Plant propagation by woody cuttings is a simple and easy way of propagation. Annual shoots are used to make woody cuttings. The cutting period varies for each plant and must be properly adhered to. Not just berry bushes, but also most beautiful plants such as physocarp, and others, are propagated in this manner. Blackcurrant cuttings, for example, are produced after the leaves fall and continue until the buds mature in the spring. However, blackcurrant cuttings taken in late October yield the greatest results, as blackcurrants might be frosty near the end of winter. In the first decade of September, currant and gooseberry cuttings are made.
Cuttings range from 12 to 15 cm. Currant cuttings must not have the top bud removed, but blackcurrant cuttings must. The lowest portion of the cuts should be cut 2-3 mm below the bud, as obliquely as possible. The prepared cuttings can be cut in the bed immediately (with a 15-18 cm layer of peat following frost) or carefully buried in the overwintering location. Cuttings can be kept cold (0 to +20 C) in a basement buried in peat or in the field. When frost begins to fall, cover the burial location with a 15-18 cm layer of peat. Cuttings are planted upright in light, extensively tilled soil, whereas they are planted horizontally in heavier, wetter, and shallower soil.
Cut a 10-15 cm long plug 2-3 mm below the node and break off a piece of wood from a biennial branch to leave a trace at the end (this will stimulate the growth process). Cuttings that are too long must be trimmed by cutting off the tip so that they do not come out when implanted in the substrate. When the air temperature is over +10 °C, the optimal time for propagation is mid-March to early April.
Woody cuttings can be used to produce berry plants such as currants, blackcurrants, and golden currants, as well as decorative deciduous shrubs such as spireas, hydrangeas, willows, philadelphus. Trees can also take root (mulberry, poplar, and even lilac).
Aunts root nicely among the conifers. Junipers may be propagated as well. More careful gardeners have discovered how to root spruces and Douglas firs.
Conifer cuttings are made by severing the branch and snapping (rather than cutting) the shoots. At the bottom of the scion, a so-called foot - a piece of bark - develops.
- The soil around the cuttings is compressed, enveloping the trigger section and the buds in the soil.
- Professionals employ growth stimulants for cuttings, but amateur gardeners don't need them.
Unheated greenhouse
Unheated greenhouses that are not very hot right now and are still vacant are ideal for rooting cuttings. Digging in boxes rather than directly in the soil is preferable. In the summer, the young plants can be removed from the greenhouse. Later transplantation will cause less disruption to the root system.
Prepare the boxes for bursting by filling them with substrate. Garden soil is also appropriate since woody cuttings are resilient.
Moisture levels in all cuttings must be closely checked. The soil must not dry out, but neither should it become excessively wet.
- It is beneficial to pinch the cuttings tightly since this increases the likelihood of one developing.
Varieties of thuja are propagated vegetatively by cuttings. The best time to cut cuttings is early spring (before budbreak) or late June, early July, when the young shoots are no longer raw but are mature.
The shoots are first cut and then separated into cuts by ripping, leaving a sliver of biennial wood at the root. Cuttings should be 8-15 cm in length. Make them neither too short nor too long, or they will adhere to the substrate and root poorly. The cuts must be done at an oblique angle and roughly 1 cm deep. The cuttings can be bathed in Schultz Garden growth booster for enhanced rooted, although conifers root well without it. In the spring and summer, rooting can be done in a greenhouse on a raised bed or in a bed in the shade of a shrub in a 1:1 mixture of peat and sand or vermiculite.
