TAKE A FEW CUTTINGS

By Jonsig Eirik

There is no better way to fill up your borders and

flowerbe ds with rare plants and flowering shrubs, than to
grow the m from cuttings. Trade cutti ngs with your
frie nds and ne ighb ors ne xt spring and summer whe n the
time is right. You will all have the most be autiful flower
borde r at little or no cost. The frie ndship you cre ate is a
bonus.
The first cuttings I trie d were mostly a failure until I
learne d that most important first step that that you must
take; ste rilize e verything, and I me an e ve rything. I will
walk you through it ste p by step.
Start off with a he althy cutting 4 to 6 inc he s long, pull
most of the le ave s off, le avi ng a fe w at the e nd. Cut the
bottom off hard up against a node whe re you pulle d a
leaf off, or trimmed off a side shoot. Re ady se ve ral of
the se if you can or only one if you came by a rare
spe cimen.
Ne xt step: use a plastic bucke t to prepare a mild soluti on
of ble ach water. The soluti on is strong enough whe n it
starts to fee l slippe ry betwee n your finge rs. You nee d
about half a pail of this mix so you can immerse a plant
pot.
Get a small bottle of root- tone, number two, or a similar
brand to coat the end of the cutti ngs. You also nee d a
narrow, but dee p plastic bag.
If you pre fer to use plastic glove s for doing this, by all
me ans do. I ne ve r bothe r since my hands will the n be
sterile for handli ng the cuttings.
Have you de cided on what to grow your little babies in?
There are many things you can use . Whe n I came by a
cutti ng that I definitely did not want to fail, I use d
garde n quality pe arlite or ve rmiculite to be certain there
is no mold. Pe at moss is good, sand is okay, but sand
should be sterilize d with ble ach water and the n washe d
with cle an wate r and le t drain.
Okay let’s start: drop your cuttings into the bleach water
and le t them stand for a fe w minutes, swish the m around
if you like and the n take the m out and rinse the m in
cle an wate r. Place the m on a paper towe l and cover with
another pape r towe l.
Find a cle an plastic pot, a deep 6-inch is good for small
cutti ngs. Immerse it in the bucke t of ble ach water; make
sure it’s cle an. Remove and rinse. Place a pape r towe l in
the bottom and fill with vermiculite , or whate ver you
de cided to use, almost to the top. Trickle a bit of water
on this till it’s nice and damp throughout, but not soggy.
You can te ll whe n it’s nice ly damp whe n you make a hole
about two or three inche s dee p with a pe ncil-- also
sterilize d. Whe n you withdraw the pencil the vermiculite
should stay in place, the n it’s pe rfe ct. If you’re not sure ,
se t the pot in a saucer with a little water for a fe w
se conds.
Now take your cutting and dip it in the root-tone powde r
so the bottom half inch or so is covere d; if the cutti ng
has bee n ke pt damp it should stick. Now care fully lowe r
the cutti ng into the hole you made with the pe ncil—all
the way to the bottom and the n use the pe ncil to firmly
pack the vermiculite around the cutting. Push the pencil
down beside it se veral times till it’s tightly packed with
no chance of air trapped beside it.
Now: make a little greenhouse with the plastic bag, first
rinse it out with ble ach water and shake it dry. Se t the
pot in it, pull the bag up around it; tie the top secure ly.
Make sure there is room in the bag for the plants to
grow, by tying to top to some thing so it stays up like
little te nt over the cuttings. Make sure this is always
ke pt in the shade for the ne xt two or three months, or till
the cutti ng starts to grow. Don’t ope n the bag till the n.
The last cuttings I did we re from a trumpet vi ne . The y
started to grow in about 6 wee ks. I left them the re till
they were well rooted, probably a couple of months or
more .
Garde ners all have the ir own special tricks. The y all
work. This e ffort was a shady wind owsill proje ct to
propagate that rare shrub that nobody can name. Have
fun. Jonsig.