How often do you get it so that you seem to have cut a lot of cuttings and used them, but at the same time you didn’t give out a single root of the cuttings, they rotted and disappeared? Those who have tried to root a pear and an apple tree, or to breed a rose from a flower bought in a store, are probably familiar with a similar problem. Nevertheless, knowledgeable, experienced gardeners say: if the cutting did not give roots, then either the rooting procedures, or the choice of the cutting, or both, were done incorrectly.
But how is it right? How to root cuttings in water, in a box or directly in the ground, so that the survival rate is high, and the plants from the cuttings grow strong and healthy? Let's use the advice of experienced gardeners.
Rooting cuttings can be done in different ways. We will try to tell you in detail about each, choose for yourself the method that is convenient for you personally. Or try all the options - something will certainly work.
Rooting cuttings in water
The simplest, most affordable rooting method is known to any summer resident. All of us have cut cuttings more than once, put them in a jar of water and eagerly waited for the roots to appear. Sometimes they showed up, sometimes they didn't. It turns out that in order for there to be much more successful rooting, it is enough to follow a few simple rules:
- Do not change the water in the tank, but top it up if necessary. Changing water for cuttings is a big stress.
- The water in the container (and the water that is added there) should be at room temperature, in no case cold.
- Do not put too many cuttings in one jar. It is better to distribute them so that for every 200 milliliters of water there are 2-3 cuttings.
- Do not pour too much water into the jar. The higher the water level, the more likely the cutting will rot.
- Use opaque containers. In dark bottles and jars, roots form better.
- If the cuttings were harvested in the fall, and they began to root in the spring, it is first necessary to immerse the lower parts of the cuttings in water for several hours, then cut off the dry part to live wood, and only then put it in water for germination.
- Add a couple of activated charcoal tablets or phosphorus-potassium fertilizers to the water or use.
- If the cuttings were harvested in the fall and do not have leaves, the containers should be kept in the dark. If the cuttings are summer and have at least part of the leaf, then vice versa - in the light.
- From time to time, aerate the water in the jar. This procedure avoids rotting of the lower part of the cuttings.
In boxes, in flower pots, in plastic cups - cuttings can be rooted in any container. The main difference from the previous method is that the cut cuttings are planted in a specially prepared substrate.
The best substrate for rooting cuttings:
Option 1. 1:1 mixture of vermiculite and river sand.
Option 2. Mix 1:1:1:1 of perlite, earth, peat and sand.
Option 3. Mix 1:1:1:1 of peat, vermiculite, perlite and sand.
These substrates are good for their breathability, because a large amount of oxygen is needed for the formation of roots.
In order not to suffer with watering, ropes are laid at the bottom of the box, the ends of which are brought out of the box and lowered into a jar of water. Thus, by maintaining the water level in the jar (at least half), we provide the substrate with constant humidity.
To reduce the chances of cuttings rotting, we adhere to the Suvorov rule: keep your head cold and your feet warm. That is, when installing the box on the windowsill, we wrap it from below, and from time to time we ventilate the “tops” with the help of an open window.
If you notice that the cuttings have begun to live their own lives (the buds swelled, the leaves appeared), then complex fertilizer diluted according to the instructions can be added to the watering jar.
For those who have no time to water and feed at all, there is the following germination method. Vermiculite is kept in water for a week. Then it is poured into a box so that about 4 centimeters are still left to the top. Well-dried or calcined sand is poured on top with a layer of 2.5 centimeters. Cuttings are treated with a root stimulator. Now, with a peg, a hole is made in the substrate to the very bottom of the box, a cutting is inserted into it and the sand is compacted around it. Nothing else needs to be done, there is enough moisture in vermiculite, and the roots will not keep you waiting.
It is advisable to shorten well-rooted, accustomed and violently growing cuttings, leaving a few leaves below. Because in the spring it is too early to transplant newly-made seedlings to a permanent place, it is better to put the box in the garden and wait until September for planting.
When there is neither time nor place to place boxes with cuttings at home, a very similar, but still slightly different method is used - rooting directly in the ground. However, the option of simply sticking the cuttings into the ground often does not give satisfactory results, so it is better to tinker with the substrate and holes a little.
