Today I’d like to show you how to propagate plants. I plan to propagate Mediterranean (Italian) Cypress and Atlantic White Cedar. These are two of my favorite plants and its never a bad idea to try to have more of them.
Propagation is the process of creating new plants from existing plants. If you like to garden, or are a plant nut like me, propagating your existing plants to have more of them or even trade them is a fun pastime. It really does not take too long, just 15 minutes of work and some patience.
Like I said before, the Mediterranean Cypress and Atlantic White Cedar are two of my favorite plants. The Cypress, cupressus sempervirens (also known as Italian Cypress), and White Cedar, chamaecyparis thyoides, (aka Whitecedar), are in the same genus, or group, of plants. Italian Cypress is a famous tall, slender evergreen tree with scaly needles. The Whitecedar is also a tall, somewhat more full tree with scaly needles. Cypress grows in Mediterranean climates, or in places with artificial irrigation, similar to Arizona or California. The Whitecedar grows along the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to Florida, in swamps and bottomlands. The Whitecedar is also evergreen. Both trees are used as ornamentals in the garden, with Cypress being used extensively in climates that it can survive. The Cypress is reportably hardy to 0 deg F, while the Whitecedar is considerably hardier, to below -20 deg F.
To propagate these trees, first gather cuttings. Cuttings should be taken in the winter on younger trees. If a young tree is not available, take a cutting from a low branch. The theory is that a low branch will have more natural rooting tendencies. When taking cuttings from the Whitecedar, be sure to take only a few. Atlantic White Cedars were once common in large tracts in their original range, however logging has reduced their range to 30% of its extent. The wood is waterproof and was highly sought after in the colonial days. Being that the tree usually grew in pure stands, with most being perfectly straight, it was a logger’s easy picking to cut many of them down. So, take only a few cuttings and let the native tree be.
First, gather the supplies. You will need scissors (or a knife), plant material, water, rooting hormone, potting mix, a pot, and a plastic zip-lock bag. Snip the cuttings down to 4″-6″ high individuals. Find individuals with stems that are 1″ to 2″ long, so they can adequately stand upright in the soil. If there are leaves near the bottom 2″ of the stem, remove them so the stem is bare. Set your desired cuttings aside.
Prepare the potting mix. The mix should be a well draining but decent water retentive mix. This seems like an oxymoron, such as “what soil drains water quickly but still holds water?” Crazy talk, or not. Perlite and peat moss are a good solution to what we are looking for. Taking 50% perlite and 50% peat moss, combine both into a pot and mix thoroughly. The perlite is a volume filler, allowing large pours that have air. These pores allow water to drain quickly, not saturating the roots and potentially causing rot. The peat moss on the other hand is like a sponge, it holds water well. Together, the two soils form a great medium for root development, which is exactly what we are trying to do with plant propagation. There is no worry for over watering, but some water is always retained helping roots grow.
Take the potting mix and run it under the faucet to thoroughly saturate the mix. Stop filling water when water begins to drip from the bottom of the pot. Set the potting mix inside the plastic zip-lock bag. Next, pour some rooting hormone onto the table, or paper towel in my example. Dip each cutting in water, then into the rooting hormone powder. Tap each cutting to remove excess powder from caking the cutting, as excess powder will only hurt the roots from growing rather than help. Take another cutting, or use a pointy object (pen or pencil) and poke the soil to form a cavity. Place the cutting in the cavity, then gently tamp down the soil around the cutting to ensure there is no voids under the soil.
Finish up with the same procedure for the remaining cuttings. In my example, I used a 6″ diameter pot, which I felt comfortable filling with 2 large cuttings and 2 small cuttings.
The finished product should look like above. Close the zip-lock bag and set in a bright but indirect light window. Direct sunlight will burn the cuttings. The bag temperature should be between 60-75 degs, the warmer the better. Once a week, feel the soil with your finger. If it is bone dry, add a little more water. Try to avoid adding too much water, as this will cause mold or rot.
Over the years, I have been successful on a number of occasions with this method. Other times, I get mold and brown twigs. As with most plant endeavors, it seems like a 30-40% chance of success is normal. Don’t worry though, as over time you will refine your method. There is a great feeling gently tugging on your cuttings after 5-6 weeks and feeling a small resistance-this means that the rooting was successful! I wish you the best of luck with propagating these evergreens.
Look forward in the future for more plant propagation tips. There are many other methods of plant propagation that I would be happy to write about and demonstrate. I will also create a follow-up post in a few weeks to notify you of any of my new baby plants.