As with other arts, an “overnight success” takes at least 10 years of practice in the propagation of plants. Anyone can become an “eighty percenter,” but in order to achieve the final twenty percent toward perfection you must put a maximum of personal interest into your work.
You must live with your cuttings, seeking constantly to determine why a slight modification in the time the cuttings are taken and the care of them should have such a direct influence upon their growth. Constant observation of cuttings and persistent study will gradually lessen the complexity of propagation.
Use Notes For Better Results
To overcome a repetition of error, an accurate and complete set of notes should be kept. Remember that the reaction of cuttings is unpredictable. One cannot simply take cuttings from a tree at the same time each year and expect consistent results.
We tend to overlook the fact that trees increase in age, from year to year. This item alone may be responsible for retarded rooting. Also varying climatic conditions during the growing season as well as the type of rooting media, texture of the cuttings and the kind of care given them in the propagating bench are all logical causes for cuttings to behave diversely from year to year.
Therefore, one should not give up when a failure occurs. With the information recorded, proceed with a new batch of cuttings, trying different methods. One person should only handle the propagating bench because, despite complete instructions, failures may occur that are traceable to small differences in procedure.
The Rooting Medium
The rooting medium to be used depends largely upon the attention that the rooting bench receives, and the reason is not difficult to understand. An attentive propagator can use sharp sand because they are able to water their material frequently.
One who gives but a limited time to the bench should use a mixture of peat and sand, since this combination increases the water-holding capacity of the medium. However, if cold wet conditions prevail for some time, the peat mixture can be detrimental to the cuttings.
On the other hand, peat and sand give marked increases in the rooting of many kinds of cuttings. Observations made in recent years have revealed that a number of old, well-known “rules of thumb” for the vegetative propagation of plants are questionable. In fact, some may actually retard the rooting of cuttings.
“Rules Of Thumb” Propagation Examples
For instance, there is a generally-held opinion that the lower branches of a tree will give the highest percentage of rooted cuttings. During the Winter months, the upper and outer branchlets on hemlock will often be desiccated by cold, dry air. These are clearly unfit for use as cuttings.
But, by taking the upper, protected inner branches, especially those which are a deep green in color, much success in rooting may be obtained. This type of cutting has been rooted in thirty days by the writer with a much higher percentage of rooted cuttings than those taken from the lower branches of the same tree.
Late Watering Of The Cutting Bench
Many propagators disapprove of the so-called “late watering” in the afternoon. But there is strong evidence that it is desirable to syringe the cutting bench on a hot evening during a heat spell. Most propagators agree that light and frequent syringing of the bench is more beneficial than infrequent, heavy applications of water. Ideally, the cuttings should be kept in a turgid condition, with the rooting medium moist, but not wet.
One should not consider, too seriously, the old idea that large, vigorous cuttings are the most suitable ones to root for all kinds of plants. Questioning this conception enabled me to get a record amount of evergreens to root this past Winter, for unusually-thin, weak cuttings from species of hemlock provided excellent material for rooting with relatively few losses.
Results of Last Winter’s Experiments Indicate…
The results of last Winter’s experiments also indicate that the time of year is a most important cog in the rooting of evergreens. Perhaps too much emphasis on the part played by rooting hormones has obscured other key factors.
Air temperature should range somewhere between 60° degrees F. during the night, and 75° degrees during the day. Optimum results will be obtained if the propagation medium is kept between 70° to 75°F in the daytime. To maintain this temperature, a heating cable is helpful.
However, this advantage can be lost unless care is taken in the application of water. Even though the surface of the rooting medium may look wet, the lower levels may be insufficiently moistened and cause the cuttings to wilt.
Propagation Does Not End With Rooting Cutting
Propagation does not end with the rooting of cuttings. Sometimes freshly potted cuttings soon die. To avoid this situation:
- Place some of the rooting medium around the new roots when potting
- If possible, place these pots in a shaded spot, for a few days.
Such treatment will help them recover from transplant shock and moving.
Most of us consistently underestimate our abilities to root plant material. This idea is often traceable to our failure to root a particularly difficult plant. Such a failure may. however, be the result of a single, small error. By repeated trial and careful attention to detail and, above all, by strict record keeping, you will soon be propagating plants and cultivating rooted cuttings that you associated with hard-to-root plants.
44659 by Louis F. Lipp