By and large, everything is done in the same way as with home rooting. All components of the substrate are mixed (in extreme cases, you can mix the earth with sawdust in a ratio of 1: 3), and holes dug in the ground play the role of boxes or pots.
The holes are filled with a substrate, then a ten-centimeter layer of dry sand is poured on top, and only now the cutting is stuck. The sand will absorb excess moisture, prevent weeds from germinating and provide air permeability to the soil.
While the cuttings are rooting, they are best kept under cover. As such, five-liter plastic bottles cut in half, lutrasil, agril and similar covering materials can serve.
And when the cuttings start to grow, it is very desirable to feed them with nitrogen fertilizer, for example, infusion of bird droppings or.
we have already managed to get acquainted with germination in potatoes. The tuber is a natural storehouse of nutrients, starch and growth stimulants. It is not surprising that many cuttings successfully take root in potatoes.
This method is good for a small number of cuttings. For for each individual cutting, you will need one large potato without eyes (they all need to be removed first). The stalk is stuck into the tuber for 1-2 buds, and the tuber itself is dug into the soil and watered abundantly. From above, the cuttings are covered with jars or large plastic bottles.
The cuttings planted in this way are regularly watered and aired from time to time by removing the bottles. After about a week, roots begin to appear.
How to root the most difficult cuttings
There are such cuttings that by no means want to give roots, even if everything is done according to the rules. With difficult, unyielding plants, you will have to tinker and start preparing the cuttings in the winter.
In January-February, you need to get to the dacha, choose a good one- or two-year-old branch for the cutting and carefully break it. You can break it just a little bit, in this case it is better not to break it than to break it. It is advisable not to damage the bark. The place of breaking right in a half-bent state must be fixed - rewound with a band-aid, electrical tape, grafting tape, you can even tie a “fracture” to another straight stick or wire according to the principle of a fixing tire.
In this form, the branches are left until spring. The tree has no choice but to begin to heal the wound, which means that growth substances will begin to actively form and accumulate in the place of the fracture.
In March or early April, the bandage from the branch must be removed and the cutting cut off at the fracture site. Already at home, we pour 6-7 centimeters of water into a dark, opaque bottle (melt water is best), add two tablets of activated carbon to it and put our stalk in the water. We put the bottle on a sunny windowsill. And we are waiting for the appearance of the roots! In about three weeks, they should make themselves felt.
When the roots of the newly made seedling grow six to seven centimeters in length, it can be planted in the ground. In the first season after planting, it is better to build a kind of greenhouse over the cutting for shelter from bad weather or the scorching sun, do not forget about watering and ... by autumn, a full-fledged seedling will grow from the rooted cutting.
So, we have decided on the methods of rooting cuttings, but there are still questions on the topic. How to properly cut cuttings? Which branch to choose for subsequent reproduction? What is the optimal length of the cutting and how many buds should be on it?
We will certainly devote one of the following articles to this burning topic. Stay with us:)
We wish you success and great harvests!
In horticulture and floriculture, it is very important to increase the number of cultivated plants so that the varietal characteristics of the mother organism are inherited in the offspring. Reproduction by seeds does not bring such a result - the offspring differ in their characteristics and properties from the mother plant and from each other. Here, methods of vegetative propagation come to the rescue, the main of which is propagation by cuttings.
Reproduction methods include:
- root cuttings;
- cuttings with a leaf blade;
- green cuttings;
- propagation by woody cuttings.
Cuttings by rhizome
This type of division is used on root plants, that is, those that have the ability to generate above-ground shoots from the adventitious buds of the main and lateral roots. During the dormant period, such a plant is dug up. Above-ground stems are removed and the roots are thoroughly washed with water. Then, with a sharpened garden knife or pruner, the rhizome is divided into several parts. It is necessary to ensure that the cut is even and smooth, without splitting. To do this, the tool must be in good working order.
The mother plant is subsequently returned to a permanent place where it takes root and continues to grow and develop. The fibrous appendages located on the sides are removed from the roots, and the required number of cuttings are cut. It is desirable to make the cut even, but oblique. The cut is sprinkled with crushed charcoal and, if necessary, treated with a fungicide.
For rooting, flower pots are used, which are filled with sifted and disinfected sand. Special holes are made in the substrate at a distance of 3-4 cm from each other and the cuttings are placed directly into them.
