Stem Cuttings are one of the easiest ways to grow new plants.
Depending on what you want to grow, cuttings may produce roots in a matter of weeks or it may take several months.
Commercial nurseries have specialised systems, glasshouses and staff trained to know exactly when and how to propagate plants. It may sound all very scientific, which it is in some cases, but it’s also very easy to achieve at home.
The best time of year to take cuttings is mid summer until the end of autumn.
Requirements for cuttings:
A greenhouse is not necessary for successful propagation by cuttings; however, maintaining high humidity around the cutting is critical. If rooting only a few cuttings, you can use a flowerpot.
Maintain high humidity by covering the pot with a bottomless milk jug or by placing the pot into a clear plastic bag.
Cuttings can also be placed in plastic trays covered with clear plastic stretched over a wire frame.
Trays must have holes in the bottoms for drainage. The plastic will help keep the humidity high and reduce water loss from the cuttings.
How to take root cuttings:
Use sharp secateurs, scissors, or a craft knife to make a clean cut.
Take cuttings at a node, that is where the leaf is on the stem of the plant, because this is where most of the plants natural hormones are concentrated.
Depending upon the variety of plant, make cuttings approx. 10-15cm long (pencil sized) if possible.
Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting.
Reduce leaves to about three or four and reduce the leaf area by half.
Place cuttings, approximately 1/3rd of the way into a cutting mix, pumice or perlite, anything that is free draining.
It is recommended to dip cuttings into a quality rooting hormone before planting will to improve success rates, particularly for semi hardwood and hardwood cuttings.
Seed raising mix can be used, however it should have some pumice added to it as it may be too moisture retentive for some cuttings.
Water the cuttings well, cover the pot that the cuttings are in with a plastic bag or place in a shady spot out of direct sunlight and wait.
Top Tips for Successful Cuttings:
Always choose healthy stems of the plant you want to grow; the best material is about 6 months old (semi hard wood) not too stiff and not to floppy. Aim to have all your cuttings the same size to ensure even growth and root development.
Tall cuttings tend to fall over and ones that are too short will not have enough substance to grow.
When the roots develop will vary on the plant. For soft wood shrubs like Fuchsias or hebes, roots should appear in a 3-4 weeks.
If the material is suitable, two or three cuttings can be made from the same piece of stem. Once rooted, the cutting can be transplanted (or potted up) into a container, old plant pots are ideal for this.
Treat young roots carefully when potting up & place the freshly potted up plant somewhere sheltered and ‘nurse’ it along until new leaves appear and roots show through the bottom of the pot, once this happens the new plant it ready for the garden.