Cloning 101: On the Cheap

What you look like you have is some weird Sub-Irrigated Planter. Your intuitive approach is a bit better. Start the cuttings in dirt Or some semblance of that.

One, the roots that grow in water grow a different way than those in dirt. When going from one to the other there is this horrible adjustment phase- not worth it.

Propagating can be a matter of timing. You do develop a feel for it. WHen you cut a plant, it wails, “Ooh, I’ve just be cut! How could you do that!” Immediately, it send its version of white blood cells to the site to encourage growth and healing. These hormones stimulate roots or leaves to form depending what is cut where. You can get plants to fake it using rooting hormone or if you are an organic freak, willow water.

When you take a cutting you have just deprived the new plant in your hand of its entire root system. Nature loves a balance. So cut back the foliage appropriately. Dip cutting in willow water or hormone and stick in a soil mixture. (I like 50% peat soil and 50% sand.) Firm the mix around the stem of cutting. Light spray with water.

I use a 10″ x 20″ plant tray with a dome on a heat mat for instant gratification. Lots of roots and rooted cutting in 5 days. Slower but working just as well, a tray with drainage and individual cells for each cutting, watered and placed in the shade of a tree. THis method takes about six weeks for each cutting to full out its cell. Cuttings should be replanted before about August 15 to allow time for them to establish themselves. Otherwise cover with plastic and 4″ of leaves and plant out in the spring, if perennial.