starting new plants from prunings

I was out pruning several perennials today, and have such a hard time throwing anything away that could be of use. Is it possible to start new plants by rooting these cuttings? I put some wet sand from the sandbox into several 4 inch pots and was considering just sticking in short stem sections to see if they would root. What should I really be doing to accomplish this successfully? Will the sand work or do I need a potting medium? Can I keep them in a window in the unheated shed, or should I have them indoors? Any other tips? I trimmed a few lavender plants, a hebe, a curry plant, a phlox sublata, and some thyme.

It's going to be difficult, I believe, to start these at this time of year. It's best to take cuttings during the active growth phase of the plant when the growth 'hormones' are active. The lavender and the hebe are going to root best by taking softwood cuttings, which would be new growth. Hardwood cuttings from last year are unlikely to do anything. You might have better luck with the thyme and the phlox. but IMHO, it is best to simply compost the cuttings. I know it's hard. Just take a deep breath and lay them to rest. LOL!!

Once you start doing cuttings, you will be hooked on it. When your things start growing nicely in the spring, take some new growth cuttings and try those. You'll have a much better success rate.

mauryhillfarm, I have had minimal success with cuttings. I am going to learn this year because we want to add some of the hardy zone 4 Roses and Weigela to our list of plants on the place. In Western Washington ... you should find many hundreds of types of plants capable of being divided or be propagated from cuttings. It is always best to use new growth for cuttings and rooting hormones with sandy potting soils and fertilizers...and keeping them moist and warm. When it comes to dividing root systems .... I've become an ace. I'm sure it also much easier to divide roots of plants and experience success. Here is a list of plants that I have divided successfully. Anyone can do it really ..... all that is required is a bit of elbow grease.

SHRUBS
Pink Almond Bush
Forsythia
Common Privet
Sage....culinary
Cotoneaster
Hibiscus
Lilacs

TREES
flowering crabapples, cherry trees all send out starts from their root systems. I got 2 from my brothers crabapple tree last fall. Holly bushes are another.

FLOWERS
Iris
Day Lily
Agapanthus
Bergenia
Penstemon
Shasta Daisy
Pinks
Aster
Gaillardia
Crocosmia
Yarrow
Mtn Bluet
Yucca
Salvia X Sylvestris
Japanese Bugbane
Chrysanthemums

most ground covers and sedums and mints readily split and spread out. I even filled in a 200 sq ft area with grass by planting sod pieces that were broken up into 2 inch squares and by tending the spot meticulously from invasive weeds. I kept it wet and just watched the hundreds of sod pieces reach out to one another till it became a lawn a few months later.

most flowering plants that form a rootball will easily divide and survive. I always make sure the plant is large enough to warrant dividing and that it is healthy. A great indicator is if there are shoot being sent out from the rootball. Asters are very good at do both.

tubors and bulb plants are so simple that all should understand. I bought an incredibly beautiful potted Asiatic lily about 3 yrs ago with 3 corms in bloom......cost $3. We now have about 100 of them in the same location. My tulips & daffodils, hyacinth, allium, narcissus have multiplied by at least 50% since I bought a few hundred of them 3 years ago.

Kelly


This message was edited Feb 22, 2007 6:03 PM

This message was edited Feb 22, 2007 6:33 PM

Thanks Pixy and Kelly for your advice. I plan to experiment with propagation this year, and will probably have lots more questions once I start. I did lay my prunings in the compost pile, though I was not brave enough to sing the sad dirge I believe was recommended in another thread for plants that have met their demise. The neighbors were out in their yard and have a young child I did not want to scare. I guess pruning is more like cutting a plant's hair. Anyway, the mother plant is still alive.

mauryhillfarm, a very good book to have is. making more plants the art of propagation by Ken Druse, very good advice step by step instruction and a section on each individual family or genus(I get those mixed up) of plants. it's around $35 to $40. you might find it cheaper. but it's worth every penny. I've done hundreds of cuttings with much success. Jim King

mauryhillfarm, Someone mentioned that Forsythia is rather easy to learn "how to" get starts from new cuttings. I have a few others like Butterfly Bush, Weigela and Burning Bush ..... that I''ll be trying try this spring. There are several articles on the internet by googling "propagating cuttings" you can read all the basics. My understanding is that having a cuttings box with the right mix of sand & soil & fertilizer .... set in the right location with the right temperature & sunlight is critical for new wood cuttings to root.

