Extreme Cuttings

T5 Extreme Cuttings, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

The 5th and final post in the series on cuttings. Scroll down for previous entries.

There are times when cutting material is in very short supply! At those times it is possible to divide a normal tip cutting (1 and 2) into four parts - all of which have a very good chance of taking!

Figures 3 and 4 show the cutting divided into three and then four pieces, all of which are almost certain to root well and grow strongly. For these really tiny cuttings I only use vermiculite as the rooting medium as I am sure that it is clean and sterile. I always feel that these extreme cuttings are more vulnerable to botrytis and other fungal infections as the leaf tissue is in contact with the medium, and so constantly damp. Passing them through a weak fungicide solution before planting in sterile vermiculite gives them the best chance of survival in my shade house.

At this time of year they will root in three to four weeks and be ready for potting up a week after that.

STORM WARNING

There is a severe storm warning in place for the Western Cape for the whole weekend and Monday. If possible, try to protect your cuttings and very young plants from the high winds and very heavy rain expected. The little pots can be blown around, and the tiny plants and/or cuttings washed away in these conditions thus setting you back a long way.

Check the stakes and supports on any standards, and prune them back if you haven't done so already to reduce wind resistance. It is heartbreaking to have the head snapped off a a good standard in high wind!

Bring hanging baskets down to ground level and tuck them into a safe corner for a few days.

Batten down the hatches and sit tight!!

A last Resort

T4 Hard Wood Cuttings, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

Number 4 in the series on different types of cuttings. Scroll down for the earlier posts.

If you are really desperate to find cuttings of a particular cultivar and there is no new growth available, a piece of last year's growth, or "hard wood", can be pressed into service.

Try to cut it so that there is a node to bury in the rooting medium on each piece. In old wood the growth hormones needed for the development of new roots and shoots will be concentrated around the leaf nodes, so I try to have one in the rooting medium from which the new roots can grow, and one above ground to generate the new shoots.

If this is not possible, as in c on picture 3, then the use of a number 2 growth hormone powder might help. Just dip the end of the cutting into the powder, shake off any excess, and place in the rooting medium as usual. This is the only time I would recommend the use of hormone powder on fuchsias. All the other types of cuttings are rich enough in natural growth hormones to root easily and quickly, and sometimes produce distorted plants when the artificial hormones are added

Hard wood cuttings will do best in cooler weather (13 - 21 degrees C) . They will take quite a lot longer to root (up to 6 - 8 weeks) than the soft new wood that is rich in nutrients and hormones, and the success rate will not be as high, but if there is nothing else available they are worth a try! They might only yield some new growth that can be used to make softwood cuttings for easy rooting of good new plants.

For me, they are the last resort!

Semi Ripe Cuttings

T3 Semi Ripe Cuttings, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

Part three in the series about cuttings. Scroll down for the previous two.

Fuchsias are such obliging plants, that almost any little bit of material will root and grow into a new plant. There are times when you have to make the best of what is available. This case usually arises for me when I am wandering around somebody else's garden towards the end of the flowering season and am particularly taken with a cultivar I would like to propagate. Not all plants make new growth in the autumn, so then I resort to semi hardwood - that is wood that is about a year old but is still growing and looking strong and healthy. It is best if you can find a small piece with a couple of new side shoots developing.

Here I took the two new side shoots off carefully (2) and divided the piece of stem so that it yielded two nodal cuttings (5).

The nodes will develop roots fairly easily and I prefer that to inter nodal cuttings on semi ripe wood.

The one side shoot is very small (on the left in picture 3), but if treated as an extreme tip cutting it should take - its worth a try anyway! The other one should root easily and grow into a good plant.

Each of these four cuttings (4) stands a good chance of rooting, although the resulting plants from the pieces of stem may not be of show quality. They will however yield new tip cutting material from which to start well balanced plants!

Making the most of what you have!

T2 Soft Wood Cuttings, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

Part Two in the series about different types of Fuchsia cuttings. Scroll down for Part One.

There are times when cutting material is in short supply, or you need to propagate a large number of plants for a specific purpose. Here is one way to stretch the material you have. (More on this topic will follow later!)

If you can only get one cutting of a cultivar you really want to propagate you can divide that up to provide a few young plants - also means you don't have all your eggs in one basket! At least one is likely to thrive!

Here cutting number 1 has been divided into 3 pieces.

a is an extreme tip cutting which, if planted so that the rooting medium comes half way up the lower leaves, will root easily and produce a good plant.

b is a nodal cutting. The node buried in rooting medium up to the level of the lower leaves will rapidly develop roots, and two shoots will develop from the node above ground. This might not develop a well balanced plant for show purposes, but the new shoots can be used to take good tip cuttings.

c is an inter nodal cutting. Because it is soft young wood it should root fairly easily and also produce two shoots from the node above ground. Plant this to the level of the node.

Cutting number 2 can yield 5 cuttings although all of them are inter nodal - always second prize in my book! This is worth doing for something really special if you are not sure that you can get more cuttings if this one fails!

a is an extreme tip cutting and should produce a well balanced plant, the others will all produce two shoots and will be good for multi planting, (3 - 5 plants in a pot or basket) and for providing more tip cuttings!

Top of the Pops

T1 Types of Cuttings - Tip, originally uploaded by pennyeast.

Quite a few people asked questions about the various types of cuttings that can can be taken when they were here on Friday. I will try to expand on these over the next few days.

Remember the basics: Take cuttings from strong healthy plants, and take them when the plants are fresh and turgid. Watering the plants well the day before is a good idea! Try to take cuttings in cool conditions and keep them moist and cool to prevent wilting before you can place them into damp rooting medium. If you can't plant them up immediately they will keep in the crisper tray of the 'fridge for a few days. Immerse them in luke-warm water for a while before planting to make sure that they are 100% turgid.

Tip Cuttings

These are the two best types of cuttings in my opinion.

Number 1, a nodal tip cutting, is by far the best cutting to take if the material is plentiful. It is planted up to the level of the lowest set of leaves and is just about guaranteed to strike. Natural growth hormones are concentrated around the nodes and will quickly make roots in a moist, loose medium.

Number two, called an inter nodal cutting because it is cut between two leaf nodes, is almost as good. It is young wood that is growing strongly and so is well supplied with growth hormones. Most cuttings of this type will strike easily in the right conditions. (temps of 13 - 23 degrees C). Plant it to just below the lower leaf node.