In order to increase the speed and efficiency of survival, a plastic or plastic bag is put on top of the container with plants, which creates a greenhouse effect. It is necessary to regularly spray the cuttings, as well as ventilate them and remove accumulated condensate from the covering material. There is no need to water the plants.
The success of the procedure is judged by the appearance of calluses - white formations in the lower part of the cutting, which appear after some time. After a certain period of time, a full-fledged root will be formed from these processes. At this point, the plants are transferred from the pot to a place of constant growth.
Leafy
In this way, mainly ornamental plants are propagated, for example:
- aloe;
- kalanchoe;
- streptocarpus;
- sansevieria;
- begonia, etc.
For the procedure, a part of the leaf blade of the flower is needed. To this end, a typical healthy leaf is found on the mother plant, cut off and divided into several parts. Each resulting formation must contain veins.
Delenki are treated with a solution of root formation stimulants and placed in a substrate, which is pure fine sand. The container with parts of the sheet is covered with a cellophane film. It is necessary to ensure that the covering material does not come into contact with leaf cuttings, as this causes rotting.
Pots should be placed in a place where direct sunlight does not penetrate and the temperature in which fluctuates at 19-23 degrees above zero. A full-fledged root system is formed after 30-40 days. After this stage, the film is removed and the plants are transplanted to permanent places.
Green
A number of plants can reproduce a new organism with the help of their stem. These include citrus, fruit (cherry, apple, plum, apricot, etc.), some flowers (ficus, etc.).
On the mother plant, healthy annual shoots are cut with a sharp tool. The procedure is carried out in the early morning, when the stems contain the maximum amount of moisture. In hot or dry weather, cutting is better to postpone. Preventing the material from drying out, cuttings 8-10 cm long are cut from it. Each of them should have at least 3-4 leaves.
The outer leaf is removed from the bottom of the cutting to prevent its subsequent decay in the soil. After that, the cut is slightly updated and the lower part of the delenka is placed in a growth stimulant solution (indolylbutyric acid or "Zircon").
Drainage is poured into a specially prepared container, which is large gravel, with a layer of about 3 cm, then a 5-cm substrate is laid. It consists of coarse sand and leafy earth with the addition of peat. The cuttings are placed in the soil by 2-2.5 cm and the soil is compacted around them.
The cuttings are covered with foil. If fruit trees are propagated, then delenki are best placed directly in the greenhouse. For plants, regular fine-dispersed and small-scale watering is important.
woody
In open ground, this method increases the number of shrubs: grapes, currants, sea buckthorn, mock orange, honeysuckle, etc. Poplar, willow and other trees are propagated in this way.
Planting material is harvested in the fall before the onset of frost. Cuttings can only be healthy and young mother plant. It is customary to cut cuttings from annual shoots, but when propagating willow or poplar, older stems (2 or more years old) are also used. On the divisions of most shrubs, they make a cut from the lower and upper sides, but in some species with short powerful stems, the apical bud is left (such cuttings are called closed). In some cases, planting material is harvested with the so-called "heel" - a particle of older wood.
There should be several internodes on the handle. The upper cut is made above the kidney, the second - below the kidney or through the internode. Slices can have a different shape: from smooth to oblique - it does not really matter.
Sliced cuttings, the length of which is usually 15-25 cm, are stored in clean sand in the basement at a temperature of 0 ... + 5 ° C. It is allowed to leave them for the winter directly in the areas under the snow cover, but the storage place must be protected from flooding melt waters in the spring.
Cuttings longer than 20 cm on shallow and dense soils are sown at an angle of 40-45 °, which subsequently creates certain problems when digging.
The landing of delenok is carried out as early as possible. The soil must be properly prepared and structured. Planting material of vigorous species is planted at a distance of 30 cm from each other and in a row, for low-growing plants in greenhouses or under film cover, the distance is reduced to 10 cm.
The substrate on the site should consist of a 10 cm layer of clean sand, poured over drained soil. After planting, the cuttings need to be watered and sprayed every day.
Immediately before planting, the material is soaked for 3-4 hours in a solution of growth stimulants. This will positively affect the quality and speed of root formation.