I second the motion on the Ken Druse book. Actually ,ANY book by Ken Druse is worth getting.

Interestingly, I have had incredible success with cuttings by using the veggie filter attached to my pond. It was a fluke that I tried it, but it works so well! It's really a large undergravel filter. Water is diverted from the stream and waterfall to come up through the gravel from about 18" underground. Then it trickles over a wall in to the pond. This natural filtration provides a nutrient rich gravel area that never dries out, and yet has excellent 'drainage' in the top couple of inches. Almost everything I've stuck into that thing roots readily.

Try the cuttings in the spring, Mauryhill. You'll have great success and won't get discouraged that way.

mauryhillfarm, My wife bought me a fine hardbound volume published by the American Horticultural Society; Editor Alan Toogood; titled Plant Propagation. It is thorough and has every kind of plant you can think of. It retails for $35 but is sold for less on-line. It is terribly comprehensive and has hundreds of color photographs. It is often found on the shelf at major book stores like Walden, Barnes & Noble, Borders & Amazon.com. I've learned more than I ever suspected I needed to know from it. It makes for interesting reading as well.

Pixydish, you are so clever!!!! I never would have thought of that technique. I have a gravel filter for my Koi pond, may give it a try. with Hydrangia cuttings. I've been using a cutting box with botton heat, 50% x 50% blend of Vermiculite, Perlite. water in with rooting hormones. I haven't done hardwood cuttings. that would be a different set up. Jim

Jim, you will be pleasantly surprised, I know. I did hydrangea cuttings last year and had excellent success very quickly. If you are interested in trading rooted cuttings, I have some that are currently planted out in 4" pots, rooted from last year. Dmail me if you are interested and I'll look at what cultivars I have. I have TONS of hydrangeas. A bit of a hydrangea fanatic, I'm afraid.

Photographer, I have that marvelous book, too - I've been perusing it the last few nights and can't wait to try a few of the techniques!

Murmur, I too have been reading the book lately. The evenings here are a bit slow and watching television any more is close to torturous. I thought for sure more people would be contributing to this and other threads. I suppose my interest in gardening may be extreme.

No worries, photographer. You are among friends here! We all have our extreme interest in gardening!! Just today I was realizing that I really have to start cutting back on the number of seeds I plant and cuttings I try to root. Success is wonderful, but then I have to find homes for all the baby plants.
I am now envious of the book you refer to. I think I need that.

Photographer, I eat, drink, and breathe gardening. I resent most anything that keeps me from doing so (weather, family, job . . . ). I'm just a little bit obsessive/compulsive about gardening.

You are indeed not alone!

Pixy, it really is a great book - but I also do have the one by Ken Druse, which is marvelous as well. I'd forgotten I treated myself to both of them. It's that obsessive/compulsive thing again.

Is this extreme? It was so nice today and I was so psyched about getting my knees wet and dirty and going through two pairs of gloves that I was going to post a photo of my jeans' knees! I fought the urge, but it was tough!

Pixy I wish you'd post or Dmail me any tutorial help on starting hydrangeas from cuttings. I have two very old gnarly bushes I would gradually like to replace, but not until I get good sized propagations off them. Your use of the gravel filtration area for your pond is gardening genius!

Poochella, I buy the mesh gloves at Walmart 1 doz. for $4 because go I through 5 or 6 pair a day outside. I launder them seperate from my other clothes. I just bought 4 packages. I think that will last me the summer. Jim

I know that muddy knee thing - just love it, but have you seen the new crocs kneeler and knee pads. These are brillant! http://shop.crocs.com/c-5-crocsgear.aspx?reqid=5&reqProdTypeId=5&subsectionname=gear And if you buy the orange ones, they don't get lost (or nicked by husband). I just wish they would make wellies.


My goodness, they do make wellies! http://shop.crocs.com/pc-17-4-georgie.aspx?reqid=17&reqProdTypeId=41p&subsectionname=footwear§ion=products

This message was edited Mar 6, 2007 9:36 PM

My "dirty" little secret is latex (or the equivalent) gloves underneath the gardening gloves. I also like 'liquid gloves' but I need to order some. I finally broke down and spent the money on a nice pair of gardening overalls and I'm never going back. Pockets for all my handy tools, double knees, lightly gathered in the back for a little more movement and grace in the 'rear' department, and a top pocket for my MP3 player - got to have those digital books.

