I'm with an ENGO who has been using poplars and 31 other varieties of woody and brush species for stream margin forestation, salinity reversal forestation, effluent irrigation woodlots, and forest filters around and on top of active and decommissioned landfills. We have been provided with 130,000 free trees per year from two sources however, our growing demand especially for hybrid poplars for effluent irrigation (for next spring plantings)means I will have insufficient supply. I thereforth with to venture forth and obtain 20,000 or more hybrid poplar cuttings from previous plantings (Manitou, Assiniboian and Walker hybrids). Planting in S.E. Sask cannot occur till early April for manual plantings (through plastic mulch we laid this fall) or late April for mechanical plantings.

Question: I am interested in knowing the best way to get cuttings rooting during the winter so I can see with confidence that I have viable cuttings for large scale plantings i.e.: twenty acre effluent irrigation woodlots. I was confused when I saw the advice from the person who explained about putting cuttings upside down in a pail of sand....as I never heard of anything like that befor. Can someone advise. (I also have access to styrofoam blocks with 120 five inch long cells to create plugs...so perhaps this could also be a means or place for placing cuttings so they can start rooting....though I don't have a green house per se! for the space for alot of these styrofoam blocks!). Advice anyone for larger scale rooting of cuttings from Hybrid Poplars? Thanks in advance.