Rooting Lilacs and roses aka: Semi softwood cuttings

This is a reprint of an old blog post I did in 2011 for those of you that missed it the first time, it compliments my last post on propagating Pelargoniums aka: soft wood cuttings.  And the title of this post should say Semi HARD wood cuttings not soft.  An off moment there..

 Awhile back I stated I would do a post of how I root cuttings. I have a neighbor that has an old lilac bush that she was told is called a 49’er Lilac. It supposedly came West with the 49’ers in the Gold Rush. (or it’s parent did) I have admired this Lilac for the 13 years I have lived in my little cottage. In the spring I will sit on my front garden step and wait for the lilac fragrance to drift my way on the morning breeze and delight my senses. Here is a few blossoms I trimmed from it this year.

I prepare my propagation box. I use a wine crate and fill with my own mixture of 2 parts compost (I get this from a local company that composts garden debris on a huge scale, it is similar to potting soil you buy at a garden center), 1 part perlite and 1 part sand (I am sure there are better mixtures but I used what I had on hand and I have had success with this in the past).

I have recently read that play sand can contain salt and may not be a good one to use, sharp sand is reputed to be superior for this use.

The crate has slats on the bottom but there are wide gaps between the slats so this drains very well. I have it sitting on the gravel floor of my greenhouse in an area that direct sunlight will not hit but it still gets plenty of bright light. I will fill the box more with my potting mix until it is nearly full.



I will use this fish tank as my cover to create a small greenhouse effect.



Now back out to the Lilac to get the cuttings.

I choose the new growth I want to cut from and choose some about 8 to 12 inches long.



I take quite a few cuttings, the more I try to root the better my chances are of getting some to actually grow for me. I know I may lose some to fungus or who knows what. I had to wait for the right time to take cuttings (or so I have read) and this is the right time for this type (semi-hardwood).
I haul them all to my greenhouse and begin. First I strip most of the leaves from the cutting. I dip the ends into the rooting medium.

Now this medium I have had for awhile and it says it only has a years shelf life but I have kept it in the refrigerator to extend that shelf life so I hope it is still potent enough to do the job. I should invest in some fresh stuff soon.


I have a small paint brush in the jar as well. The jar is not deep enough to cover all of the stem I need to be covered with the medium so I use the little paint brush to finish the job.



See the nodes on the stem, that is wear roots begin and I want a good portion of nodes below the potting soil.



I also take some rose cuttings for the hey of it. I normally like the roses to be a bit more hardened off than they are now, like later on in the Fall. I have had more success that way, these softer cuttings while the bushes are blooming succumb to fungus more often than the later cut ones but I thought I would give it a go just for the fun of it.



Now that they are all dipped and thoroughly coated with the rooting gel I stick them in the potting soil mixture.



I place the far enough apart they do not touch each other and away from the edges so they will not touch the glass of the cover. I should take off more leaves, the leaves tend to be where the fungus starts but for photo purposes I will leave them on, easier to see where the cuttings are. After placing all the cuttings in the box I carefully set the cover over them.
 


You can see there is room around the fish tank where the potting soil shows and that is how I water this without having to lift the tank. You don’t want the soil very wet just damp, if it is too wet you drown the poor cutting or encourage the fungus.  Also prop up the tank a bit to let air flow in.




And here is the results …a lovely new rose from a cutting..


 
A lovely lilac…I think it takes 3 years for them to bloom.   We shall see.



I have just read up on a new (to me) way of rooting semi softwood cuttings.  I am going to give it a whirl and report in with the results in a few months.

Happy Planting.



   

Propagating Geraniums or Cloning

With life being what it is lately…as in rather all over the place, I failed to start my pelargonium seeds (aka: zonal geraniums).   So what is a flower lovin gal to do??



Clone what you have…mine are all non-patented from seed so no infringement here.

 The benefit of cloning is you get the exact same plant as the one you love where seeds may have cross pollinated and you never know what a seedling will look like. 
First you start with a nice healthy plant.  I overwintered some of mine in my studio and upper bedroom window. 

Take a cutting from a fresh green branch just below a leaf node. Cut with something clean and very sharp, like a razor or xacto knife. 

See, fresh green branch.



Old crusty branch…this is not what you want..



Make sure you have some potting mix ready to load up your freshly washed and sterilized little pots with.  My mix is half potting soil (Ace brand) and perlite. 



These are 3 inch pots, you can use smaller or even the Jiffy pellets work well, I have heard though I have not tried them personally.

These have all been washed in hot soapy water with a touch of bleach, then rinsed well and air dried.



The cutting should be about 4 or 5 inches long and leave two healthy leaves on them.  When you put the stem into the dirt make sure two leaf nodes are covered by the soil mix.



Water well and press the soil firmly around the cutting.



Put a clear lid on your tray to maintain moisture and keep at a moderate temperature and in bright light.  I have mine in the greenhouse but you can put them under lights in the house as well.

You can also tent clear plastic sheeting over the top, just be sure to prop it up away from the cuttings.  You do want air circulation so don’t seal it.  My domes have little holes in the top for air.

Here is my petunia cuttings done the same way under their clear dome roof under grow lights in my dining room.

Hopefully they are putting down nice strong roots and will grow, and grow.  I will fill my hanging planters and my house will be festooned with lovely bright petunias and pelargoniums all summer long.



And here is my latest work in progress…she will be lovely as can be once I am done. 



Come back to see her all gussied up. So now, I am off to paint signs in the studio, I have quite a few orders to fulfill and need to get to work!

Until next time, I wish you sunny skies and mild temps.

Lilacs and rooting cuttings.

This is the oh so fragrant lilac next door.  I love this old variety, the scent is to die for and it is a tough as nails plant.



Every year I look forward to it blooming though it has been neglected, denied regular watering when it is dry and never fertilized but still it powers on. 
 
Go here if you wish to see my post of a tutorial on rooting cuttings from this plant. Rooting plant cuttings.



I started these cuttings last July, late in the month.



And this is what they look like today.  One is larger than then other as I had potted it up into a larger pot earlier than the smaller one.  Lesson learned, pot up sooner for larger plants.





Here is a rose I started along with these.



It is a miniature rose that climbs along the ground, it has the sweetest little white roses when in bloom.

I have been busy painting away on shabby custom signs and my bench, I have finished painting her though I do need to do a bit of sanding to smooth her finish.  I used my homemade chalk paint.  I will seal her with a exterior varathane but I need to get more, all I have is semi-gloss and I would prefer a matte for this job. 

I will share her and my signs soon.  I hope to have the plans for building the bench along with my post, it just depends if my husband has time to render the drawings. 

All the best..




Tootsie Time Fertilizer Friday