Top 10 Easiest to Grow from Cuttings

This is one of my favorite things to do now, experimenting with cuttings and seed starting. A partnership with God I call it. I do a little hand work and He does the rest. Amazing seen "up close", the whole process. So the most success I've had is Azaleas and Gardenias. I had one holly to root and one crape myrtle so we'll see what happens with them. I have decided to keep them in pots until this fall instead of trying to plant them now, figure it will give them a better head start. Here is a link I use all the time to decide what to root at what time of year and how to keep it going. Lots of good information and explained simply and thoroughly http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8702.html If I need more advice than that I call Kellie Bowen from Full Bloom Nursery on her Saturday morning radio show and get all the other advice I need.

I just ordered the American Horticultural Society Propagation... I would really like to try some of my Hardy Hibiscus. I have one that is electric pink, just beautiful.
Thank You for all the help and advise. Marie

I have propogated hibiscus by layering. It worked well.

kb

Here is a great video of taking cuttings from trees:

http://youtu.be/DXNqfXH0pKc

Has anyone had any success with Magnolia Tree? I pulled a 12 " limb off a tree .. immediately put in in a plastic bottle (put hole in lid just large enough to force limb through)... 3 inches of water then slipped a couple of my sons socks. ( only one of each cause dryeR monster must ha ve ate the other half) *LOL* It is sitting outside in full sun..but no light reaching water to grow algea...I plant in checkinG it in a week or so for growth...but wonderinG if I should be doing it different.

I have only ever rooted magnolia in soil. Let me know if the water method works please.

What about roses? WE have tried several things and not much luck.

Lisa, have you read and tried Taylor's rose starting instructions? It has been a long time since I have read them, but she had a really good instruction thread. There might be a special thread on roses in the community menu. Take a look.

I doubt anyone will read this because the thread is so long but as far as easily rooted house plants
• Swedish ivy
• heart leaf plant
• wandering Jew
• Jade
• Aloe
• burro tail

Outdoor perennials
• Gardenia
• hydrangea
• Red dragon
• acuba

I read it. Thank you.

Is red dragon the same as dragon fruit? I know my dragon fruit cuttings root easily as do other epis.

kb

I keep watching this thread, hoping someone will mention something I can grab a snip of, that I want more of.

Is that all you do Corey, just go from one thread to the next asking for cuttings?

Jen. do you pick on everyone? Go read the post I just put up on Pugh's forum.

LOL, Corey and I have been writing for a while. Yeah JB, I do.

Indeed, teasing is no problem.

But it was confusing at first, because when I said:

>> "hoping someone will mention something I can grab a snip of,"

I meant "name a plant that I have or my neighbors have, that is easy to root from cuttings, so i can grab a snip of it and do something other than make it rot".


I thought the whole point of "cuttings" was to lurk and sneak around the neighborhood at night with a pair of shears, a jar of water, and a maniacal expression, like the "Dumpster-Diving Divas".

(still kidding)

Corey

I think I just added a new "favorite person" to my list. The only one on my list now is Jen.
I think Cory just made the cut...................get it...........cut! Off for coffee. Don't feel like working today. JB

LOL, Corey that is a good definition. Think Webster will add it? Have to send it to Melody and Terry and see what they think of it. Used to be in Daves it would be called "stealing". Think things have loosened up a bit.

Corey, I see you are showing a zone 8. I suppose that you are close enough to the water that you pretty much maintain that rating. Doubt it ever gets down any lower there. Are the azaleas and rhodies all blooming now? This is the prettiest time of the year on the coast. 'course after a long winter I suppose most places can say the same.

JB, go drink your coffee and watch your mornin' Joe show. Even getting up by 5:45 I miss it. Who in the world would get up at 3 o:clock in the morning to watch them? Not me. Would have to be someone who works weird hours.

>> Are the azaleas and rhodies all blooming now? This is the prettiest time of the year on the coast.

OH, YEAH! You timed it just right. One week ago, they were just starting, it has been a slow, cold spring.

>> Corey, I see you are showing a zone 8. I suppose that you are close enough to the water

Yup! One and a half miles from the Sound. "Sunset" used to say that you could change a whole USDA zone in one block (or words to that effect). When i checked their website recently, they put me a cooler "Sunset Zone" than they used to.

>> that you pretty much maintain that rating.

Well, remember that "10-15 degrees" is only an AVERAGE minimum temp. A few rare winters will go down to 0 ... but not all go down to 15.

It ain't so much the winter minimum that limits gardening along the coast: it's the summer maximums. Days stay mild and nights stay cool ... pretty much all summer.

