Propagation by Tip Cutting

Today I was enjoying the warm spring sunshine while I trimmed some Wolly Lavender (Lavandula lanata) and lovely English Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) for propagation.

Did you know that may herbs and veggies plants can be propagated by way of cuttings, and that Tip Cuttings usually are the easiest and most successful.

I've done this successfully with Rosemary in the past, also with Water Rooting, but starting in the medium in which you mean to end is always easiest on the plant as well as the Gardener.

Growing plants from cuttings is a long standing method of propagating/cloning plants. Did you know that the Bartlett pear (1770) and the Delicious apple (1870) are two examples of clones that have been asexually propagated for years?

Maybe you are familiar with those cute little runners off a Spider Plants that droop to the ground unless clipped, or maybe your beloved Pathos or African Violet came to you by way of stem or leaf cuttings, as almost all of my houseplants have :)

There are 4 main types of propagation plants asexually (without a seed), but the one of that I consider the easiest and most useful in the Kitchen Garden is Tip Cuttings. Think of all those suckers you take off your tomatoes or cucumber plants, all of those are a type of Tip Cutting... and we just always called it pruning and usually toss them in the compost.

Here are some easy tips on how get started successfully propagating your plants with Tip Cuttings!

Step 1: Cut a 5 to 15 cm piece of stem just below the node, including the terminal bud.
Step 2: Remove any leaves that would touch or be below the soil you are rooting them into.
Step 3: Dip the stem in rooting hormone and tap to remove any excess.
Step 4: Insert your cutting deep enough for it to support itself.
Step 5: Water soil, cover and keep in warm, humid location until roots are developed.

Rooting Hormone:
Used to hasten rooting, increase the number of roots, or to obtain uniform rooting and generally available in 3 different strengths, all related to the concentration of IBA (Indolebutyric Acid). Look for one that contains a fungicide, and to prevent any possible contamination, apply rooting hormone by putting some in a separate container for dipping your cuttings into rather than using the main container.

** TIP ** I use cinnamon because it offers I like to keep it natural and its what I usually have on hand

Softwood cuttings will often root readily even without hormone treatment, but using hormone greatly increases the chances of success, especially with those trickier ones.

Rooting Medium:
When propagating by cuttings, the medium in which you root your cutting should always be the one in which you want to the plant to eventually live in.

What does that mean?

Well, basically it means that if you water propagate your Ivy cuttings, then ideally those cuttings are being moved into a hydro/LECA setting in the future. Conversely, if you are rooting your cuttings in to a sterile rooting medium like a peat moss/vermiculite/perlite mix, your aim is to get that newly rooted cutting into a lovely soil home in the future.

With either water or soil rooting you must always keep your new Baby Plants warm, moist and move them as soon as rooting has taken place so no dampening off or root binding occurs.

** TIP ** Always remember to pay attention to aeration and water retention when rooting your cuttings!

So easy, I promise you can do it!

Now go get those sharp clippers and let's get growing!