starting cuttings

Subject: [Fwd: starting muchos cuttings]

HUMNETers,
If any of you are interested in starting large numbers of
hummer plants
for next year (and I hope you all are), here are instructions for
starting
many cuttings with only modest effort. The real advantage of
this system
is that although it takes some effort in the fall, through the
winter it is
low-effort. This method is best suited for people who live in
zone 8 or 9.
Farther north extra precautions for cold weather will be
needed. Get
your bed ready for fall. Every year that I lived in Baton Rouge,
the day
before the first hard frost I spent in my garden, Miriam's, and
Van's
collecting cuttings before tender plants were frozen - a fine way
to
spend a cold, rainy day.

Fall is the time for starting cuttings because plants are large
now,
meaning that a lot of plant material is available. In zone 8 or 9
cuttings can
be rooted in the ground under a cloche or cold frame. First step
is to
prepare a bed in the garden as you would prepare for planting
seeds;
turn and loosen the soil, perhaps add some organic material,
don't
fertilize. Cuttings will be placed in the bed and the bed will be
covered
with a simple transparent or translucent cover to let in light and
keep heat
in. I think the easiest cover to use is made of corrugated
fiberglass
sheeting of the type used to build sheds, car ports, etc. Buy the
clear or
translucent type, not the more common green type. The sheets
are
usually 4 by 8 feet, which will cover bed about 3 by 8 feet. I
place two
rows of stakes in the bed about 18 inches apart, with each
stake
sticking about 12 inches above the ground. The rows are
centered along
the long axis of the bed. The cover is then lain over the stakes
to form a
sort of transparent Quonset hut over the bed. Once the cover is
ready
simply place cuttings into the soil, water, and cover. In warm
weather
you'll want to leave the ends uncovered, then cover them with
clear
plastic when a frost is expected. If the weather turns cold, say
below 25
or so, I cover the entire outside of the cloche with a blanket
overnight.
Another option would be Christmas lights placed over the
cuttings for
cold nights. A single 8 foot bed like this can accommodate
many many
cuttings. You will need to water occasionally during the
winter, and be
sure to place this structure in a place that drain well or raise the
bed a
little. I have always put mine in full sun, but part shade would
be OK, too.
Be aware that this cloche can get very warm on a sunny day,
so leave
the ends open when possible. Be sure to securely weight the
sides of
the cloche, as a surprisingly large amount of weight can be
pushed off
these things by the wind.

I have had very good success starting plants this way. All mint
family
plants (salvias, monardas, leonotis, stachytarpheta (is this in
the mint
family?)), cupheas, hibiscus family (abutilons, malvaviscus),
acanths
(shrimp plants, dicliptera, anisicanthus, justicia), spiral gingers
(costus
species), cestrums, have rooted this way. Remember that only
a
percentage of cuttings will root, usually at least 50%, so start
lots. With a
little effort now you can easily have enough plants for your
entire
neighborhood in the spring. I have not been able to root
clerodendrums
this way although I've tried many species, nor have I started
callistemon
or erythrina this way, perhaps because it is too cool for these
plants.

Farther north than zone 8 this might work best in a sturdy cold
frame or
with a heat source for cold nights.

Ron Rovansek

====================================================
From: Peggy Siegert <PEGSIEGERT@CS.COM>
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in
the Southeast
<HUMNET-L@listserv.lsu.edu>
To: HUMNET-L@listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Re: Giant Turk's Cap

In a message dated 6/8/01 11:07:49 AM Central Daylight Time,
JPABB@AOL.COM
writes:

<< Has anyone had luck with cutting and rooting Giant Turk's
Cap? Any tips
will be appreciated.>>

James - Humnet,

We have three large stands of Giant Turk's Cap all started from
cuttings many
years ago. No special procedure involved...green stem cuttings
in soiless
potting soil, keep moist, out of direct sunshine until rooted.
Ours have
survived many winters with the aid of heavy mulch. Harsh
winters knock them
to the ground, but they come back.

Peggy Siegert
Slidell, LA
zone 8b
pegsiegert@cs.com
****************

#################################
Date: Fri, 8 Jun 2001 10:04:28 -0700
From: ron <ron@NVWETLANDS.COM>
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in
the Southeast
<HUMNET-L@listserv.lsu.edu>
To: HUMNET-L@listserv.lsu.edu
Subject: Re: Giant Turk's Cap

Has anyone had luck with cutting and rooting Giant Turk's
Cap?

I have. It is fairly easy to root cuttings - I get better than 50%
success, as I recall. 6 or 8
inch pieces of wood or nearly-woody branch of about pencil
diameter, remove lower leaves, scar
the in-dirt end a little, insert 1/2 of length into soil,sand,
potting soil, even a moist spot in
the ground, keep moist especially during the first couple of
days, keep out of the sun. There is
no other trick that I know of, just expect some to fail, some to
strike roots. If you utterly
fail, try again. I've had plenty of failed cuttings for reasons I
don't understand - I tried
about 100 cuttings of salvia "van houtei" before I got one to
root, and since that I have hardly
had one fail. i can't explain why, but keep in mind rooting
cuttings is a little mysterious
sometimes.

