thin weak growth, or from flowering shoots. They all generally root poorly. Select healthy shoots of medium vigor. Usually, cuttings from the side of the bush are best.

Cuttings four to six inches long usually root well. Make the cut with a sharp knife close to a node. Strip leaves off the lower half of the cutting. Dip the base of the cutting into a rooting stimulant. Most garden centers stock one or more rooting hormones. After the rooting powder has been applied, insert the cutting into the rooting material for about half its length, or up to existing leaves. Put cuttings close together. Leaves may be allowed to touch or slightly overlap.