The ability to propagate plants from cuttings is a valuable skill, especially if seeds are scarce. It is an easy task to master and only takes time and a little attention to produce a whole new generation of plants for your garden. If you have never tried reproducing plants from cuttings, learn the skill now, you may need it someday.
There are advantages to reproducing plants by cuttings, as well. Seeds do not always produce a plant that is as prolific as its parent, especially in the case of hybrids. We know to grow heirloom plants because second generation hybrid plant seeds are not dependable and most often do not produce a strong plant. But, when you grow a plant from a cutting, it will be genetically identical to the parent plant. Propagation by cuttings also saves you the time required for seeds to be formed and germinate. In many cases, the cuttings will mature faster and produce fruit earlier than seedlings.
Another advantage is the ability to extend your garden further into the fall. Mid-summer, when your plants are healthy, take cuttings to produce new plants. A few weeks later, as the original plants are dying back from the heat, you will have new plants to replace them and continue producing.
Choosing the Mother Plant
Probably the most important step in the entire process is choosing the mother plant. Your new plants will be genetically identical to the mother, so choose the best plant possible. You want a plant that is healthy, grows well, and produces well. For example, if you have one tomato plant that out-produces all the others, that is the plant to choose, as long as it is still healthy. If you choose a sickly plant that gave you only one tomato, don’t expect the cuttings to do any better. You could even spread disease if your plant is infected.
Ideally, choose new growth from a plant that is healthy and thriving. If there are flowers or fruit, remove them. You want your cutting to put energy into growing roots, not producing fruit. For this reason, I also avoid fertilizing the plant before I take my cuttings and I do not fertilize the new cutting until it is well established. Too much nitrogen will make the cutting focus on growing more leaves and ignore the roots. If it is temporarily short of nutrients, it will grow roots in an effort to acquire them.
One warning: Some hybrid plants are covered by patents and it is illegal to propagate them by cuttings. Before taking cuttings, make sure you have the right to do so, especially if the mother plant is a new hybrid variety that could be patented.
The Rooting Medium
Your rooting medium should be sterile and low infertility. It should hold water well, but be well-drained enough to provide aeration. Many gardeners use a mixture of one-part peat and one-part perlite or sand. I prefer to use straight sand because it holds moisture well and it has enough structure to support the plant. You don’t want the sand soggy, just damp.
Four Types of Cuttings
There are four different types of plants that can be reproduced by cuttings: herbaceous, softwood, semi-hardwood, and hardwood. There are multiple ways of reproducing each, but I am going to teach you the way that I learned in the horticulture class many years ago. It is reliable for most plants.
Thyme
This amazing herb has been used for thousands of years for medicinal and culinary uses. Cuttings should be taken at a node from the point where leaves grow, as roots are most responsive at this point. The cuttings should be planted in damp soil and away from the direct sun after removing lower leaves.
Horseradish
Lift the root in early spring and cut into 3-inch sections. Plant them a foot apart directly in the garden bed.
Geranium
6-8 inches long cuttings can be rooted, but it helps if the parent plant is allowed to wilt slightly prior to taking the cuttings. Withdraw water for a week and then take the cuttings 12 hours after watering the plant. The rehydrated stems take root more easily.
Philodendrons
You can find a large variety of philodendrons with attractive leaf patterns and colors, but the good news is that all of them are easy to grow from cuttings. Tip cuttings with 2-3 nodes are the easiest to root because they start growing from the tip as soon as the roots form, sometimes even earlier. Mid sections with 2-3 nodes are also good, but it may take some time for new shoots to develop from leaf axils.
African violets
To propagate in water place leaf with stem into the water, standing up with the creative use of wax paper. Use a rubber band to secure a small section of wax paper over a glass or jar filled with water. Poke holes in the paper for the stem to stand upright in the water. 2-5 weeks later you should have some roots which can be planted in soil.
Rosemary
Take 3-5 –inches long tip cuttings in spring from new growth, or use heel or basal cuttings in fall for rooting in a cold frame. If you don’t want a lot of rosemary plants, root a few cuttings directly in individual pots covered with a plastic dome.
Sage
Take 4-inch semi-ripe basal cuttings in fall and pot up. Keep the rooting medium warm and moist throughout winter and then transplant in spring.
Coleus
Growing tips, as well as side shoots, arising from the axils of leaves on this plant, will result in new plants. Water the plants very well before snipping off growing tips with 2-4 nodes. Remove the lower leaves and stick into some moist rooting medium. You can insert the cuttings into bottles of plain water, but water-grown plants need extra care while transplanting.
Lavender
Take 3-inch tip cuttings in early spring and root them in a cold frame. Transplant the rooted plants into garden beds after 4-6 weeks. In summer and fall, heeled cuttings can be taken for spring planting the following year.
Snake plant (Sansevieria)
2-3 inch sections of the leaf can be used to make new plants. You can thus make a large number of plants from one parent plant. The only problem with this method of propagation is that the new plants will not carry the original variegation. Sections of rhizomes should be planted to retain the variegation.