If you want to reproduce your favorite plants in a simple and economical way, rooting cuttings is the answer you are looking for.
Rooting Cuts: Tips and Tricks
What does this process consist of? It involves creating new plants from what you already have, without the need for seeds or expensive equipment. In this article, we tell you all the secrets behind this gardening technique. Once you start using it in your daily life, there is no going back.
Among the most common methods of rooting plants, two stand out for their success and ease: Rooting in water and soil. We explain each of them and show step-by-step examples so you can understand them fully.
Rooting Water Cuts: How to Do It Right
Rooting plants in water is a popular method of plant propagation. The method of making it is very simple:
We cut a healthy piece of mother plant (cutting) and we put it in a container with water. We can use any type of container: glasses, vases, jars… Ideally, it should be transparent so we can observe how the roots grow.
We need to make sure that at least a node or knot is submerged. What are nodes? These are the cutting sites where roots and leaves tend to grow. If you are interested in investigating this topic, we recommend that you visit the publication Plant Organs of the University of Vigo.
Remember that when it comes time to transplant the soil, you must always keep the substrate moist for the transplant to be effective. Consider that these roots arise in a watery environment and require a process of adaptation.
This type of water rooting is especially effective for plants such as:
How to root plant cuttings in the ground?
The rooting of plants in the soil is probably the most used method of propagation of plants.
It involves direct planting of cuttings in the ground or in a suitable substrate. First, healthy cuttings are selected, the lower leaves are removed (so that the cutting can concentrate all its energy on rooting) and planted in moist soil at the appropriate depth.
How to propagate maritime lobularia using cuttings
During this process it is important to maintain a certain humidity of the substrate (no more than this). It is common to cover the cuttings with a plastic bag or plastic wrap, leaving two openings on the sides of the pot or container so that air can circulate inside (this prevents excessive humidity that causes rotting of cuttings). . After a while, you will be able to enjoy the new plants in your home.
This type of soil rooting is especially effective for plants such as:
- Lavender (Washing him)
- Rosal (Rosa spp.)
- Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)
- Geranium (Pelargonium spp.)
- Romero (Rosemary officinalis)
- Jasmine (Jasmine spp.)
Quick root cutting: effective tips
Do you want your cuttings to root properly? We give you a series of tips to achieve perfect rooting.
1. Choose pieces of healthy and vigorous plants. If you use those that have signs of disease or pest, they will not grow. It is better to choose cuttings from shoots from the year or the previous one. Young shoots should always be used, never old ones.
How and when to propagate hydrangea by cuttings
2. Remove the parts of the cuttings that are not needed: buds, large leaves… Why? If you don’t remove them, they will get dehydrated. The leaf photosynthesizes, transpires and loses moisture and, because it has no roots to reabsorb moisture, the cutting ends. This is especially important for land cuts, less so for water cuts.
3. Depending on the plant, the cuttings must be sealed before planting in the ground because they may rot. This is common in plants such as succulents.
4. Rooting hormone can help encouraging and promoting the rooting of cuttings in water and on land. Its use is not mandatory, but it ensures a higher % success. It is used before planting the cuttings.
Impregnating the base of a cutting with rooting hormone
5. For the cuttings to root properly in the water, it is advisable to change it every 24-48 hours to prevent any fungus and problems from appearing.
6. The place where you place your cuttings is also the key to their success. Choose a humid environment and indirect or filtered light. Direct sunlight should be avoided at all costs, which can overheat the environment and damage the cuttings. keep a constant and adequate temperature for the type of plant you are propagating.
As you can see, it is very easy to do these two techniques and the results could not be better. New plants at our fingertips! Dare to try them and discover which one works best for your favorite plants!
