R2104 4.2 Describe methods of vegetative propagation

Question 1

Materials used in growing media for propagation: General
What qualities are needed in the growing medium?

Answer 1

1. Needs to provide a healthy and suitable enviroment
2. Should be free from pests and disease
3. Cuttings need good Air Filled Porosity - oxygen is essential for respiration
4. Nutrients are not required for the rooting stage - only needed once cutting has rooted

Question 2

Functions of growing media for cuttings (4)

Answer 2

1. To hold cutting in place while it is rooting
2. To provide mositure for cutting
3. To allow gaseous exchange as base of cutting
4. To reduce light penetration to the cutting base

Question 3

Materials used in growing media for propagation: Peat alternatives

Answer 3

1. For example coir and composted bark
2. Coir - clean, light, easy to handle. Moisture retention good, easier to re-wet than peat. Good AFP.
3. Bark - Some types are toxic - generally overcome on the composting process. Pine bark is perferred as it has few toxins. Has some nutrients and retains some mositure (needs more regular watering than coir). It has good AFP.

Question 4

Materials used in growing media for propagation: Perlite

Answer 4

1. Light, sterile, inert
2. Excellent AFP
3. Can help with moisture retention - particles for not absorb water but hold water on the rough surface
4. Damp down before handling as it can be very dusty

Question 5

Materials used in growing media for propagation: Sand / Grit

Answer 5

1. Coarse sand and grit improve aeration and drainage
2. Fine sand can reduce AFP
3. Sand and grit contain no nutrients
4. Considerably increase the weight of growing media

Question 6

What is sticking?

Related to cuttings

Answer 6

Describes the perparation of the cutting material and subsquent insertion of cuttings into a container or open ground. The date of sticking is recorded as the starting point.

Question 7

What is wounding?

Related to cuttings

Answer 7

1.Many semi-ripe and hardwood cuttings benefit from wounding
2.Bark is cut away from base of the stem to expose more of the cambium and encourage rooting
3.The wounded tissue is stimulated into cell division
4. e.g. Rhododendron

Question 8

What is a heel cutting?

Related to cuttings

Answer 8

Heel cuttings are taken with an extra silver of last years wood still attached
Many evergreens and broad leaved evergreens benefit from this

Question 9

Taking a heel cutting

Lavandula

Variant of semi-ripe cuttings

Answer 9

1. Idenfity a healthy looking shoot about 10cm long and pull down and away from main stem
2. You will end up with heel. If heel is too long trim it with a sharp knife
3. Dip heel into hormone rooting powder
4. Place cutting into soil with heel lowermost

Question 10

Softwood cuttings: general details for what to look for when collecting

Answer 10

1. Take young sections from current growth
2. At least 5-10cm long with at least two leaf joints attached
3. Firm but flexible shoots
4. No flowers, fruits or seedheads
5. No diseased or damaged parts
6. Vulnerable to drying out so collect from well ater plants and likes a humid atmosphere.
7. Remove most leaves to reduce water loss
8. Susceptible to botrytis
9. Best material come from first flush of spring growth
10. Bottom heat often needed

Question 11

Softwood cuttings: Pelargonium

Answer 11

1. Take cuttings in later summer from strong leafy, non-flowering side shoots betweem 5015 cm long
2. Trim below the leaf joint (node) and cut off foliage from the lower half. Apply hormone rooting powder to base
3. Insert cuttings into growing media up to lowest leaf amd water well
4. Cover with clear polythene bag or put in propagator
5. New top growth indicates rooting - at this point pot up plants individually

Question 12

Semi-ripe cuttings: General

Answer 12

1. Taken from mid-summer to early autumn
2. Usually from, side shoots or top of main stem
3. Wood is beginning to harden so firmer than softwood cuttings
4. Take shoots 50-10cm long
5. Cut below leaf joint or node with a straight cut. Remove leafs from lower half
6. Dip base in hormone rooting powder
7. Insert 2.5cm deep in well drained pots in a clear polythene bag or cover propagating case
8. Place pots in cool green house and shade from bright sunlight

