I love to take cuttings etc, but I am never sure if they need to be covered while rooting or not. Is there any specific details available. Thank you for nay help in advance
My success rate with taking cutting is about 50%... but I think alot of it depends on what type of plant(s) you are trying to start. I have no problem with "soft" cuttings. Usually just stick them in some dirt with a little rooting hormone and before you know it... they have taken. But... when it comes to "hard" cuttings... like roses... I have little success, even with covering them and following expert advice. With that said, is there a specific plant or plants you are trying to propogate now?
I have been trying to root some rare viburnum cuttings I "borrowed" from botanical gardens. I find the ones out in the open dry up their leaves and die altogether. Some of the ones I put in plastic bags and tied them, look a lot greener. Not sure if it's a successful operation... but that's just what I realized. With roses, I have quite a lot of success with plastic bottles (PETs) on top. The cap is slightly screwed, so I can easily open it and pour water inside when I feel the soil is dry.
Hi Petals, When I do cuttings I always cover the pot with a clear celophane bag. Always. It helps keep leaf moisture. There is moisture loss from the twig through the leaves. If the cutting looses too much moisture, it will not root. The plastic bag helps lessen moisture loss. Have a look at this posting--perhaps you will find it interesting: http://www.gardenstew.com/about16420.html The plant featured was Phlox, but I use this same procedure for all stem cuttings that I do. I hope that you have some good luck with your propagation.
I pretty much do as Sloerds tutorial shows, except I mist my cuttings daily. You don't want the leaves to get dried out. The other thing to keep in mind is that if you are taking cuttings of something with large leaves, it will not hurt them to cut off 1/2 of the leaf. this way the cutting isn't struggling to suck up enough moisture to keep itself hydrated. And I cover EVERYTHING that I am trying to root, no exceptions. I assume you use a rooting hormone to help, also? (if not your success rate will be very poor) If it is hard to come by you can make a willowbark "tea" everyday and dampen the soil with that to help stimulate the rooting.
If I root in water I just stick a couple of willow twigs in the water too. Usually I take off all leaves except top one or two.
thank you all for your very good advice,the plants are am planing to propagate from are the Carnation and Dianthus. Thank you all for your interest.
I have taken carnation and dianthus cuttings petals. If you go down to a leaf node you can usually just pull out a piece of the stem quite easily. I then just carefully remove the bottom leaves of the cutting and dibber them into a plastic plant pot, placing the cuttings around the edge of the pot as they tend to root better that way. I keep them in my greenhouse and after a while you will feel a little resistance if you slightly tug at the cutting which means that roots are growing. Good luck.
