Cuttings

Many types of plants, both woody and herbaceous, are frequently propagated
by cuttings. A cutting is a vegetative plant part which is severed from the
parent plant in order to regenerate itself, thereby forming a whole new plant.
Take cuttings with a sharp blade to reduce injury to the parent plant. Dip the
cutting tool in rubbing alcohol or a mixture of one-part bleach to nine parts
water to prevent transmitting diseases from infected plant parts to healthy
ones. Remove flowers and flower buds to allow the cutting to use its energy
and stored carbohydrates for root and shoot formation rather than fruit and
seed production. With large-leaved cuttings (i.e., Rhododendron) and limited
space in the propagation container, trimming up to half the leaf length can
improve efficiency, as well as light and air circulation for all the cuttings. To
hasten rooting, increase the number of roots, or to obtain uniform rooting
(except on soft, fleshy stems), use a rooting hormone, preferably one
containing a fungicide. Prevent possible contamination of the entire supply of
rooting hormone by putting some hormone in a separate container for dipping
cuttings. Discard this hormone after all the cuttings are treated.

Place stem and leaf cuttings in bright, indirect light. Root cuttings can be kept
in the dark until new shoots appear.

Medial cuttings (also stem-section cuttings)

Make the first cut just above a node, and the second cut just below a node 2
to 6 inches down the stem. Prepare and insert the cutting as you would a tip
cutting. Be sure to position right side up. Buds are always above leaves. Make
sure the cutting is inserted base down.
Cane cuttings
Cut cane-like stems into sections containing one or two eyes, or nodes. Dust
ends with fungicide or activated charcoal. Allow to dry several hours. Lay
horizontally with about half of the cutting below the media surface, eye facing
upward. Cane cuttings are usually potted when roots and new shoots appear,
but new shoots from dracaena and croton are often cut off and rerooted in
sand.

Single Eye
The eye refers to the bud which emerges at the axil of the leaf at each node.
This is used for plants with alternate leaves when space or stock material are
limited. Cut the stem about 1/2 inch above and 1/2 inch below a node. Place
the cutting horizontally or vertically in the medium with the node just touching
the surface.

Double Eye
This is used for plants with opposite leaves when space or stock material is
limited. Cut the stem about 1/2 inch above and 1/2 inch below the same node.
Insert the cutting vertically in the medium with the node just touching the
surface.
Heel cutting
This method uses stock material with woody stems efficiently. Make a shield-
shaped cut about halfway through the wood around a leaf and axial bud.
Insert the shield horizontally into the medium so that it is completely covered.
Remove any leaf blade but keep a portion of the petiole intact for ease in
handling this small cutting.

Leaf Cuttings
Leaf cuttings are used almost exclusively for a few indoor plants. Leaves of
most plants will either produce a few roots but no plant, or just decay.

Whole leaf with petiole

Detach the leaf and up to 1 1/2 inches of petiole. Insert the lower end of the
petiole into the medium. One or more new plants will form at the base of the
petiole. The leaf may be severed from the new plants when they have their
own roots, and the petiole can be reused. (Example: African violet).

Whole leaf without petiole

This is used for plants with sessile leaves (no stalk or petiole). Insert the
cutting vertically into the medium. A new plant will form from the axillary bud.
The leaf may be removed when the new plant has its own roots. (Example:
donkey's tail).
Split vein
Detach a leaf from the stock plant. Slit its veins on the lower leaf surface. Lay
the cutting, lower side down, on the medium. New plants will form at each cut.
If the leaf tends to curl up, hold it in place by covering the margins with the
rooting medium. (Example: Rex begonia).

Leaf sections
This method is frequently used with snake plant and fibrous rooted begonias.
Cut begonia leaves into wedges with at least one vein. Lay leaves flat on the
medium. A new plant will arise at the vein.
Cut snake plant leaves into 2-inch sections. Consistently make the lower cut
slanted and the upper cut straight so you can tell which is the top. Insert the
cutting vertically. Roots will form fairly soon, and eventually a new plant will
appear at the base of the cutting. These and other succulent cuttings will rot if
kept too moist. (Note that with variegated snake plant, the new shoot will
develop from cells that do not display the variegation.)

Plants with large roots

Make a straight top cut. Make a slanted cut 2 to 6 inches below the first cut.
Store about 3 weeks in moist sawdust, peat moss, or sand at 40°F. Remove
from storage. Insert the cutting vertically with the top approximately level with
the surface of the rooting medium. This method is often used outdoors.
(Example: horse radish).
Plants with small roots
Take 1- to 2-inch sections of roots. Insert the cuttings horizontally about 1/2
inch below the medium surface. This method is usually used indoors or in a
hotbed. (Example: bleeding heart).

