Landscape Plants for Pennies

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Take cuttings (from branches that pass the snap-when-bent test) three to six inches long ... with two leaf buds, stripped bare, at the base and three to six leaves on top. Cut the bottoms—just below a bud—with clippers that make a clean, sharp slice.

Next, insert each cutting—to about a third of its length—in a soilless medium that retains moisture without becoming waterlogged. Some good choices for this purpose are vermiculite, perlite, or either of the two in a 50/50 mixture with damp peat moss. (Soil should be avoided because it may contain rot-producing bacteria and fungi.)

Both the growth speed and chance of success will increase if you dip the moistened lower quarter-inch of each stem in a rooting hormone powder (available through most nurseries), many of which also contain a fungicide to retard stem rot.

Clay or plastic flowerpots—between four and six inches in diameter—make good rooting containers. Fill them with your "starting" medium, make a hole (use a pencil for this) for each cutting, and insert the stems . . . being careful not to knock off the rooting powder. (You can put as many cuttings in a pot as the container will hold, as long as the leaves of adjacent plants can't mat on top of one another.) After planting, water the rooting medium and allow the excess liquid to drain off.

Professional growers use shallow wood or plastic "flats" for rooting containers. An 18-inch-square by two-inch-deep container can accommodate 200 cuttings.

INFANT PLANT CARE

During the rooting period (anywhere from six weeks for pyracantha to several months for slower species), the cuttings must be kept moist and out of direct sunlight. A closed plastic bag placed around both container and cuttings—propped up so as not to rest on the foliage—will create a miniature greenhouse with ideal rooting conditions.

After six weeks, test for roots by giving one of your mini-trees a gentle pull. If it rises up in the medium, it's not ready yet.

Once the roots are sufficient, accustom the small plants to the outdoor environment by first opening the plastic bag . . . then removing it—bit by bit—over a two-week period. Be cautious, because the leaves will have become tender in their protected world. (From this point on you must also begin to water the cuttings regularly.)

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