RE: cuttings

I'm glad this thread came up...  When at my local garden center the
other day, I noticed an elderly woman puttering by with some willow tree
branches in her basket. Odd, I thought.  I inquired as to why she had
them (pretty obvious it wasn't a purchase, since the tips were wrapped
in wet paper towels and covered with the good ol' multi-purpose ziploc
bag...)

She stated that the "old timers" strip the leaves, and cut up the small
branches (more like a stem - about half the size of a pencil in
thickness and approximately 2 feet long) into 2" sections.  Cram all
these into a quart mason jar, and fill the jar with boiling water.
Place a seal and lid on the jar, as if you were canning.  Let the
limbs/leaves "stew" in that jar for 24 hours and use that water as a
root starter.  

She stated that it was better to start plants in than any old root
powder, just place your cuttings in the water, and let them start their
roots, then transplant.

Have any of you heard/tried this?  I thought it was pretty odd... but,
she looked to be in her 80s, and I figured she must've had SOME exp.
doing this...

Just curious,

nina
Silverdale (aka slughell), WA
zone 8


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