There are many ways to root Ti plants. They all work to some degree. Placing directly into poorly prepared ground is one of the poorest. One of the better discussions on the subject for the general grower is at:

http://starbulletin.com/97/11/11/features/evergreen.html

Aloha RK Tao,

If you are in Hawaii, then it would probably work just by pushing the ti plant stems into the dirt. When I trim the ti hedge, some of the cuttings are just pushed halfway into the dirt and they sprout and grow. If the area you plant them in is hot and dry, you'd probably want to water it extra until the ti plants sprout new leaves. Or get a flowerpot and put some potting soil in it and start the ti plants in there first until they get rooted and growing, then transplant them out into the yard.

A hui hou,
Cathy

I have a Ti plant 8' tall. One main stem that branches into 2 6' trees. Is there anyway to cut tops off/cut back and root? We've had plant for 27years and would hate to kill it.... Any suggestions??

If it is a ti plant in Hawaii, just chop it off at whatever height you like and new branches will grow from where it was chopped off at. If you were worried about the whole plant dying off, you could try cutting off one branch and it should sprout two more branches from where it was cut off. Then after that one sprouts out, you could cut the other one. You can also put the cuttings into dirt and they should sprout, too. Put it in well drained soil and keep it moist until it sprouts.

A hui hou,
Cathy

As the leaves brown can they be cut and how should this be done?

Yeah - you can just clip off the brown ones with siccors or your clippers - no worries. A lot of guys plant them in abundance by splitting a stem and putting it cut side down in potting medium and the roots will tke and a whole line or row of little ti plants will develop, then cut each one off, or replant the whole stalk (row) whereexer you want and thin as needed.

Aloha

I'm so jealous of you guys. I'm a Kaneohe gal living in Kansas and I have just one green ti leaf plant in a pot that I baby. Wish I had more cuttings. Any idea where I could buy some? I remember small kid times when my father kept a ti leaf hedge for many uses.

I had 2 green ti stalks that were about 15 ft long. I cut them into 5 inch pieces and threw them into a very warm compost pit for rubbish. 3 weeks later I turned the compost to find each of the ti stem pieces sprouting multiple sprouts. It seemed as if the warm compost accelerated the regenerating process.

You can put ti cuttings directly into the ground and they should readily root and grow, provided the soil doesn't have any serious deficiencies and is kept moist for a couple weeks allowing cuttings to root. So long as it is kept moist, ti should spring roots and bud new stems probably within two or three weeks. Natural soil moisture levels are usually sufficient but may take a little longer to root. Water them for the first couple weeks if you think it's too dry.