On 30/07/2011 22:47, Pam Moore wrote:
On Sat, 30 Jul 2011 20:50:01 +0100, Jeff Layman
wrote:

Watching cuttings being taken on GW last night, and hearing the usual
advice to "cut the last pair of leaves in half if they are too big" for
the umpteenth time over many years made me think.

Why not simply cut one leaf off through its stalk rather than cut two
leaves in half? It would be a lot simpler, as other leaves lower down
would already have been removed in that fashion. Surely it would also
reduce stress for the cutting as it would lead to less water loss, and
give the advantage that a much smaller cut area would be far less prone
to suffer from fungal infections.

Jeff, we'll await the results of your experiments!

I only take cuttings of cacti and succulents. No leaves to worry
about... ;-))

Well, not quite true. But I'm not very good at getting cuttings to
root, and I was just intrigued by this advice. Next time I try I'll
divide the cuttings into cut leaves and single leaves. Maybe others
here can also try and report back their experience, although maybe
Charlie P. has already answered the point.

--

Jeff