Phlox Propagation With Cuttings

A few weeks ago, Daisy, I think it was, asked about taking Phlox cuttings as one of the methods of propagation. I recall that I had written something, but felt in the end that I had not made myself very clear.
Perhaps with this posting along with fotos it will be clearer.

You can take cuttings either in the early spring or late summer. The ones that I have selected to demonstrate this technique are, of course, late summer stems, as it is august.

1) Select a blooming stem with 3-5 sets of leaves.


2) Remove the flower neatly.


3) Remove all the leaves except for the top one (leaving one set is best)or two sets with a very sharp knife so that your cuts will be clean and precise. The less sets that you leave, the less moisture will be lost.


4) Say that you now have a stem with a set of leaves at the top and three denuded 'nodes' where leaves have been removed.
Go to the node above the bottom one and make a clean cut in one move just below the node. *The top of the plant cutting is to the right.

It should look like this when you have finished:


5) Take a small pot and fill it with a mix of sand and compost.
You can dip the cuttings into growing hormone powder if you want, but it is not really necessary with Phlox.
Then push the bare stem down into the soil alongside the side of the pot.

You can place 4-5 cuttings into such a pot.


6) Next, you thrust three sticks into the outer edge os the soil in between your cuttings. I have placed three short bamboo lengths, as you can see.


7) Water the soil in thoroughly and cover with a clear plastic bag...

...and seal it with a rubber band (if you make some small holes in the bag, otherwise do not seal it).

If it becomes too humid in the bag, remove it periodically to allow ventilation, then replace it. This is to prevent mould formation.

8) Set your cuttings in a light place, but not in direct sunlight and wait. You should have roots within six weeks or so if all goes well. It is often advised to place them on something warm--like a propagator or a heating pad--something to give a low degree of warmth as this stimulates root-forming.

9) These can then be potted-on into their own pot--one cutting per pot and set away for the winter. Give them a tiny bit of water every now and then to keep the roots from drying out completely. Next spring after all chance of frost, plant them in the bed where they will remain.

Good luck!

 

Thanks so much for the very informative post. I planted 3 phlox plants in the garden this year and would love to have more. I will give this a try.

 

You are certainly welcome, faeryreel. I hope that you have good luck with them.
If you do, please do post some pics of your flowers next year.

 

Wow...That's interesting to hear that you guys do stem cuttings the same way we do them here. It's sort of like a validation. hahaha
I am tremendously interested in that Jap. Acer that you just did. You must let me know how it did for you.
I hope it works for you. I'm thinking that you will have success, since you are such a skillful gardner.

 

..Did youi say you had started "another" acer? How many have you done, and have you had success?

 

Thanks for the tips Sjoerd! There's a real pretty clump of hot pink Phlox in the neighbors yard...now I just need to go and sneak a few slips

 

ah ha, these phlox are at the top of my 'gotta have' list. I know this explanation will come in handy. Thanks

 

Ok Petunia.....I'm really hoping that it will work for you. If not try it again with new growth in the spring.
Oh, this is exciting....

 

This is a nice demo Sjoerd... one for the book you're going to write, right?

I really like the color of the phlox in my yard now -- I'd like to have more of them. So much to do though... wow, I feel out of time. This will go in my favorites folder.

 

Great demo. I'm asking my neighbor for a cutting or two of her phlox this week-end. :-D

 

Ha ha ha...Daisy, you are a funny girl. A Book. chortle.(( ))
I know what you mean about being busy. I have been enormously busy of late but now I can relax a bit...until the next project.

Way to go Jewell--I hope that you have great success with your attempt.
Fingers crossed here.
Thanks for the nice words too.

 

Hi Sjoerd
Great info and pics on propagation. If there is moisture in the bags do the plants still need misting?

 

Some moisture will be in the bags because it will have been on the leaves and soil. Keeping the bag closed will prevent moisture loss, so I rarely mist the plants. Some folks do, and if you just lightly mist them once and a while, it shouldn't hurt.

 

We are lucky, Phlox self seeds here and is like a weed popping up everywhere, with new and interesting colour combinations.