Lignified cuttings successfully root in water. Sand or pebbles are poured into the container, and water is poured over it, and its level should be 2-3 cm higher than the sand level. Partitions are also placed there, the stability of which is maintained through the use of special horizontal wooden gratings, which are installed above the water horizon. The lower cut of cuttings rooted in water is made directly under the leaf pad.
Slicing technique
In indoor plants, the best period for reproduction is spring and autumn, when the growing season is active. Some species develop spasmodically. At first, young shoots grow intensively in them, then their growth stops for a while and subsequently continues again. In this case, the cuttings should be cut precisely at the stage of cessation of growth.
If the plant blooms brightly and magnificently (bougainvillea, clerodendrum), then it is best to cut the planting material immediately after flowering. When propagating citrus fruits, it is necessary to catch the moment when the ribbed stems become rounded.
The mother copy should be as young as possible, well developed, healthy, typical of its culture and variety. Plants that show symptoms of diseases, signs of freezing or damage by pests are not allowed to propagate.
The stalk can catch the disease due to slicing with an insufficiently disinfected secateurs.
Sometimes gardeners are unable to root cuttings from a newly acquired imported plant. The reason for this may be the fact that unscrupulous sellers or manufacturers treat them with special preparations that promote flowering. A side effect is a negative impact on the root system.
Do not take cuttings for propagation from plants that have received excessive saturation with fertilizers, especially nitrogen ones. In most cases, planting material almost completely rots in the first stages of rooting.
If a plant starts to leak milky juice after a cut (for example, a ficus), then the delenki should be placed under a stream of running water until the liquid stops flowing.
Conditions for successful cuttings
Rooting of cuttings is effective only at a relatively high temperature. Most plants require at least +25 ° C. Some species, like bougainvillea, also require heating of the lower part of the cuttings. The temperature below must be higher than the air temperature. You can provide it by placing containers with cuttings on the windowsill above the central heating battery in winter.
Full-fledged cuttings are impossible without normal lighting. It is undesirable to place a greenhouse under the sun's rays in order to avoid internal excessive overheating. It is necessary to use elements of internal lighting. You can use both expensive LED lamps and more affordable fluorescent ones. The duration of daylight and night for cuttings should be approximately the same and be 12 hours each.
The vast majority of vegetatively propagated plants do not require utensils for placing cuttings in the usual sense of its meaning. They successfully take root in water, and to increase efficiency, a crushed activated charcoal tablet is added to the liquid. Water is added to a vessel made of dark glass or plastic and periodically updated. Some species (including ficus, myrtle, etc.), although they also take root without problems in water, do not immediately get used to new growing conditions when transplanted to a permanent place, which actually manifests itself in the form of a long-term replacement of roots with new ones. Such plants require dishes with soil.
The soil in which the planting material will take root should not contain a high amount of organic matter that causes decay. The best option would be a mixture of peat and sand in approximately the same ratio with the addition of a small amount of moss. The last element is responsible for increasing the water resistance, lightness of the soil and its bond, which is extremely important when the rooted delenka is further moved to a permanent place.
To destroy harmful organisms, the substrate must be sterilized. This is usually done in a microwave oven, but in its absence, the procedure is also carried out in a saucepan. The bottom of the vessel is strewn with clean sifted sand 3-4 cm high, peat is placed on top and calcined on fire for half an hour.
If you have two weeks of free time, you can disinfect the substrate using microbiological preparations. As such, "Siyanie" and "Vostok EM-1" are used.
At home, reproduction is best done not only in pots, but also in disposable cups, the use of which will allow you to monitor the process of root formation without disturbing the plant itself. Drainage holes are made in the bottom and walls of the glass.
If you have ever tried to root green cuttings, then you probably know that they need constant monitoring, you need to create a microclimate and regular spraying. But what if it is not possible to run around the plants with a sprayer several times a day? Buy fog machine? Expensive if you do not have industrial plantings, but "for yourself and a little for sale." You can buy an air humidifier: I also root cuttings with it, but our electricity is very expensive, and again, you need to control the amount of water in the humidifier. And then on the Internet I came across one way of cuttings “for the lazy” On June 13, I started the experiment.
