I'm new, and think the boxwoods i've put in pots are ok ... all
i did
was cut them, dip into the hormone, put in a finger hole in the
soil,
and pack the soil in. Are my boxwoods doomed ? Also, how much
rooting hormone is enough ? I'm being pretty liberal with it,
and i
know that with plants, often too much is bad!

Your boxwoods will be fine. They'll root without rooting
hormone.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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At 02:39 PM 4/8/03 -0700, Allen wrote:
I just read in a post regarding taking cuttings to "Scrape the top
layer of bark with a razor to expose the green cadmium before applying
rooting hormone"
I'm new, and think the boxwoods i've put in pots are ok ... all i did
was cut them, dip into the hormone, put in a finger hole in the soil,
and pack the soil in. Are my boxwoods doomed ? Also, how much
rooting hormone is enough ? I'm being pretty liberal with it, and i
know that with plants, often too much is bad!

Allen

Scraping the bark or removing a thin strip of bark is a technique know as
'wounding'. It does seem to be beneficial for some species, notably Acer
palmatum, but I am not as fond of it as I used to be. Often is appears to
be unnecessary and when it does work you end up with one sided roots. It is
NOT necessary for Buxus, which are easy to root and only a low
concentration of hormone or none at all is required. I recommend that you
use something like Rootone or Hormex 1 or 3. Dip to about 1/2 inch with the
cutting wet, then tap the base of the cutting to knock off the excess. And
yes, too much can be bad, but with hormones it is usually the strength
rather than the quantity that is dangerous.

For much more information on cutting propagation in general, there is an
article at my website:

http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/cuttings.htm




Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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Thanks Brent for your much valued input. Your reading and experience all
fit with my (small scale) successes.

A couple of things I would add for those just starting out in this.
Timing is one of the most critical aspects for most cuttings. Though
successes may be had at other times of year, taking them at the optimum
time really increases the chances of a good strike rate. Good shrub and
tree books should have a section on propagation and timings for many
species can be found in these.

As well as being fraught with problems it is still great fun and a very
satisfying way of increasing stocks of suitable specimens.

Cheers

Kev Bailey
Vale Of Clwyd, North Wales, Zone9



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At 08:33 PM 4/9/03 +0100, kevin bailey wrote:
...
A couple of things I would add for those just starting out in this.
Timing is one of the most critical aspects for most cuttings. Though
successes may be had at other times of year, taking them at the optimum
time really increases the chances of a good strike rate. Good shrub and
tree books should have a section on propagation and timings for many
species can be found in these...

Kevin

Absolutely true. Timing can be crucial. In my experience the best time for
most woody species (all other factors being equal) is semi hardwood stage
in early summer. This is the time of the year when the first set of leaves
have hardened off and plants are taking a breath before starting another
growth spurt. In my part of the world, this late May and early June. Strike
rates are usually still good through July. By August it is getting too late
for a high success rate, but plants still do root. Sept is miserable, not
worth the effort.

I don't do hardwoods in winter very often, but cuttings can be taken after
leaf drop in the fall and stored over the winter and planted out in early
spring. This is not a common practice anymore, but it can still be done for
many woody species.

Timing for a few species is absolutely crucial. Birches seem to have a very
narrow window in summer, just prior to end bud set. This is a period of
only about two weeks. There are just an incredible number of tricks to
successful propagation, but hey, it's fun.



Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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A couple of things I would add for those just starting out in
this.
Timing is one of the most critical aspects for most cuttings.
Though
successes may be had at other times of year, taking them at the
optimum
time really increases the chances of a good strike rate. Good
shrub and
tree books should have a section on propagation and timings for
many
species can be found in these.

As well as being fraught with problems it is still great fun
and a very
satisfying way of increasing stocks of suitable specimens.


On the other hand, if you are trimming a plant and have
left-overs that might make good cuttings, it doesn't hurt to try
them at ANY time of the year. No sense wasting anything --
especially if it is waste in the first place. ;-)

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

On the other hand, if you are trimming a plant and have
left-overs that might make good cuttings, it doesn't hurt to try
them at ANY time of the year. No sense wasting anything --
especially if it is waste in the first place. ;-)

Ha ha, try telling my wife that ;-) My driveway and path to the front
door regularly gets so jammed with stuff that I've propagated that it
takes a Herculanean effort to appease her and allow the posty in.

In the last couple of years I've started to delight in NOT keeping all
the bits I'm trimming. If I did, I'd have to move to a larger house
(again!). This self discipline has taken me years to achieve and is
still hard to master.

Example, once I'd discovered that snapping off new growth from my
collection of 20 varieties of Satsuki's would root easily, it grew to
more than 400 plants in a couple of years. Each spring I run out of
pots, feed, soil, patience and eventually decided that the only sensible
option was to sell them all! I kept the originals and one or two are
starting to look worthwhile. I'll post to the gallery in the fifth
month.

Cheers

Kev Bailey






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Make a *garage sales* of pre- bonsai cuttings

kevin bailey wrote:

On the other hand, if you are trimming a plant and have
left-overs that might make good cuttings, it doesn't hurt to try
them at ANY time of the year. No sense wasting anything --
especially if it is waste in the first place. ;-)

Ha ha, try telling my wife that ;-) My driveway and path to the front
door regularly gets so jammed with stuff that I've propagated that it
takes a Herculanean effort to appease her and allow the posty in.

In the last couple of years I've started to delight in NOT keeping all
the bits I'm trimming. If I did, I'd have to move to a larger house
(again!). This self discipline has taken me years to achieve and is
still hard to master.

