How to Grow Cuttings From Established Garden Plants

Growing new plants from cuttings can be a rewarding way to increase the number and variety of plants in your garden. Many people receive cuttings from friends or take cuttings from their own garden plants. Not every cutting will survive, even in the best conditions, but you can start adding to your garden with a few simple steps.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Sharp knife
• Rooting hormone
• Container with a good medium in it

1. Know which plants can be established from cuttings. Not all plants can "reproduce" this way. Take your cutting from a healthy plant. You don't want to reproduce diseased or problem plants. Often a stem or leaf is used for the cutting.

2. Take cuttings with a sharp, sterilized knife. The sharp blade reduces the potential for injury to the established plant, and the sterilization will keep diseases from being transferred between plants. Remove any flowers or buds from the cutting. Your cutting should concentrate on forming roots, rather than feeding the flower or bud.

3. Dip the cutting in rooting hormone. Available at most gardening stores, these hormones will help the cutting produce more roots more quickly. Place a small amount in a separate cup for each cutting so that you don't contaminate the hormone.

4. Place the cuttings in a drained and sterilized medium. Moisten the medium before putting in the cutting. Keep the soil moist while the cutting establishes roots.