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It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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Posted by nandina 8b (My Page) on Wed, Aug 23, 06 at 13:13
| I have not posted this propagation method in several years. Time for a repeat. Just a reminder that all cuttings need to callus before they will root. This method allows the callusing to take place on the mother plant before the cutting is removed and is most helpful for those hard to root trees/shrubs. Plan to use the toothpick technique during the last weeks of August up until mid-September. This is a little known process and when I first posted it a number of growers contacted me, pleased to know about it as it requires no misting systems, etc.
MATERIALS REQUIRED...
A very sharp, small penknife or Exacto knife.
A small block of wood (to prevent cutting fingers!)
Some colored yarns or tape for marking purposes.
Toothpicks.
THE TOOTHPICK PROPAGATION TECHNIQUE
1. Select the stem from which you wish to take a cutting. Look along it until you locate a bud ON LAST YEAR'S GROWTH.
2. Place the block of wood behind that point and make a single VERTICAL cut all the way through the stem, just below the bud.
3. Insert a toopick through the cut.
4. Mark each cutting with colored yarn/tape so that you can locate it at a later date.
5. Walk away from your toothpick cuttings until the end of October or November. Leave them alone!
6. REMOVING THE CUTTINGS FROM THE MOTHER PLANT.
You will note that a callus has formed where you wounded the cutting and inserted a toothpick. With sharp pruning shears remove the cutting just below the toothpick. Trim off the toothpick on either side of the cutting.
7. Dip your cuttings in rooting hormone and set them in a cold frame. Water well and close up the frame for the winter. Water as needed. If you do not have a cold frame, set the cuttings right next to your house foundation on the east or north side. Lean an old window or glass pane up against the foundation to protect them.
8. Rooting should take place by mid-spring. Those with greenhouses can leave the cuttings on the mother plant into December/January before setting them to root. Commercial propagators will find this useful.
A VARIATION OF THE TOOTHPICK TECHNIQUE
This method requires a bit of practice but works well. In August/September select the stem to be used as a cutting. Locate last year's growth on the stem and grasp it between thumb and forefinger. Snap the stem lightly until it breaks in half. Leave it hanging on the plant where it will callus. Then follow instructions above for setting cuttings. Snip the cutting off, when callused, at the wounded part. This is a useful technique for azaleas and many woody shrubs and Japanese maples.
Hopefully I have explained this method so it is understood. Reading it over a few times may be necessary.
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Follow-Up Postings:
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Thank you so much for reminding me that is it August! I had made a mental note to do this when I found your post about it somewhere. I think this might be the answer to rooting some of the difficult plants I have tried to propagate for years, such as coppertone loquat. Thanks, again! Janie |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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Thanks for the tip!!!!!
John Gray |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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- Posted by phyl345 zone 5 illinois (My Page) on
Sat, Sep 2, 06 at 23:07
| i use a toothpick in the "wound" of a stem when i bury it for layering...is that the same principle?? |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Nandina, does this work for fruit trees and trees like the flowering cherry? |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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Molly,
Fruit trees/flowering cherry are generally difficult to root and usually are grafted onto suitable root stock. Give the toothpick method a try...using the 'water sprouts' (upward growth on fruit tree branches that one usually removes at pruning time) as rooting material. You should have a fairly successful strike rate. |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Couldn't stand it... I had to bump this especially because of the time of year for this... ~Angela |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Angela, thanks for bumping this up. This is the first time I read about this technique! |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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Re bump :
How did it work any one in zone 6 or 7 try it? |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Please tell me what is meant by 'Bumping"? The term is a new one for me!!! |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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taxonomist notice the posting dates? This might give you a clue!
Thanks for the bump. This info will come in handy and if no one else does it, I will bump it next year. |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| I have yet to comprehend what is meant by the term" bumping up! Will someone please expand upon the term and the forum follow-up? I must be living in another age; the terms elude me completely. |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Any time a new post is made on an old thread it gets bumped to page 1. I don't know what page it was on before it got bumped but if a new post had not been made on this thread you would have to scour through many pages to find it. Do you understand now? |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Man, I must really be in the stone age! I don't even comprehend the term "thread". Additionally, I have yet to comprehend the "bump" concept! |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Taxonomist, click here on for the Test Forum. Look it over. Add a follow-up to the the bottom subject. Then click on reload, or otherwise close and reopen, and examine the position of subjects on the test forum. Do whatever you want there. The test forum is what some sites call a "sandbox". |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| Thank You Albert135 for your response. I couldn't find any sort of reload button, but perhaps I'll be able to enter the magic world of internet information. |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| taxonomist "It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique" is a thread on the 'Plant Propogation' forum. If you were to go to page 10, on any forum, and make a RE: post or 'follow up', you would bump that thread to page one. I don't think it can be put any simpler! If you still don't understand I suggest you lay off the Valium, lol. The reload button is at the top of your browser next to the right and left arrows which are page back and forward buttons. |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| F5 on your keyboard will also reload the page. |
RE: It's August and time for the 'toothpick' technique
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| taxonomist - in case you're still in the dark. A posted message or question on these forums can be called many names but is often the base of a "thread" - or a long list of back and forth comments about the topic. If someone mentions another conversation going on under a different area of GardenWeb they'll refer to something like "this topic is being covered in another thread". They will sometimes refer to the original comment that started the conversation as the OP or original poster if they are talking about the person that posed the original question. Over time new conversations are added and this thread gets moved down the page and then eventually off the page and into the archives. When someone digs around in the archives and adds their comments to an old archived post they bring it back to the top of the list - this is called a bump. I have found the Toothpick Method the only way to propagate Loquat trees. It can take half a year to get roots and out of 6 tries I might only get one to grow roots but it works every year for me. |
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