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Easiest perennials from cuttings

vegangirl
19 years ago

Of all the perennials you've tried from stem or root cuttings, which would you consider the easiest to root and that gives the best success rate? What have you tried that didn't work for you?

I've only tried verbascum from root cuttings and that was accidental. I was weeding and realized I'd pulled up some of it. I made root cuttings and they rooted well in the coldframe, sprouting up next spring.

I've had success with stem cuttings of phloxes (subulata being the easiest), aubrietia, penstemons, veronicas, probably some others that I can't think of right now. Has anyone tried leaf cuttings of sedums? Are they easy?

Comments (36)

  • wyndyacre
    19 years ago

    Sedums, either the creeping or the tall varieties, are extremely easy to start from cuttings. You can literally drop on the ground and they will root-of course that's not the most optimum way to get plants :) The very old common name of this plant is Live Forever for that reason. Also easy to start from cuttings are mums, asters, margarite daisies, lavender, plants that have rosettes or pups that can be picked off like rockcress, hens and chicks, ajuga. Very easy shrub cuttings (from dormant wood right now) are caryoptoris-bluemist shrub, butterfly bushes, dogwood shrubs, purpleleaf sandcherry, forsythia, any of the willows.
    I've got all of these going in my greenhouse or cold frame right now. The greenhouse is barely heated...warm during the day when sun is out and about 45* at night. Some cuttings are on bottom heat with mats.

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    Good about the sedums! I've got several that I want to increase. Ah yes, mums, asters, butterfly bush and forsythia. I've rooted those too. I haven't tried lavendar. When is the best time to take cuttings of it? Mine is "Lady" raised from seed. Do I still have time to start hardwood cuttings of shrubs? I see you are also in Zone 6.

    I've been thinking about getting a bottom heat mat. Do you think they're worth the money?

  • roseyp8255
    19 years ago

    Hi ya'll - liked this thread and wanted to throw my 2 cents in - gardenias are literally the easiest thing i have tried - i have about 40 outside right now (rooted in water - do you count those?)
    Also, as mentioned, forsythias are really easy - and i have noticed weigelia (sp?) and butterfly bush are easy. Confederate rose is also really easy. I would really like to know about the lavender...

  • Joan Dupuis
    19 years ago

    Do you do the weigelia in water or soil with rooting hormone please. I'm in zone 4b, so is it too early here
    yet. Should it be done inside under grow lights, how much heat.... Thanks.

  • wyndyacre
    19 years ago

    Bottom heat mats are definetely worth having! Cuttings will root up much easier and faster with it. Cuttings like bottom heat of about 70*. You can get a mat kit at HD right now for about $32.00, which includes a tray, mat, flat with 72 peat pots and a clear dome lid. Check out Wallie's or Lowes also. Though I live in Canada, I'm on the border so I checked out prices in the States, before I bought another and Canada was a little cheaper! You can also order online larger mats- ones that fit 2 or 4 trays-the largest was about $70.00 at sunflowerfarm.com . That's what I'll be getting next if I can't find an old waterbed heater at a garagesale/fleamarket soon.
    I made up a table for my greenhouse that has a wooden frame, wire hardware cloth bottom, with a sheet of styrofoam wedged into the top. The heat mats sit on the foam top, trays on top of that. Made two hoops for the sides out of flexible plastic pipe, draped plastic sheet over the whole table so heat is held in at night. Pull back plastic and take the trays out during the day. My greenhouse gets pretty warm when the sun is out during the day, but is just heated to about 55* at night. It is still cold here at night and just around freezing during the day.

    Lavender is pretty easy to start from cuttings, takes longer than some others though. I just stuck mine two weeks ago and the roots are just starting to swell on the stem of cutting. Take about 3" cuttings from tips of plant. In colder zones. make sure you're getting live plant material, not winterkilled tips. The leaves will probably still look soft grey/green and feel soft. In warmer zones I don't think you'll have that problem. Strip about 1/2" or so leaves off the bottom of the cutting, dip in rooting hormone #2 and stick in pot or flat full of sterile soilless mix. I used straight ProMix- it's working but in retrospect I probably should have mixed in more perlite so the mix wouldn't stay quite so moist. Lavender doesn't care for humid conditions and I was afraid it was going to mildew or rot. It hasn't but I take the dome lid off during the day.
    When I was going to college, I started lavender this way in the heated greenhouse with an automatic mist system but the rooting medium was straight perlite which drains very quickly.
    I'm still taking cuttings from shrubs-just stuck some more yesterday. I'm having trouble finding live wood on my butterfly bushes-I think there's been a lot of dieback this winter. They'll grow back from the roots but makes it hard to get cuttings right now :( I have Black Knight, White Profusion, Nanho Purple (dwarf) and others.
    I'm off to dig down through 1' of snow to get phlox cuttings! :)

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    roseyp, I tried gardenia cuttings and had no success at all! My cuttings got a little dry before I was able to get them into water.

    wyndyacre, thanks for the good info! I will definitly check out that heat mat outfit from HD, etc. You can take phlox root cuttings this time of year?