You will need:
- transparent plastic cups 50 or 100 ml - 100 pieces (83 rubles);
- zip bags A5 format - 100 pieces (172 rubles);
- Kornevin - 1 sachet (10 g - 30 rubles);
- water;
- purchased soil (260 rubles - 30 liters, I needed about 3 liters - 26 rubles).
I prepared the cuttings in the usual way: in the early morning I collected springy * cuttings with two or three internodes from hydrangeas, vesicles, weigels, kerrias, deren half a day. On the lower internodes, the leaves were cut in half, and a third was removed from the upper ones. I updated the sections on the cuttings: on top I left “stumps” no more than 1 cm long, on the bottom - about 3-4 cm. I lowered the cuttings into the water for two hours - to get drunk with moisture. I added a little aloe juice to the solution.
While the cuttings were “drunk”, I prepared the container. In each cup (I didn’t make any holes in the cups !!!) I poured soil so that it occupied a little more than half the volume, and spilled it with water from a sprayer. It is more convenient for me to water from a sprayer: this way I control the amount of water. The soil should be moist, but not wet.
Now you can start landing. The lower part of the cutting was pollinated with Kornevin and planted in cups with soil. I put the glass in a zip bag and sealed it tightly. All! All the cuttings were taken to the greenhouse and placed in a bright place where direct sunlight does not fall.
For sixteen days I didn't look in or check the cuttings, air them or spray them. They just stood in the corner. On June 29, I opened a few bags and: Oh, miracle! ALL cuttings have taken root! It was perfectly visible through the transparent walls of the cups! There were several cuttings in which the roots were not visible. I slightly pulled their tops and felt an effort, which means that there are roots, but the root system has not yet developed much. What is interesting: in some varieties of weigels and hydrangeas, roots appeared not only in the ground, but aerial roots also formed on the stems.
I called the rooting method “for the lazy”: I put the cuttings to take root and you don’t approach them for almost three weeks. You don’t need to run to the greenhouse first thing in the morning - spray it, you don’t need to run from work at lunchtime, and after work run back to the greenhouse.
In the same way, I tried to root bougainvillea and guinea pigs, which are very difficult to root in rooting - everything is rooted! Costs: a little more than three rubles per cutting. * Semi-lignified cuttings are those that bend but do not break. From the author: In the same way, you can root not only ornamental plants, but also stepchildren of tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers. Excellent results were given by the rooting of berry bushes and indoor flowers, which are difficult to propagate by cuttings. In this way, I managed to propagate cuttings of mulberries, lilacs, vesicles, roses, chrysanthemums. The only plant that I have not been able to propagate in this way is the barberry.
Irina Ploshkina
Hello, dear readers of the site!
Cut, starting in autumn, after leaf fall, and until spring, until the moment the buds awaken, healthy annual matured branches - these will be lignified cuttings.
Determine the length at your discretion, but, as they say, God loves a trinity, so the site recommends leaving three kidneys optimally. You can leave up to ten, but the more buds, the more moisture the cutting will need in order not to dry out, and this is an extra load.
A straight (perpendicular) cut is made on top of the cutting. This will give the minimum area of the wound. And from below we make a cut at an angle.
If we immediately root, then we make two shallow () cuts in the bark on the sides of the cutting.
It is clear that this is done in order to provoke the maximum amount of cambium to build roots.
If there is a kidney close to the incisions, from future roots, it is advisable to remove it with a sharp knife or gently with the nails of the thumb and forefinger. Because of such a close location to the soil, it is still doomed, and forces and moisture will be spent on it the most.
When harvesting cuttings, pay attention to the color of the wood. If it is yellowish, then the stalk is sick, if the wood of the stalk is glassy and darkens quickly, the stalk is frozen.
The wood of a healthy cutting will be elastic, whitish-green in color.
You can guess that lignified cuttings, when properly stored, are very durable - up to three years.
You can store them in a dark, cold place, for example, like food in the refrigerator, or like potatoes in the basement (remember what awakens: heat and light, when we store cuttings, we do the opposite).
Before you start rooting lignified cuttings, you can reanimate them a little by lowering them into a jar with a little water and covering it with a lid for about a week.
while not overdoing it.
First, never put the whole cutting into the water for more than a day. At room temperature, the cutting immediately wakes up and the cambium cells require oxygen. And your stalk, completely immersed in water, simply suffocates and dies.
