Ohhh beautiful - too bad they haven't yet found a way to transmit smell via the internet!

Thx Sam - you give me reason to be hopeful - I will be taking cuttings one last time this weekend (an early a.m., hopefully rain the previous day.) Its been confusing re: exactly which type of branch/stem to take - internet instructions say it should snap not bend.... but then it cant be too old either. I think I can tell the really old (has rougher more barklike surface) from the really new, but most are in between. End of April I took some that were very green - too new & floppy. Those all failed. Then they seemed to get red and stiffer but still pliable those didn't work either). Now they're more whitish but not bark - so Im hoping this is the prime season.

I suspect my failures also have to do with moisture- too much vs. too little. Yesterday I pulled out the last 1 from about 3-4 wks ago - had mold and no sign of roots. Sigh! I think I need to get a tray and water from below (not get soil so soggy).

1 set of instructions said to foliar feed cuttings (very dilute) even before they grow roots - not sure that makes a difference or maybe even harmful - nowhere else am I reading that but heck at this point Ill try anything.

When we moved in there were several large mock oranges (Philadelphus) here on our old farm, including some in really inappropriate places such as blocking paths, hanging over into the veggie garden, rubbing against the house, etc. We moved chunks to more suitable sites, and then set about getting rid of the poorly sited ones. One in particular, a 5' wide root ball on the edge of the veggie garden, DH ran over regularly with the brush mower for a year and a half before we finally realized that mowing to the ground wasn't going to kill it. So the one that you are mourning that was cut to the ground was perhaps poorly timed as far as this year's bloom, but may have been done to remove old dead growth on the plant's underside. It will recover without problems if allowed to grow this season. Mock oranges are in the same category of shrubs as spirea and forsythia (referred to as caning shrubs) that periodic cutting to the base will encourage new growth and not harm the plant. It can be done just the oldest stems every year or all at once. I have the feeling that in a public park doing it all at once is probably easier as opposed to revisiting the shrub every year to carefully prune out a few stems. Eventually old wood stops blooming well on many of these caning plants.

IME this may be a bit early to get good rooting from cuttings of this year's growth. If it's still really soft and juicy, it will probably just rot IME. Wait a few weeks to get wood that is hardening off or discreetly try pulling up a bit from the edge that includes old wood and roots.

, DH ran over regularly with the brush mower for a year and a half
before we finally realized that mowing to the ground wasn't going to
kill it.

==>>> beat me to it.. lol .. you cant kill these things by running them over.. or cutting them to near the ground ...

ken

No, you can. It just took about 40 years.

Thx all! I will contact city to see what their plans are.

In the meantime - came home yesterday as the sun was setting and found one big solitary sunbeam shining into my apartment like a spotlight right on my cuttings - nicely baking them underneath the plastic - arghhhh!

Quickly moved them and pulled away the plastic to let them cool off. Fortunately they were only cuttings, not puppy dogs left in a car, but still... it was kind of traumatic. Yet another example of "if anything can go wrong, it will."

NH Babs, the instructions Im seeing say spring for softwood ( May-June) but sounds like it should be more like June-July for those of us more northern. Would certainly explain my failures thusfar.

Does there need to be any fresh air reaching the cuttings? I have some clear plastic bins that might work but lid would seal them up pretty tight.

You could just set the lid on the bin instead of snapping it down. Remove it periodically for air exchange. Be sure to sterilize everything before using; 10% bleach solution to wash the containers, and a slit roasting bag in the microwave with wet soil (though it does get kind of stinky) to heat it up to steam sterilize.

I would think it would be able to take a hard pruning. I wish i could have one in my garden. Oh the smell

I've no particular opinions-or knowledge for that matter-on the taking of vegetative cuttings on mockorange. I just popped in here to say bravo on an old-fashioned, and in my opinion, undervalued old-timey shrub. And yes, coppicing (cutting entire plant to the ground, or nearly so) is a proven strategy for this and a great many other multi-stemmed shrubs. No worries there.

Do we know if this plant will grow well in a tub ?

Greetings all, Im seeing little buds (new leaves) forming on 2 of my more recent cuttings - yeah! Do I assume this means there are roots growing? NOW I understand which stems/ which stages of growth to take - these both were the larger extremely vigorous shoots (big leaves, thicker stems etc.) Unfortunately I wasted quite a few that failed because they were taken to early.

Larry, its a 8-9 foot shrub full size so probably ok in a tub for a while but then I imagine it would eventually want more room...?

Totally agree about the value (superiority?) of the old varieties. Not only does this specimen smell divine but the flowers are exquisitely shaped - single, large, cup shaped. The ones from nursery I tried a while back had no smell at all.

Maybe Im getting old but sometimes I go to the nursery and I get dismayed at all the freaky genetically modified & patented plants. Well yeah OK some I like (and love having in my garden - eg summer wine ninebark, orange echinaceas, purple flox with purple stems) but lets not lose the old varieties.

Have not heard back from the city - I think their purpose is to widen/re-do the narrow lane into this park bc theres a number of large trees with ominous cut lines. If so I will be taking root sections and putting SOS out via local garden groups.

Definitely some leaves forming on several.... and the last and most recent ones taken around june 25 are still holding their leaves nicely and not drooping/shrivelling... so Im guardedly optimistic that I will have some baby mock oranges to plant someday - yay!

Although I imagine there are still many dangers lurking ahead. All it takes is one afternoon of forgetting to put the plastic back on and its mass extinction for all of them.

I thought gardening was supposed to be relaxing!

"there are still many dangers lurking ahead" .... one of which is the temptation to have look to see if there are roots. Done it myself. Patience is one of the most important elements of propagation.

