What Are Plant Cuttings?
One of the joys of growing plants is being able to produce more of them from a single specimen. Among the many ways to propagate plants, taking cuttings from the plant is one of the easiest. Depending on the type of plant being propagated, a cutting is basically the act of snipping off a piece of the plant and placing it in a growing medium where it will eventually produce new roots. Does this Spark an idea?
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Considerations
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There are various ways to take cuttings from plants, again depending upon the type of plant being propagated. Stem cuttings taken from leafy and and from the soft tissue of woody plants are more likely to produce roots and grow into new plants, while those taken from woody plants, such as trees and shrubs, are more difficult to root.
Cutting Methods
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Herbaceous, or leafy, plants -- the category that most houseplants fall into -- provide plenty of material from which to take cuttings. On woody plants, cuttings are taken from new green shoots before their outer layer has hardened, which typically takes place from May through July. The current year's growth on semi-hardwood plants, such as rhododendrons, produces the best cuttings, while cuttings taken from hardwood trees are best taken from the previous year's growth.
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Care of Plant Cuttings
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Moisture is the most important requirement for successful plant propagation with cuttings. Herbaceous stem cuttings can simply be placed in a glass of water or a very damp growing medium, such as a seed starting mix or perlite. Cuttings taken from woody plants do best if provided with a mini-greenhouse environment in the form of a plastic bag or a cover made of an empty plastic bottle whose bottom has been cut out. Trays of cuttings can also be covered tightly with clear plastic stretched over a wire frame.
Leaf Cuttings
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Plants such as Rex begonias can be propagated by means of leaf cuttings. A healthy mature leaf is taken from the plant and anchored shallowly in a damp medium such as seed-starting soil. In time, tiny roots appear in the soil at the base of the leaf. Plantlets -- tiny plants -- develop from the roots. It's possible for multiple new plants to develop wherever the leaf cut touches the soil. African violets can also be propagated by leaf petiole cuttings where about an inch or so of stem is left on the leaf which is then inserted in the soil with its bottom slightly submerged.
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References
- Photo Credit seedlings image by Aleksandr Ugorenkov from Fotolia.com