Secondly, do not allow the development of the kidneys before the roots appear. This is the main rooting error, which always leads to the death of the cutting. This happens because of the heat in which the kidneys, developing, immediately waste all their strength and internal supply of nutrient moisture. And there is nowhere else to take it, because there are no roots yet. The stalk is dying. Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that
Roots developed first
and kidneys later.
Again, we recall the conditions under which the cambium is activated: heat or cold. So it turns out that the roots should be warm, and the kidneys in the cold.
Such conditions for the cutting can be created both at home and on the street. One way or another, you need to start by preparing the cutting for rooting.
Steps for preparing lignified cuttings:
- Immediately before rooting, we update the oblique cut at the bottom of the cutting and make two cuts in the bark to the cambium along the sides of the cutting, approximately 3-4 cm long.
- We remove the lowest kidney, if there are a lot of kidneys on the handle (up to ten pieces), then we remove the three lower kidneys.
- If you are working with a large number of cuttings, and even from different trees, then be sure to hang tags on your wards. It now seems that it is impossible to forget where which stalk grows. But believe me, everything is forgotten very quickly.
- For insurance, cuttings can be dipped in a solution of root growth stimulants (for how much? See the instructions for using the drug you bought).
For example, prepare a root growth stimulant you can do it yourself by mixing water (5 parts), clay (3 parts) and bile (1 part) of any animal. You can store it in the refrigerator. But with strict observance of the cambium rule (top in the cold, bottom in the heat), all these tricks with all sorts of stimulants and chemical fertilizers will be an extra cost of effort and money.
Rooting lignified cuttings indoors.
If you decide to root the cuttings at home indoors, then you need to make a wooden box 10 centimeters high with your own hands.
The width and length depends on the number of wood cuttings. It is necessary to provide 10-15 cm of free space for each cutting.
From the available boards of different lengths, you need to make a box with the least waste. For example, in a box with a size of 40*100 cm, a maximum of 10 cuttings can be placed, and in a box of 60*60 cm - 9 pieces. (see picture).
So think about what optimal size you need, based on the size of the available boards.
We prepare the working soil for our cuttings from rotten straw or sawdust and earth (you can buy earth for indoor flowers) in a ratio of 3: 1, respectively (3 parts of straw, 1 part of earth).
Woody cuttings need oxygen to form roots, so don't overdo it with soil. The mixture should be loose so that air can easily penetrate into it.
The roots of the cuttings after rooting remain very tender and brittle. Therefore, there are two options for planting lignified cuttings.
The first option - all the cuttings are planted in turn in one box, then, after rooting, they will need to be dug very carefully so as not to damage the roots.
And the second is to plant the cuttings also in one box, but after placing each in a separate bag. With this option, you can buy disposable bags with a size, as you remember, at least 10 * 10cm. Use scissors to cut off the bottom of each bag.
Now cover the bottom of the box with polyethylene, with the expectation that all planted cuttings will need to be covered from above, wrapped. Put a wick (a piece of cotton fabric) on the film. We need it for capillary watering of cuttings.
Cover with a 3-5 cm layer of previously prepared earthen mixture. Holding the bags so that the earth does not wake up through the cut-off bottom, fill each with earth.
The lesson may be laborious, but there will be no problems during transplantation.
We stick a lignified cutting into each bag to a depth of 1 cm more than the side cuts made (the side cuts, as you remember, are 3-4 cm long). If you do not want to get a twisted tree in the future, stick the cutting strictly vertically.
We try on the left part of the polyethylene laid on the bottom from above and mark the places of the cuttings. We make small (according to the diameter of the cutting and so as not to damage the kidney) holes for each cutting and carefully cover our entire plantation.
Roots should start growing in ten days. Then we lower our wick into a vessel with water - cord watering will provide the necessary amount of moisture, just make sure that there is more than half of the water in the vessel.
In the first variant, the same operations are performed, but one large package filled with earth can be immediately placed in the box, for the entire box. We do not need to try on the position of the cuttings. They are simply stuck into this bag with earth, taking into account 10 * 10 cm of free area for each cutting.
Now you need to create conditions when the bottom of the box is warm, and the top is cold.
