How to grow new plants from cuttings
It’s free and easy. Here’s how!
It is a simple, but magical, act: take a little bit of stem and, with a few careful cuts, create a new plant. That magic, the ebb and flow of hormones and auxins, is on your side: once severed of its root, the plant is desperate to take hold again. All you have to do is give it a go. Right now, the window for semi-ripe cuttings is drawing to a close, but it is not shut: this weekend, for 15 minutes’ worth of effort, you can take those tired lavenders that have become leggy, or that woody rosemary, and strike a few cuttings so you have new plants for spring for free.
Taking the cutting
The best place to cut is just below a stem joint, or where a leaf or bud
joins the stem, taking care to remove cuttings so as to not spoil the
plant's shape. It is usually best to try to arrange for the cutting to
have at least one more stem joint higher up. Most cuttings work well if
taken as pieces with two to three pairs of leaves. Any leaves should be
removed from the bottom stem joint, but it is counter-productive to rub
off any buds in leaf nodes. Ensure you leave at least 2 pairs of leaves!
The cutting should be potted up in a heat-sterilized gritty potting
medium, pure sharp sand, fine grit or vermiculite. In some cases,
cuttings can be potted up immediately after cutting, but for succulents,
allow the cut end to dry for a day or two to let the damaged tissues
seal, reducing the chance of fungal attack. It helps to dip the cut end
in some hormone rooting powder or liquid, particularly if the mixture
also contains a fungicide.
Cuttings will root faster and form a better root system when treated
with a commercial rooting hormone. Dust the base of the cutting with the
rooting compound before it is inserted into the medium. Rooting
compounds are available in powder or liquid form in small, inexpensive
packages from most garden supply stores.
How to root cuttings
The rooting medium must support and hold the cutting in place. The
medium must provide aeration and high humidity at the base of the
cutting. A sterile medium helps the cutting avoid disease infections. A
good all-purpose rooting medium is a mixture of perlite and peat moss.
Perlite is a sterile artificial ingredient that provides good aeration
and peat moss is a natural organic component. Course fibrous peat moss
is the most desirable. Peat moss and perlite are available at garden
centers.
Do not use soil as a propagating medium, because it usually contains a
variety of disease organisms. Soil drains poorly when used in pots and
may be infected with nematodes. Use all materials only once to reduce
the possibility of disease infection.
Some plants root so readily from stem or tip cuttings they can be
started in plain tap water. The water must be kept clean and well
aerated for best results. A bright location out of direct sunlight is
best. After roots are formed plants should be transferred to individual
pots, or grouped together in a hanging basket.
Taking care of your cuttings
After the cuttings have produced a root system one to three inches long,
transplant them from the bed or flat into a potting mixture. The time
required to form an adequate root system depends upon the kind of plant
and type of cutting. Most shrubs will root within three to six weeks.
Leaving young plants in the rooting medium after rooting with little
additional care will stunt them. If rooted plants cannot be stepped up
(potted or moved to a new bed) soon after rooting, apply a water soluble
fertilizer at half the recommended rate. Water with this fertilizer
solution every other week.
For your outdoor plants, you should not transplant recently rooted
cuttings to a permanent location in the landscape. Instead, transplant
to individual pots or in a bed. Grow these transplants to a larger size
to improve their chances of survival in the landscape. Give special care
to the young plants for one or two growing seasons. Carefully prepare
soil beds with the addition of organic amendments and nutrients. Water
and fertilize the plants carefully the first year to increase the top
and root system.
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