Question 13

Semi-ripe cuttings: Chamaecyparis

Comifer cuttings

Answer 13

1. Cuttings from later summer to end of autumn
2. Can take up to year to make roots
3. Cuttings from upright growth will produce an upright plant
4. Sideshoots will create a low spreading plant
5. Chose small healthy shoots 7.5-10cm long
6. Pull off gently from plant, removing a sliver of darker wood
7. Or snip of a side shoot to make cutting
8. Remove lower 3cm of foliage. Any foliage in contact with growing medium could rot
9. Dip cut end into hormone rooting powder
10. Insert cuttings round the edge of a pot with free draining compost
11. Will not thrive in wet conditions. Mix 50% compost / 50% horticultural grit OR 75% perlite / 25% compost
12. Water well
13. Place in cold frame / polythene tunnels / heat propagator with bottom heat
14. Cuttings should not be too dry or too wet. Shade on sunny days/ Remove any dead or diseased material
15. Pot up and fully harden off before placing outdoors

Question 14

Hardwood cuttings: General

Answer 14

1. Take at end of growing season from autumn to spring
2. Optimum time after leaf fall or before bud break
3. Using sharp secateurs cut just above a bud at junction between current years growth and previous years growth
4. Remove any large leaves and side shoots. Trim cuttings to about 20cm for large trees / shrubs or 5-8cm for smaller specimens
5. Make an angled cut just above top bud and horizontal cut just below the bottom one
6. Wound cutting and dip base in hormone rooting powder
7. Place into free draining compost and water well
8. Can also be inserted into a cold frame or directly outside
9. Dig a narrow trench in well drained soil with one side vertical so that cuttings can stand upright.

Question 15

Hardwood cuttings: Buddleja davidii

Answer 15

1. Take cuttings in autumn just after leaf fall
2. Select healthy stems of current years growth which has hardened
3. Avoid very thick or very thin material
4. Cut cleanly away from parent plant
5. Aim for 5 nodes in each cutting
6. Make top cut just above node, sloping away from it
7. Make bottom cut straight just below node
8. Insert in a ‘V’ shaped trench in open ground, with top 1/4 above the ground spaced 10-15cm apart

Question 16

Three main categories of division

Answer 16

1. Detachment of suckers from shurbby plants
2. Division of a perennial which produces distinct buds
3. Division of an entire plant such as a fibrous-rooted perennial

Question 17

Division: suckers

Answer 17

1. Detached from plants during autumn and winter
2. Replanted to establish new plants
3. e.g. Rose rugosa

Question 18

Division: herbaceous perennial with distinct buds

Answer 18

1. Plants have a compact fleshy crown that is not easy to pull apart
2. Best divided at end of dormant season when they begin to shoot
3. Crown should be lifted and soil shaken off
4. Dust with fungicide and immediately replant
5. e.g. Hosta

Question 19

Division: entire fibrous rooted perennial

Answer 19

1. Plant lifted as soon as it has flowered
2. Soil shaken off or washed off
3. All top growth cut back hard to minimise water loss
4. Plant is then broken apart - use knife if needed
5. Plants replanted and watered in
6. e,g, Alchemillia mollis

Question 20

Division: Timing / soil prep

Answer 20

1. Generally can be divided anytime if kept well watered afterwards
2. Division usually mosts successful when plants arent in active growth
3. Divide summer flowering plants in spring or autumn
4. Divide spring flowering plants in summer after flowering
5. Work bulky OM into planting hole
6. If replanting on same site then add slow-release fertiliser

Question 21

Division: lifting and dividing

Answer 21

1. Some can be teased out and replanted
2. Some with fibrous roots can be pulled apart
3. Some large fibrous rooted plants required two garden forks inserted into the crown back to back
4. Plants with woody crowns may need a spade or knife to get apart
5. Plant divisions as soon as possible and water in well
6. If necessary overwinter in a frost free environment

Question 22

Layering: Simple layering

Cotinus spp

Answer 22

1. To prepare the shoot for layering leaves and side shoot should be removed from about 15cm-60cm behind the growing tip. Shoot is often wounded by nicking or twisting.
2. Stem to be layered in bent down to the ground
3. A sloping trench is dug 10-15cm deep
4. Stem is bent down into the trench and pegged against the straight side with a staple made from coarse wire.
5. Trench is refilled with soil and firmed well
6. Keep soil moist
7. In autumn once root can be severed from parent plant
8. After 3-4 wks cut out growing tip
9. This should be carried out in early spring
10. e.g. Cotinus spp