But here no advice will help, only your personal experience, since you can have box boards of different thicknesses, even different voltages of electricity in the network, and, accordingly, different heat dissipation of the light bulb. Therefore, the distance to the light bulb will be different for everyone.
The main thing to remember:
You can not overheat the soil, otherwise all the cuttings will rot.
When the cuttings begin to grow, and there are still frosts on the street and it is too early to plant in open ground, then cut off the new shoots, leaving three to five lower leaves. This will make it possible to slow down the development of the shoot for several weeks, and also in the future to get two shoots and make it easier to form a crown.
In addition, in a vessel with water, which through the wick provides us with watering the cuttings, add half the dose of complex fertilizer.
When it became warm outside, the box can be taken out into the garden. Look at the weather, but usually watering can already be stopped.
In order not to damage the young tender roots, do not transplant the cuttings until autumn, and if you decide, then proceed with extreme caution, do not tear off the roots.
It is precisely at the time of transplanting into open ground that it is much easier to work with cuttings rooted in separate bags. We just tear the bag and cuttings together with a clod of earth, plant them in the ground.
Rooting lignified cuttings on the street.
Now how to proceed if it is necessary to root lignified cuttings on the street.
By and large, the rooting technology is the same. But there are, of course, differences.
First, it is night frosts and the afternoon sun. Therefore, the site is advised to cover the bed not with a film, but with a special covering material, for example, lutrasil, agril.
The soil is prepared in the same way as when rooting in a box at home.
We mix the earth with sawdust, but sprinkle a layer of sand up to 10 centimeters on top. It will serve us in the fight against weeds, provide control from waterlogging, and also give enough air to the cuttings.
I also recommend laying a hebash strip, although in spring there is enough moisture in the ground, but suddenly it will not be enough. Then you can dig a jar of water next to the bed and lower a strip of wick into it. It is also possible, with the help of a wick, when the growth of the shoots begins, to feed the sprouted woody cuttings with fertilizers, for example, bird droppings in the proportion of 1 part of the droppings to 40 parts of water.
We cover the bed with prepared material from above, but not too tightly, let some air remain for the cuttings and press it with a load so that it does not blow away with the wind.
We stick the prepared cuttings, after cutting small holes. We leave the distance more than the box, because nothing limits us here - 15 centimeters.
The original way of rooting cuttings: bury potatoes in the ground and stick a cutting into it. Determine the depth so that three buds are in the ground, and three buds are left on top. The potato provides the stalk, for the entire time of root growth, with the necessary amount of moisture and, in addition, contains a huge amount of natural growth stimulants.
Try, experiment, remember the main rule:
the bottom is warm and the top is cold and provide airflow.
And everything will take root in you, the chances of this are very high. As a last resort, if nothing worked out (this happens only when you completely forget about your cuttings), do not give up, there is a lot of time ahead before winter and you can try throughout the summer.
Thank you for your attention, all the best!
CherryLink plugin not foundThe easiest way to root cuttings is in a jar of water. Given certain conditions, it can even be used to propagate plants that are difficult to root. But even this simple method has its own subtleties.
For example, is it necessary to change the water in which the cuttings are placed? Not all plants tolerate it. In all likelihood, some necessary metabolic products accumulate in the water in which the cuttings are rooted. So it was noticed that passionflower cuttings, which had already given roots, repeatedly died after changing the water. Moreover, the water was well settled, without harmful impurities. Therefore, it is advisable not to change the water, but to add as it evaporates.
And how much water should be in the jar when cutting? For example, a plant such as honeysuckle does not give roots in a 200 ml jar if there are more than three cuttings in it. And if you place the cuttings one at a time in smaller containers, the rooting of the cuttings occurs without problems.
It is important not only the amount of water per cutting, but also the level of water in the jar. For the formation of roots, the presence of oxygen is necessary; it is not without reason that roots form at the border of water and air. If the vessel is too deep and there is a lot of water, there is not enough oxygen in the lower part, which leads to decay of the cutting. There are experiments showing that when water was aerated in a vessel during cuttings, the roots on the cuttings formed along the entire length and in a shorter time.
