Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

PLANT CUTTINGS

Many plants can be produced asexually using vegetative cuttings. Other techniques of asexual propagation include layering, division and separation of specialized structures, grafting, budding and tissue culture.

Cuttings

A cutting is any plant part that has been severed from the parent plant. For successful propagation to occur, the severed plant part must develop those parts to make it a complete plant.

For example, propagation from stem cuttings requires the development of a new root system. Root cuttings must develop both a new shoot system and a new extended root system. Cuttings from leaves must produce entirely new root and shoot systems. The new plant produced is identical to the parent plant. Cuttings used in asexual propagation of greenhouse and nursery plants include stem cuttings, root cuttings, leaf-bud cuttings and leaf cuttings.

• Stem Cuttings are classified as herbaceous, softwood (greenwood), semi-hardwood and hardwood. This classification is based on the state of growth and hardness of the stem.
• Select herbaceous cuttings from non-woody, herbaceous plant species. Take these cuttings anytime during the year. Use herbaceous cuttings to propagate many greenhouse crops. Cuttings taken from plants such as chrysanthemums, geraniums, begonias and most foliage plants are herbaceous. Select young and vigorous growth for herbaceous cuttings. When taking an herbaceous cutting, sharply bend the cutting and snap it off clean. Growth which bends instead of breaking cleanly is too old and will root slowly.
• Select softwood or greenwood cuttings from the soft, succulent new growth of wood plants. Take softwood cuttings in the spring during the rapid growth period. Select growth that breaks off cleanly when bent. Many evergreens and deciduous trees and shrubs are propagated from softwood cuttings.
• Use semi-hardwood cuttings to asexually propagate broad-leaved evergreen plants. Select semi-hardwood cuttings from partially mature woody stems during late spring through early autumn.
• Select hardwood cuttings to propagate deciduous trees and shrubs.