Current Residence I was meaning the shrub in general, not this particular plant

Sending out an SOS - am I supposed to do anything special with these cuttings once they start developing new leaves and the old leaves fall off? Shouldnt they start getting a little more light so they can do photosynthesis? Theres been about 3 or 4 to start developing nice little stems and thebeginnings of leaves .... but kind of white, no color - one just shrivelled and died about a week ago the day after I think I overwatered. Now another is taking a turn for the worse.

Theres about 4 more with no leaves/stems, but do have tiny white buds forming . Thats about it - alll the others died off . Probably half were taken too early because no buds formed, no roots, no nothing. Not sure what the problem is now.

Larry, sorry, I guess Im not sure what youre asking. I was thinking a shrub genetically programmed to be 9 ft is going to want to be 9 ft eventually (with substantial root system to support it) even if its small now. Of course some adapt better than others to being pot bound, and some even like it. I have heard that its a slow growing shrub so maybe it would be happy for quite a while. Im interested to hear if anyone has successfully growin in a pot, because if any of mine survive (big if) I will want to have some in pots for now, until I move to new place in 2-3 yrs.

Can you show a picture? Mock Orange really shouldn't cause problems. It will normally root if you just stick hardwood cuttings into the ground and forget them.

All I have is this pic from a couple wks ago - took its pic because it was looking so good. Then suddenly a few days later the baby leaves/stems shrivelled and turned to mush, the green leaves fell off.

And then this am same thing - new leaves look promising, then shrivel, turn to mush. I think its something to do with too much moisture and maybe mold - one I noticed had some slight white fuzz on the stem.

Ive been misting them every day because some dumb internet article said that I should .... but maybe Im drowning them instead.

This is no fun at all.

I may try some root cuttings later on in the fall. I dont know about sticking sticks into the ground, how that would work - I think they have to be attached to the mother plant...? Actually I noticed that that very thing is happening with one of the branches of what's left of the mother plant - seems like its rooted a little bit where the branch touches the ground. How would I go about cutting it and taking it. and when/ what time of year?

The pale etiolated growth does imply that they need more light. They look to me as if they will grow but I'd give them more air and light but not full sun.

Regarding the rooted branch - in my climate I would dig it up after leaf fall. Just do it whenever you would transplant any shrub in your climate.

Sticking sticks in the ground does work, at least is does in my climate - just like any other cutting. It doesn't have to be attached to the parent. That is a different technique called layering.

Is there any bottom drainage in the container you're using for the cuttings? Hard to tell from the photo, but the incipient roots may be rotting away because the rooting medium is too wet and contains too little oxygen for proper root development. Misting is actually a good idea, but without proper drainage the medium becomes saturated and the cuttings quickly decline after looking fine for a while, just as you describe.

Yes there are holes in the pots but I had moved them into a plastic bin where they were sitting on a flat bottom - duh. Just now I put a thick layer of newspaper/paper towels under them and all kinds of water drained out of them - that must be what was going on. Or one of several things going on. Well we shall see - maybe if these remaining 6 dry out theres still hope - as long as I dont go the other direction and water too little!

Raising the pots should help considerably. Something as absorbent as newspaper or paper towel is not the best thing to use, though. Once the paper is fully wet, you're pretty much back where you started in terms of drainage. A layer of gravel or small stones would be better. So would an inverted plastic flat. Anything that will not absorb water. As the the plastic bin fills make sure to pour off the accumulated water.

if the remaining six cuttings do not recover, there's still plenty of time to start new ones.

thx - I also moved it up where it gets more light (but not direct) and put on a clear plastic cover instead of the more opaque plastic - maybe its my imagination but the little buds are looking a little more greenish - yay!

As of today all my baby mock oranges are deceased - too much water, not enough - who the heck knows.

I must have tried at least 20 this year and maybe the same amount last year and you wouldthink at least ONE would have survived in spite of my fumbling. Instead - only a few - 3 or 4 at most - had anything resembling possible roots after 4-6 weeks and after I pulled them up . Actually Im not even sure those were roots, certainly looked nothing like the pics of rooted cuttings with lots of - you know, actual ROOTS. So things would look promising at first, leaves would start, but without roots - there's nothing to sustain the plant or support growth so it dies.

So either roots not growing at all - or probably... like above poster suggests, rotting away. Honestly, Im not sure what Id do differently so until I know how to manage the watering I'm throwing in the towel.

The good news is, I heard back from the city and they said "oops it was a mistake" so I passed on what yall said here - that it will grow back. The head of city parks has even taken my suggestion to recognize and preserve this site (an old farmstead with some remaining old structures including a neat spring house) and as part of that effort they will preserve the old heirloom plantings including the mock orange. YAY! So a happy ending after all!

In Southern California they have a different type of Mock Orange, Pittosporum tobira.

Current Resident - don't be disheartened. I think perhaps you have been trying a bit too hard with these, seeking to anticipate their every whim. I would have left them longer than 4 - 6 weeks. In fact I would have put them in an out of the way corner and tried to ignore them at least until next spring. If you still have access to some material how about trying the simplest possible method? Cut lengths of ripened wood about foot long. Strip the leaves from the bottom half. Stick the pieces into a corner of the garden up to half their length in the ground. Walk away. Look at them next year. As kids we used to do this with lots of common shrubs, including Philadelphus, and although we lost a few many rooted. Dad's problem was what to do with all the shrubs we kept producing. We never watered them but we get ample rain here so for you I'd just suggest watering them if it doesn't rain for maybe two weeks. Leave them out all winter. Don't baby them.