And a "hot" summer day here (as you must know) is like a "cool" summer day in NJ. I've lived in Clifton and Monsey (NY), and worked in Ramsey and Mahwah ... and sweated like a pig every summer.

The frost-free period is long ... but the warm period is short.

And we have NO mosquitoes! Take that, JB from NJ, for cutting my feet off and sticking me in water until I turn moldy! Or thank you for the compliment, whichever!

(I have become a PNW chauvinist: better beer, better coffee, better climate, and I have "bikini baristas" on the street where I live! I admit: NJ has better pizza, baegels and diners.)

Corey

True, the Neighborhood Cutitngs Ninjas are 'stealing', but those threads back in 2002 or so, where the Dumpster diva Divas explained thier philosophy, converted me to their cause.

They did make apologies like "we never take enough that they NOTICE". And they admitted shame about stealing cuttings from a CHURCH ... until the pastor saw them and couldn't stop laughing at how guilty they looked.

I think my favorite story was the grandmotherly lady who went into a dumpster at ? Home Depot ? one night, to rescue some potted plants that were being assasinated for not selling fast enough. She knew all the dumpster-diving tricks by then, so she had her stool for getting in and out, and wore old clothes so she didn't mind getting dirty.

But ... RATS! This guy sees her and walks over to her. She's red-handed, in the dumpster up to her chin, but at least hasn't yet started pulling potted plants out. She thinks he's a security guard there to drag her off to prison.

But he amazes her by shaking his head, patting her arm, giving her $2, and walking away.

She was so spooked that she didn't figure it out until later. The old clothes: he thought she was homeless and looking for something to eat.

Who could send her to jail?

Corey

LOL, missed that one.

Corey, did they Everett close down, or make that mill clean up their smell? Everett used to smell as bad as Tacoma with the smell from the mill. Tacoma cleaned theirs up years ago. Surely Everett has too. The rotten egg smell. No tourism then.

How long have you lived there? Maybe you missed it.

You say it is cool there but you know, that is what keeps the flowers blooming nice. When it's hot it wilts them right down. Roses last so long too if you can keep them from mildewing from the cool.

You don't sound like you are heading back to NJ to live any time soon.

If he is smart he won't come back.

This is the only state in the USA that you can live any way you want. You can be a beach bum, a hermit in the mountains or just a stupid farmer like us. You can live like a piney in the pinelands or up north like the city slickers. There is something for everyone and you will find every nationality in the world here.

Taxes are the highest in the USA and they tax everything except urine samples.
That will be next if the Democrates have anything to say. ( ducking and running so Jen does not hit me).

So, my new friend, stay where you are! Nothing will ever change this Jersey Fresh Garden State. JB

JB:

Oh, wow! You live in the nice part of NJ. Drove through it once ... after getting past the refineries (or whatever those were) and "pharmaceutical row", it turned nice.

I used to live in the urban mess. They had a big toll station on the highway to PA. They would let anyone in for free (after all: it's New JERSEY!) But they charged around $1.50 to get OUT ... and there was always a long line of people trying to get away at any price.

Corey

J,

>> Everett used to smell as bad as Tacoma with the smell from the mill. ... The rotten egg smell

I assume they cleaned it upo, but would I even notice?

Once, I was driving around NJ smoking a cigar, and thought "Man, NJ really stinks - like burning plastic!"

I rolled up my window and it got worse.

Then my right elbow got warm.

I had put down my cigar lighter with the flame not fully extinguished, in the plastic divider, and some paper caught fire.

Then the plastic divider caught fire.

By the time I realized it wasn't NJ, it was me ... I had quite a merry car fire going on.
It was already exciting enough when I realized that Ihad a propane cyclinder in the back seat ...

So, next time you're in NJ and some total maniac driver is weaving around wildy at high speed, screaming from inside a cloud of toxic smoke ... just smile and wave ... it's a Jersey thing!

Corey

JB:

Can I remember this whole joke? I forget which governor it was: the one who bought three heicopters, two for emergency medivac and one for himself, then had to save money by returning the two medivac copters and keeping his own. This was long before Christie (is that her name?)

The US president, the VP and the NJ Governer were in a helicopter over NJ.

The VP threw out a $100 bill and said "I made someone in NJ happy!"

The NJ Gov tore a $100 bill in half, threw the halves out, and said "I made TWO people in NJ happy!"

The President threw the Gov out of the copter, and said "I made EVERYONE in NJ happy!"

(Propagating NJ's reputation is very easy!)

Corey

Well, I gotta say you haven't done any better with your new gov JB! LOL Take that, and that!!