Ron Rovansek
Reno, NV

====================================================

Date: Tue, 19 Oct 1999 10:01:15 -0400
From: RONALDJ ROVANSEK
<ROVANSEK.RONALDJ@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV>

HUMNETters,
This is the time of year to start cuttings for next year's garden,
so I
thought I'd send along a few tips. The reason that I say this is
the time to
start cuttings is that now hummingbird plants are big and
healthy and
your friends can provide plenty of cuttings. No point in letting
all that
vegetation freeze, is there? Perhaps those of you who attend
the
Humparty will put this advise to good use. If any of you are
planning to
bring cuttings to give away at the Humparty, I recommend that
you break
the cuttings into pieces as I describe below and transport in
moist towels
or with he lower ends in water. In a pinch, whole branches
with the
lower ends in water can be transported too.

Most hummingbird plants that are grown in the southeast will
start readily
from stem cuttings - pieces of the stem or a branch of the plant.
A cutting
should include about 6 inches of a healthy stem and at least two
leaf
nodes (placed where leaves are attached to the stem). I try to
choose
the thicker (pencil thick or so), fairly new stems from a plant,
although
woody branches or thinner stems can be rooted also. Ideally I
will take
about 1 inch of stem below a leaf node, the leaf node, the stem
section
above the node, another node, and an additional inch or so of
stem. More
than two leaf nodes is even better. With some woody plants
(e.g.
abutilons) it may be hard to see leaf node - just pick a 6 inch
section of
stem with leaves near the top. Leaves are removed from the
lower node
and a few small or partial large leaves are left on the upper
node. Too
much leaf surface will result in too much transpiration - water
loss from
the cutting. It is possible to use cuttings with no leaves at all -
new
leaves will sprout if the cutting takes, but I prefer to have a few
leaves.
Many plants tend to produce roots at or just below a leaf node,
so the
lower leaf-free node should be below the soil level when the
cutting is
stuck into a rooting medium. Some plants, especially woody
plants, tend
to produce roots better from damaged tissue than from
undamaged
tissue, so I often split the lower part of the stem or score the
bark.

Once prepared the cuttings are pushed into a rooting medium. I
have
successfully started cuttings in everything from sand to clay,
potting soil
to plain water, so many media can work. I usually use either
potting soil
or garden soil. For a small number of cuttings I use large
plastic pots that
are used by nurseries. I fill half the pot with soil and place a
number of
cuttings. The lower 1/2 or so of the cutting is pushed vertically
into the
soil so that the lower leaf node is covered by soil. I water
immediately
and keep the cuttings in a shady spot. They should receive no
direct sun
at first especially in the summer. Some cuttings will produce
roots in a
week or so, others may take a month or more. The soil should
be kept
moist at all times. Once I see substantial new leaf growth I
transplant the
cuttings to individual pots, then to the ground once they are
growing
well. In cool winter weather rooting may be very slow. This is
not all bad,
since fast-growing plants can be a pain in the winter. Cuttings,
even of
hardy plants, should be kept above freezing at all times.

The main concern with taking cuttings should be (1) don't get
caught, and
(2) don't let the cuttings wilt. I usually prefer to prepare the
cuttings as
soon as I take them from the plant and either put them directly
into soil.
Sometimes cuttings need to be transported, and for this I like to
wrap the
entire cutting in moist towels. I have kept cuttings for several
days
wrapped in towels, but the sooner they get into the ground the
better. If
you want to become a successful plant propagator, the best
advice I can
give is "start with a lot of cuttings." In general only a fraction
of the
cuttings you start will survive. In many plants this fraction is
large - 80 or
90 percent is common with many plants and an experienced
cutting
starter, but other plants will root only 30 or 40% of the time or
even less.
I try to start as many cuttings as I have time and room for.
Finding myself
stuck with extra plants has never been a big problem, and
many cuttings
ensures that I will have at least enough in the spring.

Ron Rovansek

================================================

Date: Wed, 3 Nov 1999 09:17:57 -0500
From: RONALDJ ROVANSEK
<ROVANSEK.RONALDJ@EPAMAIL.EPA.GOV>
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in
the Southeast

Farther north than zone 8 this might work best in a sturdy cold
frame or
with a heat source for cold nights.

Ron Rovansek

==============================================

Date: Tue, 13 Nov 2001 11:34:33 EST
From: Ron Rovansek <Rrovansek@AOL.COM>
Reply-To: BB for Hummingbirds and Gardening for them in the Southeast
<HUMNET-L@listserv.lsu.edu>
To: HUMNET-L@listserv.lsu.edu

Someone asked, so here are my quick instructions how to start new plants from cuttings.

Pick vigorous stems, about pencil diameter for most salvias. Sometimes woody stems will work better than non-woody stems, sometimes the opposite is noticed. Locate a section of the stem with leaf nodes (the places where
leaves emerge from the stem) that are not more than 6 inches apart. Break or cut a piece of stem with with at least two leaf nodes, one near the botton, one near the top of the piece of stem. Remove the leaves from the bottom
node, allow a few small or partial leaves to remain on the upper node or
nodes. Insert the stem partially into moist soil or sand, so that at least
one leaf node is covered by soil, and keep in a shady moist spot until new
leaves start to appear. I have only occasionally had luck starting cuttings
in water.

Starting a cutting as I describe above is not a certain thing. Some
percentage will start, and some will not. The percentage in each category
will vary according to the type of plant and other mysterious factors.
Sometimes an entire batch will fail, then next time the entire batch will
strike roots. I don't know why this happens. You will have to start more
cuttings than you need plants, but luckily its easy, so start a lot.

Ron Rovansek
Reno, NV