Example, once I'd discovered that snapping off new growth from my
collection of 20 varieties of Satsuki's would root easily, it grew to
more than 400 plants in a couple of years. Each spring I run out of
pots, feed, soil, patience and eventually decided that the only sensible
option was to sell them all! I kept the originals and one or two are
starting to look worthwhile. I'll post to the gallery in the fifth
month.

Cheers

Kev Bailey

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How long will the cuttings take to root?. Couple weeks ago, there was a
Bonsai show at my local botanical garden here in So. Redondo Beach, and the
speaker was using a cork tree. I took some cuttings(8) from him and I have
it in a pot now, waiting for roots to come. He did tell me it will take
some time. I didn't use any rooting hormone, but you say I'll be ok...so
what about the watering. Is it the same, wait till its dry or do I keep it
moist. Your answers are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

Tony Busko - Redondo Beach, CA
Zone 10

-----Original Message-----
From: Internet Bonsai Club ]On Behalf
Of Jim Lewis
Sent: Tuesday, April 08, 2003 3:25 PM
To:
Subject: [IBC] Cuttings from woody plants


I'm new, and think the boxwoods i've put in pots are ok ... all
i did
was cut them, dip into the hormone, put in a finger hole in the
soil,
and pack the soil in. Are my boxwoods doomed ? Also, how much
rooting hormone is enough ? I'm being pretty liberal with it,
and i
know that with plants, often too much is bad!

Your boxwoods will be fine. They'll root without rooting
hormone.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

************************************************** **************************
****
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** **************************
****
-- The IBC HOME PAGE & FAQ: http://www.internetbonsaiclub.org/ --
+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

************************************************** ******************************
++++Sponsored, in part, by Evergreen Gardenworks++++
************************************************** ******************************
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+++++ Questions? Help? e-mail +++++

How long will the cuttings take to root?. Couple weeks ago,
there was a
Bonsai show at my local botanical garden here in So. Redondo
Beach, and the
speaker was using a cork tree. I took some cuttings(8) from
him and I have
it in a pot now, waiting for roots to come. He did tell me it
will take
some time. I didn't use any rooting hormone, but you say I'll
be ok...so
what about the watering. Is it the same, wait till its dry or
do I keep it
moist. Your answers are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.


What is a cork tree? I have no idea how long, whether, or how
well cork trees root from cuttings. "Some time" could be as long
as 4-5 months if it is a slow rooter. And some plants NEED
rooting hormone. My earlier comment was for boxwood.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Our life is
frittered away by detail . . . . Simplify! Simplify. -- Henry
David Thoreau - Walden

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************************************************** ******************************
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At 02:34 AM 4/12/03 -0700, Tony Busko wrote:
How long will the cuttings take to root?. Couple weeks ago, there was a
Bonsai show at my local botanical garden here in So. Redondo Beach, and the
speaker was using a cork tree. I took some cuttings(8) from him and I have
it in a pot now, waiting for roots to come. He did tell me it will take
some time. I didn't use any rooting hormone, but you say I'll be ok...so
what about the watering. Is it the same, wait till its dry or do I keep it
moist. Your answers are greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.

Tony

Many of your questions will be answered by reading the Cutting Propagation
article at my website:

http://www.evergreengardenworks.com/cuttings.htm

I can think of several species that might be called "cork tree". I would
need to know the botanical name to give you more information on the species
that you have. If it is cork oak, Quercus suber, you can pretty much forget
it. The difficult to impossible to root from cuttings.

Cuttings can root in as little as ten days to as much as three years
depending on the species.

I think you misread my previous post. I said that cuttings _can_ be rooted
without hormone, but it depends on the species. Most species _cannot_ be
rooted without applying hormone.

Watering of course is the hardest part of starting cuttings. You are
dealing with plant tissue that has no roots, no way to take up water except
through capillary action at the base of the stem and through the pores of
the leaves and stems. If you keep them in a normal plant environment, they
will usually die before rooting.

They are two major ways of dealing with semi hardwood cuttings (cuttings
taken during the season of hardened new growth). The first is a mist
system. This is different from getting out the spray bottle once or twice
day. That will do virtually nothing. A mist system is a timed spray that
typically will come on for about seven to ten seconds every fifteen minutes
(during the day, it is off at night). This keep the leaf surface nearly
continually wet.

The second method is the cloche system. It involves keeping the humidity at
near 100% by covering the cuttings with a plastic or glass frame. It should
receive no direct sunlight and should be kept cool, as on the surface of
the earth or under a bench. Various ingenious methods such as large plastic
bottles cut in half work well. You should check daily to make sure the
medium is staying wet.

Hardwood cuttings are taken in winter. They are usually stored until late
winter or early spring in cool damp cellars, packed in a medium like moist
sawdust. They are taken out a few weeks before typical budbreak time and
planted in the earth, although pots may work. Since there are no leaves to
transpire, the elaborate systems above are not necessary. However, success
depends greatly on your local climate. If you live in an area that can get
hot and dry fast, you are going to have problems. If you have long cool,
wet springs, you will have more success. The idea is to have the callused
cuttings root before the buds break or at about the same time. Not all
species can be rooted this way. In fact, the limitations of this system is
what fueled the research for mist and cloche systems.

Brent in Northern California
Evergreen Gardenworks USDA Zone 8 Sunset Zone 14

http://www.EvergreenGardenworks.com

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