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Re: Rooting cuttings out of season?

At 20:55 17/03/97 -0800, you wrote:
>I had to try and root some cuttings from a rare species of conifer
>this spring when I discovered my only plant broken off at the ground
>level. This plant,[torreya grandis] althought not a rock garden plant
>is very rare and slow growing. Imformation is not available in any of my
>reference books. So I am trying to root about 25 pieces that I could
>salvage using pumice and mist with about 60 degrees F bottom heat. After 
>almost 3 weeks I pulled up one piece and saw callous but no root. Am I
>on the right track? 
>			Robert Aebel Vancouver Wa.
>

Dear Robert,

Torreya is closely related to Taxus (Yew), so my bet would be that
information about rooting that genus (of which there is plenty) should be
useful to you also.

I presume the cuttings you harvested were at a dormant stage, but that you
are rooting them indoors?  What is important, then, is to provide them with
adequate heat (which you have done) and light, in order to support their
growth once their buds burst and their growth resumes.  Usually, you will
observe that the buds initiate growth even before the roots appear.   The
fact that T. grandis is so slow-growing makes me think the rooting process
will take a while.  You seem to be on the right track, just be patient and
make sure you don't overwater your plants, so that they have plenty of air
for the new roots and that you don't promote pathogens.  By the way, how
long are the cuttings you harvested?

I looked up Torreya in Dirr and Heuser's "The reference manual of woody
plant propagation" (1987, Varsity Press).  Seed propagation appears to be
easier than cuttings, but it has been done. They recommend harvesting
cuttings in late October (i.e. dormant), using IBA as a rooting hormone
(8000 ppm, which is a rather high concentration).  The rooting took 16
weeks, so don't worry yet! ;-)  If you didn't use rooting hormone, it might
even take a bit longer.

Also, if you are willing to provide your mailing address, I can send you a
document entitled "Black spruce propagation at the Pepiniere de
St-Modeste", which we have recently published at our nursery.  It is a
35-page technical manual on the propagation system we have to produce black
spruce cuttings for reforestation.  Granted, the species is different, but
since the publication is free, so you might still be interested.  Just let
me know.

Good luck!

Denise Tousignant

********************************************************
Denise Tousignant, M.Sc., Conseillere scientifique
Pepiniere forestiere de St-Modeste, 
410 rue Principale, St-Modeste, Quebec GOL 3W0 Canada
tel.: 418-862-5511  FAX: 418-862-0564
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