    I really need a better set-up for rooting cuttings. I like that table idea and I'm going to pass your info on to my DH and DS so they can build it for me:-)

  • roseyp8255
    19 years ago

    bloomorelse -
    I have done weigelia in both water and dirt! :) It is kind of "trial and error" for me - DIRT does better with the weigelia, so far anyway - i did them last fall, and see new growth now! I was cutting back mine last fall, and just thought I would "try" it - and stuck some pieces in the ground in "my rooting bed" as I call it (FYI, this means my husband stays TOTALLY out of it!). Some with and some without hormone - not sure which is which, now - so i will let you know after this year, if i am able to remember to write it down!

    wyndyacre
    Thanks for the tips on herbs - can't wait to try it out!

    vegangirl
    Try getting your gardenia cuttings directly into water - clear glass/plastic in windowsill - pull all but the top couple of leaves off the stem - and change the water once a week or so. I dip mine, LIGHTLY, in Root-Tone before putting in water the 1st time - but then after that i just switch the water. Sometimes, it only takes a few days - sometimes longer.

    Good luck and thanks...

  • SissyZeke
    19 years ago

    I am really new at this, but have several cuttings under plastic, right now, and they seem to be doing OK. I cannot imagine these ever amounting to anything, and I am wondering, how big of a cutting do you take?
    A 2" piece of azaela is gonna take a long time to grow big enough to plant on it's own, isn't it?

  • wyndyacre
    19 years ago

    Sissy-certainly some cuttings take quite a while to become an actual "shrub". And some plants are just more difficult/easier, slower/faster than others. I think azaela may more difficult and slower, say than forsythia. I usually take about a 6" cutting of a dormant wood shrub (in winter). I have lots of shrubs in the garden now that are 2-3 or more feet tall, that I started within the last 3-4 years. Mock orange and purpleleaf sandcherry got 5' tall in that time period. I love that part about propagation-you can take a barelooking little twig and in a couple years time, proudly show someone a shrub you grew yourself from "nothing". Just takes a little patience. :)

  • SissyZeke
    19 years ago

    Wyndy,
    Do you tent your cuttings? I am really new at this and followed instructions I got off this site, and most of them said take a two inch piece!
    After looking at this thing, I cannot imagine
    1. How is it gonna be a real plant, someday?
    2. How am I gonna know if it's got roots? Do I pull it out and look?
    Thanks for any help!!
    Sissy

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    roseyp, thanks for the gardenia tips. You make it sound so easy:-)

    I just made myself a "propagation schedule" of all the perennials and shrubs I currently have and when is the best time to take cuttings and what type (stem, basal, root, etc.) I'm looking forward to trying some new things this season. I need to add what my MIL and aunt have also because they won't mine giving me some snips off their plants, I'm sure.

  • lynne_melb
    19 years ago

    For Autumn Joy sedum, in zone 5, I found the best time to make cuttings was in late June or July. This gives the plant stems time to become a bit harder. The largest in diameter stems worked the best for me. I had very hard clay soil. I would use a large screwdriver to create a hole in the ground and then stick the cutting in the ground. Then just make sure that the soil is pushed up against the cutting. That's it. No hormone, no watering, no follow up care.

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    Lynne, I'll try that. Have you ever tried rooting leaves? I have a book that suggests that. Just wondering if works well.

  • Joan Dupuis
    19 years ago

    Windyacre - I don't have a heat mat, but I do have a waterbed what we are not using at the moment. How do I go about making a heat mat with it. I could probably use it in my unheated greenhouse and get things out there sooner. I find I don't get much use from the greenhouse, because it stays cold at nights right into the 1st week of June. Thanks in advance for suggestions.

  • wyndyacre
    19 years ago

    Bloomorelse-I've never used a waterbed heater yet, since I'm still trying to find one, but it's actually just the heating pad that goes inside the mattress that you use. You just lay your flat of cuttings or seeds on top of the mat. I understand that these mats have a thermostat on them-set it to about 70*.
    You can put a clear dome lid on your flat or slide it into a clear trash bag to keep in the humidity.
    I couldn't wait to find a waterbed heater so I went ahead and ordered a large heat mat from Stokes-haven't received it yet though.
    SissyZeke- you have to have patience!:) I think azaelas take a lot longer than some other cuttings. You can check to see if it's finally getting some roots by gently pulling one out or even just gently tugging on it. If you feel some resistence, it's probably got some roots so leave it alone to develop more. If you see the cuttings getting new leaf growth, you know it's developing some roots. However, just because something is flowering does'nt necessarily mean it has roots yet.

  • dinabear
    19 years ago

    Sedum. How do you root butterfly bush ? I have several and have never had any luck getting them to root.

    Dina

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    19 years ago

    I just put my butterfly bush cuttings in the coldframe. I brought them from my aunt's place in PA. I had five cuttings but only one rooted. I think if I had been more careful about watering, more would have rooted. I used Rootone.

