I'm A Cheapskate: Propagation - Easy Ways to Double Your Plants for Free!

Fall is the time to take cutting for many shrubs - and its easy to do. You can propagate hydrangeas for example, for free (not patented varieties!) instead of paying $25 for a two year old plant! If you have neighbors with nice gardens, ask if they will share some cuttings with you - gardeners love to share and its a great way to start a conversation with your neighbors. Much of my plants have come from divisions and cuttings from my wonderful neighbors and from fellow Master Gardeners.

Nov 7 Master Gardener recert class has a session on propagation as its a question we are getting more and more as money continues to be tight for most of us... but you can get a jump start with the info below!


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Prior Planning Yields Results- Growing Shrubs from Cuttings
By Don Janssen, UNL Extension Educator

You like your new home, but the landscaping is a little sparse. So is your landscaping budget. But a friend has offered you starts of several shrubs. This is great, but you have a few questions, which boil down to what, when and how do you start new shrubs from cuttings?

The first step is to select healthy, vigorously growing plants as the sources of your cuttings. Then, in the fall, after the leaves drop, select one-year-old stems, which are usually lighter colored and smaller in diameter than older stems.

Use a sharp knife to cut stems 1 to 2 feet long. Cut the stems into sections 6 to 8 inches long, discarding the top couple of inches. Make sure each section has several leaf buds, or nodes, and make cuts 2 inch above or below a node.

Stems have a definite up and down orientation and they won’t root and grow if you plant them upside-down. So establish some sort of system for keeping them sorted out -- cut the bottom of each piece straight across and the top at a slant, or place them upright in a tin can or figure out some other way to make it easy to tell which end should be up.

Dipping the bottom end of each cutting in rooting hormone will increase the chances of success.

Store the dormant cuttings over the winter in bundles bound with rubber bands or string in a box filled with slightly moist sand, sawdust or vermiculite. If you took cuttings from several kinds of shrubs, label each bundle. Store the box in a cold but not freezing area, such as a garage, unheated attic or root cellar. An alternative is to store them in plastic bags with the sand, sawdust or vermiculite mix and place them in a refrigerator.

In the spring, retrieve the cuttings before the leaves on growing shrubs begin to open, dip the bottom end of each cutting in rooting hormone and plant them in a protected area of the garden. Dig a trench about as deep as the cuttings are long, place a couple of inches of coarse sand in the bottom, and stand the cuttings up in the sand about 6 inches apart. Fill in the trench with a mixture of soil and compost, sand or perlite so that only the top bud of each cutting is visible. Firm the mixture around the cuttings and water well.

Water as needed to keep this nursery area moist but not soggy, and shade cuttings with cloth or a piece of lattice supported by stakes until they are growing well. When plants develop leaves and start to grow larger, begin feeding them monthly during the growing season with a complete soluble fertilizer.

By the next spring, they should be ready to be moved to their permanent spots in the landscape.

Source: November 2009 Edition of the Acreage & Small Farm Insights Newsletter from the University of Nebraska- Lincoln (UNL) Extension Acreage team, a monthly electronic newsletter providing new and established acreage owners with timely information. Visit the Acreage & Small Farm web site at http://acreage.unl.edu