Tip layering
Dig a hole 3 to 4 inches deep. Insert the shoot tip and cover it with soil. The tip
grows downward first, then bends sharply and grows upward. Roots form at
the bend, and the recurved tip becomes a new plant. Remove the tip layer
and plant it in the early spring or late fall. Examples: purple and black
raspberries, trailing blackberries.

Simple layering
Bend the stem to the ground. Cover part of it with soil, leaving the last 6 to 12
inches exposed. Bend the tip into a vertical position and stake in place. The
sharp bend will often induce rooting, but wounding the lower side of the
branch or loosening the bark by twisting the stem may help. Examples:
forsythia, honeysuckle.
Compound layering
This method works for plants with flexible stems. Bend the stem to the rooting
medium as for simple layering, but alternately cover and expose stem
sections. Wound the lower side of the stem sections to be covered. Examples:
heart-leaf philodendron, pothos.

Mound (stool) layering

Cut the plant back to 1 inch above the ground in the dormant season. Mound
soil over the emerging shoots in the spring to enhance their rooting.
Examples: gooseberries, apple rootstocks.

Air layering
Air layering is used to propagate some indoor plants with thick stems, or to
rejuvenate them when they become leggy. Slit the stem just below a node.
Pry the slit open with a toothpick. Surround the wound with wet unmilled
sphagnum moss. Wrap plastic or foil around the sphagnum moss and tie in
place. When roots pervade the moss, cut the plant off below the root ball.
Division
Propagation from the following plant parts can be considered a modification of
layering, as the new plants form before they are detached from their parent
plants.

Stolons and runners

A stolon is a horizontal, often fleshy stem that can root, then produce new
shoots where it touches the medium. A runner is a slender stem that
originates in a leaf axil and grows along the ground or downward from a
hanging basket, producing a new plant at its tip. Plants that produce stolons or
runners are propagated by severing the new plants from their parent stems.
Plantlets at the tips of runners may be rooted while still attached to the parent,
or detached and placed in a rooting medium. Examples: strawberry, spider
plant.

Offsets
Plants with a rosetted stem often reproduce by forming new shoots at their
base or in leaf axils. Sever the new shoots from the parent plant after they
have developed their own root system. Unrooted offsets of some species may
be removed and placed in a rooting medium. Some of these must be cut off,
while others may be simply lifted off the parent stem.

Separation
Separation is a term applied to a form of propagation by which plants that
produce bulbs or corms multiply.

Bulbs
New bulbs form beside the originally planted bulb. Separate these bulb
clumps every 3 to 5 years for largest blooms and to increase bulb population.
Dig up the clump after the leaves have withered. Gently pull the bulbs apart
and replant them immediately so their roots can begin to develop. Small, new
bulbs may not flower for 2 or 3 years, but large ones should bloom the first
year. Examples: tulip, narcissus.

Corms
A large new corm forms on top of the old corm, and tiny cormels form around
the large corm. After the leaves wither, dig up the corms and allow them to dry
in indirect light for 2 or 3 weeks. Remove the cormels, then gently separate
the new corm from the old corm. Dust all new corms with a fungicide and
store in a cool place until planting time. Examples: crocus, gladiolus.

Asexual Propagation of Perennials

Division
Most perennials left in the same place for more than 3 years are likely to be
overgrown, overcrowded, have dead or unsightly centers, and need basic
fertilizer and soil amendments. The center of the clump will grow poorly, if at
all, and the flowers will be sparse. The clump will deplete the fertility of the soil
as the plant crowds itself. To divide mature clumps of perennials, select only
vigorous side shoots from the outer part of the clump. Discard the center of
the clump. Divide the plant into clumps of three to five shoots each. Be careful
not to over-divide; too small a clump will not give much color the first year
after replanting. Divide perennials when the plants are dormant just before a
new season of growth, or in the fall so they can become established before
the ground freezes. Stagger plant divisions so the whole garden will not be
redone at the same time; good rotation will yield a display of flowers each
year. Do not put all the divisions back into the same space that contained the
original plant. That would place too many plants in a given area. Give extra
plants to friends, plant them elsewhere in the yard, or discard them.

Central Bicol State University of Agriculture

S/Y 2018 – 2019
 HORTICULTURE
ASEXUAL PROPAGATION

GIOVANNI R. OBLIGADO
BACHELOR OF SCIENCE MAJOR IN AGRI-BUSINESS
1B