The terms for the different types of cuttings ¨C softwood and semi-ripe – look daunting on paper, but once you’ve had a good look at the plant that you want to propagate. They’ll begin to make sense.
Softwood cuttings: This method, using soft new growth in spring or early summer, gives the quickest results, with cuttings rooting in one to eight weeks.
Using a sharp knife, take cuttings about 4 in/10cm long from the tips of healthy shoots, putting them straight into a plastic bag to prevent them from drying out. Fill a pot with potting soil and firm it down gently.
Trim each cutting just below a leaf joint, reducing its length to about 3 in/7.5cm. Strip the bottom 2 in/5cm of leaves and dip the base of the cutting in a hormone rooting powder, such as Rootone. Insert the cutting in the soil to half its length, firming the soil around it. Once the pot is full (a 3 in/7.5cm pot can take three or more cuttings), water well.
Softwood cuttings root most quickly in a heated propagator. The alternative is to cover each pot with a clear plastic bag, propping it with sticks so that it sits well away from the leaves and securing it with a rubber band. This can then be placed in a warm bright spot, away from direct sunlight. Check often to see if the pots need watering. Once cuttings have rooted and are growing well, they can be separated, replanted in individual pots, and grown uncovered, in a warm, bright place.
Plants to grow from softwood cuttings include geraniums, fuchsias, and most houseplants. Plants such as forsythia, heathers, hydrangea, tree mallow, and potentilla will also root well.
Semiripe cuttings: This is a good method for many shrubs and climbers, with cuttings taken any time from July to early fall.
Side shoots normally yield the best material for semiripe cuttings. You need those that are 4-6 in/10-15cm long and are just beginning to become woody at the base, making your cut just below a leaf joint. Thereafter, semiripe cuttings can be treated in exactly the same way as softwood cuttings, though you don’t need to keep them covered.
Good plants to grow from semiripe cuttings are ceanothus, holly, honeysuckle, lavender, mahonia, Mexican orange, pyracantha, rose, viburnum, and weigela.
Credit: leaf by leaf
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