Taking and Rooting Plant Cuttings
What's First
The first thing is to make sure you’re using the sharpest tool you can find. Clean cuts are easier on the gardener’s hands and easier on the plant.
Take New, Soft Growth
Most perennial plant cuttings are taken when the shoots are quite tender and pliable, i.e. new soft growth.
The cuttings are generally two to three inches long although shorter cuttings will root. I’ve rooted up half inch cuttings but this is not something I’d want to do on a regular basis. (Hey, when somebody gives you a cutting of a rare plant and that cutting is a half inch long – you don’t ask for a longer one!) :-)
I remove the bottom leaves of a plant cutting. Any part of the stem that is going to be inserted into soil has its leaves removed. Above soil leaves are left on the plant.
Video
This video features annuals and herbs but the rules of thumb are still the same for perennials.
Planting
I generally stick the plant cuttings about one third to one half of its length into the soil.
The soil I use is normally a regular artificial soil although I have had excellent results with florist foam. I never use regular soil as it compacts too quickly for good rooting. I also do not use potting soil; again, it tends to compact and rot away
The plant cuttings want to be kept warm. I use a soil heating mat with a built-in thermostat to accomplish this. The soil is kept at 72F and the cutting is happy.
Prevent Drying Out
I don’t want the cutting to wilt. To accomplish this, I spray the plant with an anti-desiccant such as wilt-pruf or a Christmas tree preservative before I take the cutting. This waxy protective coating prevents the leaves from losing moisture and I get excellent results.
I rarely cover the cuttings if I spray them with the anti-desiccant but you can use covers over top of them if you don’t spray. Cover the plants with a clear lid or white poly to help keep moisture around the leaves so they do not wilt. You have to be careful with making these mini-greenhouses as controlling humidity is difficult and you have to be careful not to strike the right balance – not too much and not too little. If you see moisture condensing on the surface of the covering, lift it to allow the moisture to escape.
Light is not critical to rooting so normal room lighting is adequate. Do not put covered cuttings into the full sunlight or you’ll bake them.
Kept warm, cuttings will root at various speeds. Early rooters will start throwing roots in a week or two while the tougher plants will take upwards of several months. As long as the leave are still on the plant, there is hope. If all the leaves fall off, remove the cutting.
When Roots Form
Once you can gently tug on the cutting and it doesn’t move, roots are beginning to form and the cutting can be potted into a larger pot for growing on. I like to grow my cuttings in a pot for a month or so before planting in the garden. It gives them that many more roots and a chance to develop before going out into the jungle of my garden.
Answers
Yes, you can root many easy-to-root cuttings in a glass of water if you change the water regularly so it doesn’t go skudzy. No, not all cuttings will root that way.
Yes, roses will root from cuttings if the growth is soft and pliable.
No, woody plants such as trees will rarely root from plant cuttings athough there are exceptions such as willow.
Yes, shrubs will mostly easily root from cuttings
Yes, many evergreen shrubs root from cuttings but the success is variable and trickier than perennials. Evergreen trees are difficult to root. Don’t waste your time if you’re trying to root them in a glass of water.
Yes, most vines root well if tip plant cuttings are taken.
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