Propagation: PLANT PROPAGATION.....THE BASICS II, 1 by growin

growin wrote:
I'm kinda new in this forum but have been busy doing cutting propagation. Over the past 3 weeks I've completed about 100 large flats of propagation and it's going pretty well. Today I was doing Daphne and although I know I'm supposed to take off the blooms, I left a few on as they looked so nice. I looked down at my flat mid-day and it kinda looked like miniature farming. Planting my mini-fields with hummingbirds whizzing by through the greenhouse. It's been rather Zen for me.

I've done propagation for another backyard nursery for years in the past but his operation was much smaller. What I noticed to happen at both specialty nurseries is that they will run up to you with a plant in a panic. I guess propagation is vital to a nursery. Unfortunately I've done it voluntarily at both places. At the current nursery they were using cinnamon. I looked it up and it is used as a fungicide so I mixed cinnamon with #1 rooting hormone powder and it seems to be working well. I have already noticed good strike on many cuttings that on earlier flats didn't fare too well. What I really found useful and sped up my production were 1"x2" sticks with nails hammered into them at equal distances. I fill my tray, press it well and then take the stick and gently insert the nails firmly pressing it. I take it out and I have nicely spaced holes in lines. Prep'ing the cuttings is mostly fast but this method made the whole thing speed up significantly.

Hopefully I can get another 100 flats done before the end of summer and get some good production in for this year.

Cheers!