Question 23

Layering: What encourages rooting? (5)

Answer 23

1. The exculsion of light
2. Adequate drainage
3. Availability of oxygen
4. Adequate moisture
5. Warmth

Question 24

Layering: serpentine layering

Clematis spp

Answer 24

1. Good for climbing plants
2. Early - mid summer
3. An angled cut (tongue) is made midway between two nodes, and this repeated the length of the stem
4. Apply hormone rooting powder to the incisions under the flap of the tongues
5. Shoot is pegged down firmly on the soil by wire staples at intervals along the stem where it was wounded.
6. Soil is heaped on top leaving nodes and leaves uncovered
7. By autumn sufficient rooting should have taken place
8. e.g. Clematis spp
9. Each section to be potted into a 13 cm pot with John Innes no1 or similar

Question 25

Layering: serpentine layering

Clematis spp

Answer 25

1. Good for climbing plants
2. Early - mid summer
3. An angled cut (tongue) is made midway between two nodes, and this repeated the length of the stem
4. Apply hormone rooting powder to the incisions under the flap of the tongues
5. Shoot is pegged down firmly on the soil by wire staples at intervals along the stem where it was wounded.
6. Soil is heaped on top leaving nodes and leaves uncovered
7. By autumn sufficient rooting should have taken place
8. e.g. Clematis spp

Question 26

Layering: Air layering

Ficus elastica

Answer 26

1. Make air layers in spring from previous seasons growth or in mid-summer on mature shoots from this seasons growth
2. Wound making 1 - woody plants - remove bark from all around the branch
3. Wound making 2 - less woody stems - make a long upward cut 4-5 cm long almost to centre of stem. Insert a wood sliver or toothpick to hold flap open
4. In either case dust with hormone rooting powder
5. Wrap with sphagnum moss, that was perviously soaked and squeezed
6. Wrap in polyethylene film around branch and moss
7. Tie up both ends with electiricians tape
8. Root will grow
9. Cut below the ball of moss and roots when ready
10. Plant in container or well prepared bed
11. Placing a ploythene bag over the potted plant for 4-5 days can help roots get established
12. Keep shaded and avoid direct sunlight
13. e.g. Ficus elastica using wound method 2

Question 27

Leaf cuttings: Midrib cutting

Steptocarpus

Answer 27

1. Select full grown leaf
2. Cut in half along midrib, which should be discarded
3. Make a shallow trench in seed tray
4. Insert leaf, cut side down and firm in

Question 28

Leaf cuttings: Petiole cuttings

Saintpaulia and Peperomia

Answer 28

1. Cut leaves with stalk intact from parent plant
2. Into a pot insert with the base of each leaf touching the surface

Question 29

Leaf cuttings: leaf sections or chevrons

Begonia Rex Cultorum Group

Answer 29

1. Take whole leaves or small squares of leaf and pin down so veins make good contact with the compost
2. Keep humid and at 20 degrees C
3. Plantlets develop along the length of the veins in 6-8 weeks

Question 30

Leaf bud cuttings

Camellia or Clematis

Answer 30

1. Late summer take semi-hardwood stem cuttings
2. Make on cut above the bud in the leaf axil and the other about 3/4 to 1 1/2 in below the bud
3. Dip the lower end of cutting in hormone rooting powder and insert into gritty compost
4. Each bud should make contact with the compost
5. Keep at 16-18 degrees C and protect from Sun

Question 31

Leaf bud cuttings

Camellia or Clematis

Answer 31

1. Late summer take semi-hardwood stem cuttings
2. Make one cut above the bud in the leaf axil and the other about 3/4 to 1 1/2 in below the bud
3. Dip the lower end of cutting in hormone rooting powder and insert into gritty compost
4. Each bud should make contact with the compost
5. Keep at 16-18 degrees C and protect from Sun

Question 32

Nodal cutting

Answer 32

A cutting made in a straight line immediatly below a node

Question 33

Internodal cutting

Answer 33

A cutting is made by cutting midway between a pair of nodes