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Cuttings

Date: Sun, 29 Sep 1996 18:28:18 -0400
From: Robert and Sharon Illingworth <illingwr@air.on.ca>
The following article has been forwarded by the Illingworths for
reposting
to Alpine-L.  Please see the notes at the very end for its origins and
for their plea for feedback.  Thanks. 


At this time of year we begin to anticipate our long winters, when
gardening
is reduced to books and lists. These are no substitutes for real
gardening,
but rooting cuttings of alpine and woody plants comes as close as our
climate permits.

After trying to manage our cuttings in polybags and a largely
unsuccessful
attempt at mist propagation we began (in frustration) to utilize several
old
10 gallon aquariums with panes of glass for lids as propagation boxes.
Too
simple. Sterilized with a 10% bleach solution, the aquariums have been
easy
to manage.  Excess moisture can be bled off by sliding the lid open 1/2"
or
so and then closing it again. The units are placed under fluorescent
lights
in a cool room.

The main way to success is to keep things as sterile as possible. I try
to
use new plastic pots or at least pots that have been washed in soap and
water. Sometimes I will also soak the pots in the dilute bleach solution
if
I have the time and the cuttings are special. Cuttings are potted up in
3"
square pots using a 50/50 peat/perlite mix. When I prepare the mix I
like
the peat moss and perlite to be slightly damp but not wet. The
individual
pots will often hold up to six cuttings; they should be placed so that
they
are not touching each other or the sides of the aquarium.

     When taking the cuttings I use an old style razor blade broken in
two
as I like clean cuts with no ragged edges. The name of the plant is
written
right on the pot with a felt marker. Most cuttings are dipped in number
two
rooting hormone. The pots and cuttings are drenched with a fungicide,
Benlate wetable powder that is more than several years old. This
fungicide
has been stored in a metal paint can in a cool dry place over the years
and
seems to have maintained its potency. After the drench the cuttings are
left
to dry off and drain in a cool place out of the sun. When the foliage is
completely dry (usually after a few hours) the pots are then placed in a
covered aquarium.

     It takes about 5-6 weeks for the cuttings to get going. (Some
woodies
such as rhodos or magnolias take longer so don't give up too soon.)
During
this time they are checked regularly. No additional watering is
necessary.
Some leaves will yellow and they are removed as soon as they fall or as
soon
as they will pull easily from the stem. I try to stay out of the box as
much
as possible. Occasionally some grey mould will form, and if this cannot
be
controlled I remove the pot. If you have maintained sanitary procedures
throughout, used healthy stock and let the pots and cuttings dry off
before
putting into the aquarium these problems should be minimal.

Sometimes roots will show at the bottom of the pots before new growth is
seen on the cutting. Most often new growth and rooting occur at the same
time. Once the cuttings have rooted the pots are removed from the
aquarium
and fertilized several times over the next few weeks with a dilute water
soluble fertilizer with a high middle #.  When the cuttings are clearly
into
growth I repot them into a standard soilless mix amended with Turface or
grit.

This method can be used for cuttings of Androsace, the Kabschia Saxes,
heathers, other small woodies such as chamaecyparis, thuja, cassiope
etc.
Penstemons, however, have always failed! And yet some plants, reputed to
be
difficult to root, such as Helichrysum petiolatum root successfully as
long
as care is taken to ensure that they are kept on the dry side. A small
piece
of heather taken now as a cutting will be a vigorous plant in a 4" pot
next
June if fertilized regularly once it has rooted. Sometimes heathers will
also bloom under lights for an added bonus.

We encourage anyone with an unused aquarium to consider using it for
cuttings this winter. It makes a long winter tick by more quickly, and
after
things are underway there is something new to discover almost daily down
under the lights.

Rob and Sharon Illingworth
Thunder Bay
Ontario

USDA 4,
Min -40C/-40F with snow
Min without snow -20C/-4F
Max 30C/86F, rarely higher
Frost free days 110 on average


***
A version of this has been published elsewhere (page 74 of the October
1996 Ontario Rock Garden Society *Journal*).  Rob writes: "I wanted to
post
a version to the list as I [am] interested in getting some feedback and
during our time on the list there has been nothing on cuttings."
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