Poochella, tell us more about these old gnarly bushes of yours and exactly why you wish to replace them? You can take cuttings that will root easily (most of the time) as soon as they start putting out new growth at the tips of the branches. Softwood cuttings are easiest. But why the cuttings? If these shrubs are old, they may have layered themselves and you might be able to get two bushes out of one. If not, you can layer them now. Just take one of the lower branches and scrape a little bark off of the bottom so that you can bend it down to touch the soil. Bend it to the soil and hold it in place with a big rock, or a brick, or a landscaping pin - whatever it takes. Leave it alone until the end of the summer. Voila!

Alternatively, if they are old macrophyllas that are simply overgrown, you can renew and refresh them by taking a third of their stems all the way to the ground each year for the next three years, starting now. This will stimulate fresh new growth from the base of the shrub.

If you still want the cuttings approach, go directly to the Hydrangea forum. There is a ton of information there. But if you are dedicated to removing them, can you send me a photo? Maybe we can work out a trade...I can't stand to see lovely mature shrubs go to waste. It's part of my neurosis.

Murmur, I'm a fan of any book by Ken Druse. His shade garden book is divine!

I have yet to jump on the Croc bandwagon, but I liked this feature of their kneepad description:
"the kneepad is comfortable, cool, molds to your knee; slip resistant and non-marking material; anti-microbial and odor resistant; made with croslite™ PCCR material; weighs only ounces; buoyant; user friendly strap and locking plastic " So i can kneel down in the soggy, soggy garden or a puddle and they'll float!

Hostajim: a dozen gloves for $4 is a real steal. I'm spoiled by the rubberized Atlas gloves for heavy work and better grip than Mother Nature affords me. Is the mesh all fabric, or rubberized at all?

Pixy, I sort of misspoke: I don't want to get rid of the elderly hydrangeas entirely, but am interested in rejuvenating them, or tidying them up, as well as multiplying them. Thanks for your thorough descriptions above and the lead on the Hydrangea forum! Who knew? I should have known DG would have one. I have hacked back the leggy growth and may yet thin out some of the older branches- those that aren't breaking off on their own.

Unfortunately, these two shrubs are planted in our hideous hard clay, covered by landscape plastic just under the surface of whatever mulch I have time to place on top. I have to rip holes in the plastic just to water them. So I don't think the bending and staking down a cutting would work unless I lay down some decent mulchy soil at that point. I could do it though, I suppose.

I will head to the Hydrangea forum and read, read, read..... Thanks!

Poochella, the gloves are white mesh, no rubber, Jim

Pooch, there are other ways to layer. You can air layer them by stripping off the bark all the way around on a branch, adding a little rooting hormone just for fun (although most do not need it), wrap moist sphagnum moss around the wound on the branch, cover that securely with plastic wrap, and then secure the plastic wrap with twist ties above and below the place where roots will grow. Make sure this does not get sun and keep an eye on the moss to see that it stays moist. Then wait until you see the roots growing in the moss and then you can remove that piece and pot it up.. Simple as apple pie!!

Well, not being a kitchen person, I don't consider apple pie simple! But, Pixy, that is a great description for air layering! I took a class on propogation yesterday at the Master Gardener's Workshop here on the island and the "teacher" made it sound much more complicated (and he kept saying "peat moss" instead of "spaghnum moss." Hopefully, most people there knew what he meant (his photos showed spaghnum).

I did a successful air layering once upon a time on a different plant back in my more avid houseplant days. I'll give that a try on the hydrangeas too. Thanks Pixy.

Murmur, I'm with you on the pie making. The crusts elicit horrible behavior from me in the kitchen!

Hmm. Maybe I should have said 'simple as eating apple pie'. Very simple indeed! Yes, no need at all for air layering to be complicated in the least. I guess you could use peat moss, but I think sphagnum would be better. And too bad he didn't know the difference.

Poochella, remember that most of the older macrophyllas bloom on old wood.Don't take off too many stems before blooming or you will cut down on their blooms for this year. And they are probably glorious!!

I think most of the older varieties root without difficulty, but I have run into a couple of hydrangeas that seem to resist it for some reason. My little one, called 'pia' most definitely is hard to root. And my neighbor has two varieties that I finally got rooted pieces of but it was touch and go. For the most part, though, you shouldn't have a problem.

oh, those knee pads are great! I just got pink crocs for christmas, now I can get matching knee pads! whoohoo! Where are the pink gloves....