Grow Plants From Plant Cuttings

By Richard Schmidt
Published on September 1, 1979
article image
by Adobestock/bildlove

You can grow plants from plant cuttings with just a bit of knowledge, patience, and care.

Many of the most popular decorative (and practical) landscape plants–shrubs, trees, vines, or fruits–can be propagated by the simple technique of rooting a piece of a “parent” plant. In fact, since one such “adult” can produce hundreds of identical offspring, this is the chief method used by professional nurseries to multiply woody vegetation. The information that follows–along with a little time and patience–can provide you with all the landscape material you want for your yard or homestead!

Leafy and Dormant

There are two kinds of plant cuttings: “leafy” types that are taken and rooted during the growing season, and “dormant” twigs that are clipped in the winter months.

In addition, the leafy category can be divided into two subgroups: [1] “softwood” cuttings–which come from succulent new growth–and [2] “half-ripe” (or “semi-hardwood”) cuttings that are taken from partially mature stems. Half-ripe wood is usually easier to work with, because it’s quite resistant to the plant propagator’s chief enemy: rot. You can test a branch–to see if it’s half-ripe–by bending the twig. Semi-hardwood stems snap and break cleanly, while wood that’s too old–or too young–folds over onto itself without breaking.

Comments (0) Join others in the discussion!
    Online Store Logo
    Need Help? Call 1-800-234-3368