  • Anne12
    19 years ago

    May I suggest that if you are just acquainting yourself to rooted cuttings that you start with annuals. Your enthusiasm will grow with your successes. I use the peat containers....soak in warm water type. Insert a 2" cutting dipped in a rooting hormone. I have a heated greenhouse so I don't bother with a dome or cover but I do put them on a foil tray that I can add water to when needed. Try begonias, geraniums and scented geraniums...I have great success with these and give them to friends during the winter months.

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    I just found this thread again! I've had enough success with perennials that I am enthusiastic already:-). My biggest challenge is space and materials. I do want to save up and get a heat mat or cable one of these days.

  • jillcentx
    18 years ago

    Pyracantha- use rooting hormone, spring, early summer. VERY easy to root in potting soil kept moist.

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    Jill, DH's aunt has a lovely pyracantha espaliered on their garage wall. I'll have to try some cuttings of it. Thanks for the tip.

  • oldenglishroses
    18 years ago

    Try Basil, it roots easily in water. Geranium also very easy.

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    18 years ago

    oldenglishroses, thanks for the ideas!

  • bmarley5780
    18 years ago

    Cheaper method for bottom heat is the heating cables-

    I just got a 34ft one....enough bottom heat for (4) 10x20 trays for $36 shipped.

  • stumic
    18 years ago

    Hello vegangirl and all, I just found a website with tons of articules on propagation.Just search the table of contents for
    "How to Find the Propagation Technique for Your Plant" and there is a whole list of plants and how and when to take cuttings. Plant Propagation
    I found it very useful , Hope you will to.
    Happy Growing.

    Here is a link that might be useful: My new blog

  • donn_
    18 years ago

    stumic..thanks for that link. I've had a 55 gallon aquarium sitting in the carport, after rescuing it from the curb over a year ago. Now I know what I'm doing with it!

  • carolsun
    18 years ago

    Has anyone propagated erysimums by stem cuttings? I have a variegated erysimum I adore and have read that this plant is short-lived.

  • stumic
    17 years ago

    Donn, your welcome, I myself have made 4 of the 10 gallon size propagation chambers. And they worked very well. I wish i new a high school senoir so i could enter the scholership contest for making these.

    Here is a link that might be useful: My New Blog

  • wakerry
    17 years ago

    I've had luck with green wood cuttings of sage, butterfly bush and fuchsia to name a few. My normal method of attack is rooting liquid (I use dip-n-grow), florist's oasis and tenting.

    I've recently built a prop table with temperature control to try to get some cuttings going this year. I've already had success with red lake currants, willows (didn't really need the heat for the willows though) as well as some seed sown herbs.

    Here is a link that might be useful: My propagation table

  • vegangirl
    Original Author
    17 years ago

    Thnaks for the interesting links folks! I enjoy learning about propagation esp. what others have actually tried.

    I read this about erysimum from "Plant Propagation" by Alan Toogood: Take semi-ripe stem-rip cuttings from nonflowering shoots. Insert in pots of rooting medium and root under cover with minimal or ho heat. Pot rooted cuttings singly, after a few weeks. Protect over winter from sever cold in a cold frame."

  • lamico
    17 years ago

    I'm thinking that a 4x8 sheet of plywood or old dining table would make a good propagation table in the basement draped with an old twin electric blanket with a plastic tablecloth over it. Hang some florescent lights over it & I think it would work out fine & relativly inexpensive as well.

  • paulinep
    17 years ago

    I love the pinch and poke method and you can do some perrenials that way too. I do it with Autumn Joy, and it doesn't seem to matter when I pinch them, they all just plain root in the ground. I also do Artemesia Powis Castle and it does best with only a small tip cutting, no more than 2--3 inches soft wood and it looks pretty pitiful in the ground for quite a while, but then I notice it perks up into a new plant, does take a while though. Also Lantana same thing, it does propagate easily. I didn't know I could do gardenias, so now I am off to cut some and make new plants. I had no idea they were so easy.
    Pauline

  • msalex28a
    16 years ago

    I tried gardenias but not rooting in water I tried with rooting hormone and had a tent for it but they ended up dying. Is it because I took the cuttings in the middle of winter versus spring or fall?

  • sedumqueen
    16 years ago

    has anyone ever tried to grow sedum from seed? is it difficult?can anyone find the elusive queenbee sedum?

  • marcial
    16 years ago

    Anyone have any ideas for clematis cuttings? Thanks.

  • tuscanseed
    16 years ago

    marcial-
    I just tried an experiment with clematis and it seems to be working. I made cuts to a piece of stem where I had about an inch of stem to each node where new growth was coming out. I planted each node piece in promix, then covered the pot with a piece of clear plastic, then put them under shoplights. The soil has to be kept moist and not dry out. The little pieces have started to root and the plant is leafing out. I don't know how this will eventually grow a vine, but the rooting method is working.

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