Types of cuttings

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Stem cuttings

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Hardwood

• •

Deciduous Narrow-leaved evergreen Semi-hardwood Softwood Herbaceous Leaf cuttings Leaf-bud cuttings (single-eye or single-node) Root cuttings

Hardwood deciduous stem cuttings

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Definition: segments of shoots from matured, dormant hardwood stems after leaves have abscised; before new shoots emerge in spring Features: easy to prepare, not readily perishable, require little or no special equipment Many deciduous crops are propagated this way:

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Ornamental shrubs - e.g., privet, forsythia, rose rootstocks

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Fruit spp. - fig, quince, mulberry, grape A few trees: willows, poplar

Methods of preparing/handling hardwood deciduous cuttings before planting

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Direct spring planting

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Stems gathered, stored cold till spring Cuttings made at planting time Direct fall planting

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Cuttings planted directly into the nursery in the fall

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From So. Canada (orn. shrubs) to Texas (rose rootstocks) Warm-temp pretreatment

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Cuttings taken in the fall (dormant period) Cuttings treated with rooting hormone (PGR), stored warm 3 5 weeks, placed back in cold till spring

Hardwood evergreen (narrow-leaved) stem cuttings

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Definition: dormant (late fall to late winter) cuttings with functioning leaves Features: cuttings are slower to root than those of deciduous spp; moisture loss must be prevented; poly or light mist , rooting hormone (PGR) treatments enhance rooting Arbor-vitae (

Thuja

), low-growing junipers (

Juniperus

) root easily, yews (

Taxus

) fairly well

Semihardwood stem cuttings

• • •

Definition: cuttings from woody, broad-leaved evergreen species and leafy summer and early fall cuttings of deciduous plants with partially matured wood Features: rooting under high humidity is essential to prevent leaf abscision Ornamental shrubs (camellia, pittosporum, rhododendron, euonymous, evergreen azaleas, holly, and fruit spp. (citrus, olive)

Softwood stem cuttings

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Definition: cuttings from soft, succulent new spring growth through early to mid-summer (before green wood begins to mature) Features: high humidity during rooting; very useful for difficult-to-root spp.

Many ornamental woody shrubs (lilacs, weigela, spiraea)

Herbaceous stem cuttings

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Definition: cuttings from succulent nonwoody plants such as mums, coleus, carnations, foliage spp.) that retain a portion of the stem and (typically) leaves and a shoot tip Features: humidity control is usu. required; rooting occurs quickly and in high percentages for most spp.; v. useful for many greenhouse floral crops

Herbaceous leaf cuttings

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Definition: cuttings made up of a leaf blade, or a leaf blade and petiole Types cuttings:

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Spp. with primary meristems (plantlets arise from notches around the leaf margins) such as

Bryophyllum

Spp. with secondary meristems (adventitious buds, shoots, and roots form at the base of the leaf and develop into the new plant) such as African violet (

Saintpaulia

)

Leaf-bud cuttings (single-eye or single-node)

• • •

Definition: a cutting consisting of a leaf blade, petiole, and a short piece of stem with attached axillary bud Features: usually used where material is limited, and when adventitious shoots will not form from leaf cuttings; humidity control is necessary Useful for many greenhouse floral crops

Root cuttings

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Definition: cuttings taken from roots Features:

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Usu. cuttings are taken in late winter or early spring Correct polarity is important A shoot and root system are formed adventitiously (not all spp. are competent)

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Some forms (thornless cultivars, variegated forms) can’t be propagated this way