Eastern Redbud Cutting Propagation Experiment

Due to the amount of contradictory information I've found on the internet regarding rooting Eastern Redbud (Cercis canadensis) cuttings, I've decided to conduct a little experiment. I've taken three different types of cuttings (hardwood, semi-hardwood, and new growth tips) 3-5" long, treated them with rooting hormone, and put them in four different types of rooting medium (coconut coir, peat moss, jiffy seed starting mix, and soil-less potting mix). The cuttings were all started 4/13/11, and are misted daily. The "cloning chamber" is a clear plastic storage bin with a larger plastic storage bin turned upside-down to act as a lid for humidity containment around the cuttings. The interior is wiped out daily to help prevent any mold or fungus from forming. Also, on two of the new growth tip cuttings, half of each leaf was cut off parallel with the plant to prevent premature leaf-drop.

This message was edited Apr 20, 2011 6:06 AM

A picture of the cloning chamber with its lid on:

Great! Please keep us updated.
We'll cheer you on.
Vickie

watching, too. Experiments are fun.

These observations are important and very useful to others. Thanks for taking time to photograph and log your results here. We'll be waiting for updates. Again, thanks!

No problem, Kimchi! Thanks to you guys for making this experiment worth doing! Also, a little update: Two of the cuttings (a semi-hardwood cutting and a new growth cutting) I've started watering with a weeping willow tree tea (willow trees contain a natural, mild rooting substance). Recipe as follows:

-1 bundle of young willow shoots with plenty of leaves (I use about 6 shoots 12"-14" long)
-4 cups water

Remove and finely chop all of the leaves from the shoots. Cut the shoots into 1" pieces, and place in a large bowl. Bring the water to a boil, pour over the cut-up willow foliage, and steep (covered) for four hours. Strain liquid through a sieve, and your end product should look similar to green tea.

I've been using this liquid instead of water whenever the rooting medium starts to dry out, not for the daily foliage misting.


This message was edited Apr 20, 2011 2:21 AM

that makes sense since weeping willows seem to spring up everywhere! great advice! i'll have to try it with my Hydrangea

10 days in, and none of the cuttings have dropped any leaves, and don't appear to be anywhere close to doing so.

Pictured are four of the cuttings (softwood).

And the new growth cuttings.

my mother in law just bought 2 of these trees...i may have to do my own little experiment. :)

I decided to check the cuttings today by giving them a gentle pull, and of all of the cuttings that were taken, three of the six new growth cuttings (the thin, green branch tips) appear to be forming roots. One of the three cuttings that appear to have started rooting is the one that was watered with the willow tree tea (recipe above). The semi-hardwood and hardwood cuttings offered no resistance when I tested them, but their foliage is all still alive and green, so I will give them another two weeks. I pulled (what looked to be) the cutting with the strongest roots developed and placed it under a 26w cool white (6500k color temp) compact fluorescent bulb to see if any new leaf growth can be stimulated. Fingers crossed!!!





This message was edited Apr 26, 2011 1:43 AM

Good luck. I hope you're successful. :-)
I'm anxious to see the results.

So, the experiment is done. Two of the three cuttings that started to root died off. The only one still alive is the cutting that was watered with willow tree tea. The conclusion: Eastern Redbuds are hard to propagate from cuttings (and seeds; I did an experiment with them as well, with minimal success.) However, I did find an extremely easy way to propagate them, granted you have access to a tree (or a nice neighbor!)

I have two large Redbuds in my yard, and I tried air layering three branches at the end of April. All three of them are showing good root growth, and are almost ready to be removed from the parents! The technique I used was from the book American Horticultural Society Plant Propagation, edited by Alan Toogood. However, the following website details pretty much the exact same technique (although if you can find the book at your local library, I highly recommend it for more than just air layering):

http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/extension/ornamentals/airlayer/airlayer.html

Hey. That's cool. Might be a good way to prop Forest Pansy? Not sure how it would do on its own root system though.

I enjoyed this thread alot. Ty for sharing. I have some Texas lavender trees I need to try to propagate.
Very interesting.