Gotcha

O BTW, they tried taxing that pee and decided it wasn't worth as much as it was to collect it. tee hee hee

ROFLMAO..............I am originally from the Amish Country in Pennsylvania. Very much into horses and when I retired I came to NJ to help a new Standardbred Horse Farm set up their books, manage their office and get things moving. For fun you may want to see what it has turned out to be. Check out http://perretti.com/cms/ or google Perretti Farms in NJ. This was in 1987 and they were just finishing the office and I worked out of the lab with a computer and a phone until the office was finished. We had all Mexicans working for us and the manager was a Mexican American, I was the only female in the place.One of three who spoke English. Bob Marks, the Marketing Director,. Perretti and I had to learn how to communicate with the lads in the barn. Perretti owned Toyota dealerships in Peramus (sp) and a restaurant at the Meadowlands plus dealerships in Florida. He was my boss. What a fun time we had and I learned how to breed horses from scratch. So, RJ I got my Amish feet wet early when it comes to learning how to survive in NJ. I was then in my 50s and completely changed professions. I was in Health and Human Sevices prior to retiring in PA. The area around Peramus made me crazy, that was the North part where traffic is bumper to bumper and the smell is horrible. LOL. Thanks for the memory. Have a good day. JB My website is JBsBirdsandMore if you want more information about my life in NJ.

>> The area around Peramus made me crazy, that was the North part where traffic is bumper to bumper and the smell is horrible. LOL.

That's what I remember best.

Once I was on a business trip to Ohio, and the lady at a Subway shop was clearly noticing my accent. So I admitted I was from New Jersey.

She put on the kind of tone you would use to pity someone with a loathsome disease:
"I KNOW!"

Corey

LOL, that is funny. Poor Corey. I can't tell you and JB have an accent. How come you don't write with one? : )

Whaddayawannaknow fer?

Yatalkin' a me?

Yeah, yeah, I gothcher accent! Right here! (obscure gestures)

Itsa Joisey ting!

:-)

Corey

Yeah, I went to a conference with a guy from Joisey and all he could say was bada bing.

Jen, You would laugh at my accent. No one has a clue where I came from because I have some PA Dutch, where I was raised, Philly and Jersey, where I spent years around people who lived there, and last but not least, when we were in the Marines, I lived in North Carolina. Y'all come back JB

JB, you forgot "now, ya hear?"

Ah, yes....my grandma was from Atlanta....y'all come...t...suppa', ya hear?

"bada bing bada boom"

Music to my ears!

If I'm right, the literal meaning of that friendly salutation is something like "I'mgonna poppacap in you face, buddy!"

I've been trying to fiogure out how to say, in a family-friendly forum, how our junior mechanic and I alsways greeted each other.

"Good $%^&* Morning!"
"Good $%^&* Morning to you to, *&^%$#@$%^&*!"

Trust me, that was friendly.

Another fond Joisey memeory was a sweet young lady in an oncoming red car ... leaning out her window, screaming UNfriendly imprecations and vigorously flipping the bird at me ... for doing what she was trying to do, before she get there.

Ahh, Jersey!

The most predictable drivers in the world. No matter what happens, they are going to press their pedal to the floor and try to cut you off.

I ALMOST miss it.

But this cutting has been successfully transplanted and put down roots in the PNW. I do miss the pizza and bagels, though.

Corey

Sorry Corey, I hate rude drivers. Every once in a while we run into some on the East side of the state. Normally in the summer when people are hot and irritated by the weather. But that doesn't excuse it.

I think we have hijacked this thread and I am very sorry about it. Speaking of rude!! Sorry.

I have been re-reading this thread. Echinaceamaniac: you mentioned rooting Penstemons in water. I have Husker's Red that I purchased this Sp. on the clearance rack. It is doing well. Do you cut the top off of the plant to get it to root? Maybe, I should wait until next year to try to propagate it?

Hmm, that's an interesting thought. Hadn't thought about trying to root penstemon, but I have one that I would love to propagate, instead of waiting the 2 years to get more flowers from seed! Might have to try that!

Can you root bee balm in water? or coreopsis, mine is spreading like wild, but I would love to fill in some bare areas.

I have read this thread a couple of times. I don't think Nepeta has been mentioned. I would like to increase my Nepeta. Has anyone tried to propagate Nepeta via cuttings? Water? Soil? Vermiculite? Please advise.

I had a little luck with bee balm in water. Out of five two managed to root. It took about three weeks. The two things that seem to root the quickest for me in water are mexican petunia and verbena. They have all made the transition to soil without any problems. I do alot of experimenting to try to figure out which way will work best for me...water, perlite or just potting soil. Salvia seems to do really well in straight perlite. No luck with the bee balm in perlite though.