How to choose cuttings for propagation
It is important to choose the right shoot from which to cut the cutting. Oddly enough, from the main, powerful shoots that grow up, bad cuttings are obtained. Good quality cuttings are obtained from lateral, not too actively growing branches. Some coniferous plants, for example, spruce and spiky yew, have an interesting property. From cuttings taken from side horizontal branches, disheveled, sometimes even almost creeping plants are obtained, while from cuttings from vertical branches, vertical trees are obtained.
If one long shoot is taken for cutting and cut into several parts, then it is essential from which part of the shoot the cutting is taken. Cuttings taken from the lower part of the stem take root better. When cutting roses, it can often be observed that from cuttings obtained from a stem that is equally lignified along the entire length, only the very last one, cut from the very base, takes root. This also applies to other cuttings, such as passionflower.
How to cut cuttings
When cutting cuttings from a green unripened shoot, the cut is made directly under the node or bud (left picture). The tissues located in this place are more resistant to fungal diseases. If a more mature lignified shoot is chosen for grafting, the cut is usually made in the middle of the internode.
From any shoots: green, semi-lignified and lignified, you can cut off a stalk, consisting of a bud with a leaf (figure on the right). Such cuttings should be 2.5 - 4 cm long. The upper cut is made as close as possible to the kidney, it is advisable not to leave the hemp at all. Only one leaf should be left on the handle, and it should be in the bosom of the kidney. All other sheets are removed.
The role of light in plant propagation by cuttings
Light has a significant effect on the rooting of cuttings. If the cutting has at least part of the leaf, it needs light to root. At the same time, a cutting without leaves gives roots better in the dark. The reason for this is that if the cutting was harvested at a time when the plant no longer had leaves, it contains a certain amount of heteroauxin, which stimulates the formation of roots, which, in all likelihood, decomposes in the light. And in the presence of green leaves, heteroauxin, on the contrary, is produced. From this point of view, it would be better to leave a large number of leaves on the cutting, but in this case, the evaporation of moisture occurs more actively and the cuttings dry out. Therefore, it is recommended to remove most of the leaves, and sometimes even cut off the halves of the remaining leaves.
It is worth noting that in light-colored dishes, even in the light, roots form worse than in dark ones.
Is it possible to carry out cuttings of plants in the dormant period
Surprisingly, many plants reproduce best when they are dormant. For example, a large percentage of spring cuttings of blackcurrant die, and those planted in the ground in autumn take root much better. Sea buckthorn branches harvested at the end of January - February form roots in water in 1 - 2 weeks. A good effect is the addition of honey to the water for the rooting of sea buckthorn. A tablespoon of honey is diluted in a glass of water and the cuttings are left in the solution for 6-12 hours. When cutting sea buckthorn in winter, it is important to remember that the roots on the cuttings grow quickly and if they are not transplanted into the soil in time, they will outgrow and can easily break off.
Also, experience has shown that yew berry and thuja ordinary, which gave roots in February - March, were planted in the ground in May - June and took root well.
How to choose a mother plant
How well the cuttings will take root also depends on the plant from which they are cut. In particular, from his food. If the mother plant is not fertilized, the rooting of the cuttings obtained from it is difficult. If it received top dressing with a high nitrogen content, the cuttings also give roots very poorly. In order for the cuttings to form roots easily and actively, fertilizers for the mother plant must contain a sufficient amount of potassium and phosphorus and a small amount of nitrogen.
Also for plants that are difficult to root, the age of the mother plant is a significant factor. Cuttings cut from older plants do not take cuttings well or do not take cuttings at all, even if the cuttings are cut from annual shoots and even when they are treated with a root formation stimulator. Conversely, young plants produce rooting cuttings even in those species that are not usually propagated by cuttings, such as apple and pear trees. But in order for such cuttings to give roots, they need to be treated with heteroauxin.
At the same time, for easily rooted plants, the age of the mother plant does not matter.
Some amateur gardeners have recently been practicing a curious method of cuttings, which allows you to root even plants that are difficult to cut.
The cuttings are stuck into a potato tuber, from which all the eyes were previously removed. Then the tuber is buried in the ground, and the stalk is covered with a glass jar and watered regularly. At the same time, the cuttings are supplied with a large amount of nutrients and actively give roots, and the plants grow and develop well in the future.
The material was prepared on the basis of the article by N. Zamyatina, "Shanks in a Bank". The author of the drawings is N. Zamyatina.
