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[email protected][_1_] · 16-09-2006, 04:12 PM posted to rec.gardens

Ol' Duffer wrote:
In article ,
says...
I took some semi-ripe cuttings of different shrubs about 4 weeks ago and
put them in pots filled with a recommended cuttings mixture. I put them
first in polythene bags and then, when they showed signs of growth,
into my coldframe. All are surviving and appear to be healthy , but if
I dig any out of the pots, I can't see any roots.

"Shrubs" is a pretty broad term. If they are evergreens, expect them
to be very slow. I took six cuttings from the bushes in front of my
house in the spring of 2005. Two died within the first month, no big
surprise, and showed no signs of root growth. A third kicked off for
no apparent reason after about six months, and had a wad of fine roots
about the size of my thumb. Three survived and actually showed a tiny
bit of new green in the spring of 2006, at which point I moved them to
their final location. At the year-and-a-half point now, I think I have
stable root systems, though not much growth aboveground. It remains to
be seen if they will survive their first real winter. I do not have
a greenhouse, but kept them on the windowsill where they got full sun
part of the day, giving them a couple ounces of water about every other
day, rotating them about once a week, and giving them a drop of plant
food about once a month. There may be chemicals and methods that will
improve upon my bumbling attempts...

Ol' Duffer,
I have successfully rooted many types of shrubs, often as a fluke. If
the cuttings are from a woody type such as cedar, cypress, yews or
juniper, it is best to scar the base and use a stimulating hormone.
Root developement takes many weeks. If you do this in the late fall you
may find root developement and new growth in the late spring of the
following year. Anyway, it has worked well for me. Patience has often
been my friend.
Bittersweet