Cuttings take a little more work than layering does, but it can produce a lot more plants. With layering, one or two new plants per parent plant is usual. With cuttings, you can get dozens of babies from the parent stock. Some cuttings can be made from roots, such as raspberries and blackberries. Dig around a healthy plant early in the spring and locate a few pencil-thick roots. Clip them off with pruning shears and replace the soil. Cut the roots into 1 inch pieces and lay them flat in a perlite/vermiculite medium. Bury about 1/2 inch deep. Once the plants begin to grow, transplant them to small pots in potting soil and give them a feeding of compost tea once a week for a month. Once the roots fill the pot, they can be transplanted into a permanent home.
Most cuttings come from stems or branches. Hardwood cuttings are taken from dormant wood in late winter, and softwood cuttings are taken from growing wood early in the summer. Don't take cuttings from grafted stock, as they'll lose the benefits of the rootstock.
In late winter, when the plants are still dormant, cut pieces about 8 to 10 inches long from the ends of the branches and remove the tips. Tie the stem pieces into bundles of the same cultivar with the tops at the same end. Label the bundles and bury them completely in barely moist vermiculite. Store in cellar or refrigerator until the ground has thawed completely in the spring. A fleshy callus will have formed on the bottom of the cuttings.
In a spot that gets morning sun, loosen the soil 8 to 10 inches deep. Dip the callused ends into rooting hormone and then plant upright, about 4 inches deep. Keep the soil evenly moist and after a few weeks the cuttings should start to grow. Leave them there until next spring, when they can be transplanted to a permanent setting. This technique works well with currants and figs.
Softwood cuttings work best with bush fruits, blueberries, gooseberries and herbs such as rosemary and bay. Cut pieces of new growth 5 to 6 inches long with at least two leaf nodes in late spring or early summer. Remove the bottom leaves and set 2 inches deep in a half vermiculite/perlite mixture.
Softwood cuttings are more prone to wilting, so they need to be kept in a sheltered, humid environment. Cover them with a plastic bag, but don't let the plastic touch the cuttings or they may rot. Set them where they'll get indirect lighting in a warm room. Mist often to keep the cuttings moist but not soggy. Most softwood cuttings will root within 3 to 4 weeks. Transfer the rooted cuttings into individual pots as soon as the roots are well-developed. Plant them out in the garden in the fall.
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3/5/2010 @ 5:30:21 pm by healthierorganics.com
Propagation Techniques - CuttingsTags: General Garden Info, ... |
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