Dear Nancy, I had sent you an email back. But not sure if you had gotten it. When I saw you post here figured I would let you know that I did not ignore you. Eliz33

I think Rootdigger posted this site on propagating plants from cuttings: Propagating from cuttings. I have always taken cuttings in late spring/ early summer, but it looks as though there's a lot more options!

I just took cuttings from my two fig varieties and hydrangeas and they are all doing great. I think they will need protection if we have an early frost as they are just starting to bud out. Theresa.

nan, I've been keeping a clone of my dad's rosemary going for years. I root it just like you did in a glass jar and then plant in a pot when enough root hairs show up.

The curly birch I brought to the swap roots amazingly fast in water.

I'm just wondering if there is any rule of thumb about propagation categories or if we should just consult a chart.

if someone has an all-encompassing chart, i'd love to see it. i've got such a mish-mash of propagation info; rather than wade through it and probably not find what i'm looking for, i usually just fly blind. i truly would love to have a list of plants that root in water, too.

nance, i've easily/successfully rooted cuttings of camellias, spireas, callicarpa, burford holly, various junipers, hydrangeas of all types, hibiscus of all types, the infamous "Miss Huff" lantana, confederate jasmine, indigo salvia, loropetulum, and aucuba (aucuba will root if you just wink at it - it may even root in water, i should try) ... i am very new to propagating cuttings & these things did very well for me.

marsha

Thanks for those specifics, marsha! My rebel jasmine is gorgeous and lush on its pillar now after 3 years, but I look at it and wonder if it may be its last since it is really a zone 8. I think I'll make some cuttings just in case.

claire in sanford

I always just put my cuttings in moist potting medium -- saves me the trouble of planting later. With rooting hormone the success rate is high.

I saw the coolest way to propogate the other day at work. One of the girls was propogating a pineapple lily. She cut off a strappy leaf. Then she cut the leaf into sections and then pushed the sections of leaf into soil. She said it did not matter which side of the cut portion of the leaf went into the soil.

BB's does stem cutting propogation all the time. I know begonias and african violets can be started with leaf cuttings. This was the first time I had witnessed a Eucomis propogated that way. Adele

my mother had a small, rather hidden area in her garden where she did her leaf cuttings ... she put mason jars over them, i assume to keep the humidity up. wish i could remember all the plants she propagated this way, but that's too much to ask of this mind. i do remember begonia and african violet, tho, since adele mentioned it.

pup, i've had this rebel jasmine for years, have abused it in every way possible. moved it all over the place until my permanent spot was ready. it has bloomed & survived it all, including about 2 years in its original nursery pot. it's now happily growing up a cabin porch post. i think you can rest easy on this one, zone 8 and all.

marsha

Whewwww, I will rest easy about the jasmine now. Since we are both yankees, marsha, I guess I can also rule out the ol' Appommatox spite fungus. That one has also given me a few restless nights.

i think c.h. sprays for the a.s. fungus :)

:) :) :)

claire in sanford

I love this question, as it is a hot topic for me. I can recommend two books that are just fantastic: "The Propogation of Hardy Perennials" by Richard Bird has techniques as well as 700 plants with detail of when and how. "Growing and Propogating Showy Native Woody Plants" by Richard Bir is also great - he's at UNC, so it's just right for us. To quote him, "Only certain parts of plants will root at certain times." He describes softwood (most commonly taken in spring), semihardwood (take cuttings late spring-early autumn),and hardwood cuttings (take in late fall thru early spring when plant is dormant). A good example: take sassafras cuttings in late winter, store in dry sand 3-4 weeks, then plant well-drained.

Right now, I'm doing salvias, agastaches, caryopteris, buddleia, chioanthus, abelia, and cuphea.

Nance, according to Bir, semihardwood of fothergilla root even w/o hormone. Viburnum=midsummer, semihardwood. Callicarpa is easy. Is your firetwig cornus the alba species? It's supposed to start to root now with IBA powder, but take till spring when new growth emerges - long wait. I've never had luck personally with my cornus alba, but it does produce suckers. Camellia does that thing with air-rooting with aluminum foil - kind of fun to do.

Here is a link that might be useful: Camellia Foil

Brenda, how do you propagate your salvias this time of year?

I've brought a couple things in and stuck them in a small bucket with an airstone and some fish tank water. The night blooming jasmine which I had trouble with before is staying healthy and green.