Vegetative Plant Propagation
Master Gardener Training
What is Plant Propagation
• Plant propagation is the process of
artificially or naturally propagating
(distributing or spreading) plants
Vegetative Propagation
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Vegetative propagation methods include:
Cuttings
Layering
Division
Grafting and budding
Tissue culture
PROPAGATION
of plants by Cuttings
Cuttings
• Cuttings involve removing a piece from the
parent plant and that piece then regrows the
lost parts or tissues.
• New plants can be grown from parts of
plants because each living plant cell
contains the ability to duplicate all plant
parts and functions.
Stock Plants
• The parent plants used
in asexual propagation.
• Herbaceous cuttings
• Softwood cuttings
• Hardwood cuttings
• Other forms of cuttings
are leaf cuttings and
root cuttings
Stock Plants (cont’d.)
• High humidity,
indirect light and soil
temperatures of 70 to
80 degrees F are best
for most cuttings
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Trademarks
Trademarked plants may be
marked by the symbols - ®
and ™.
Trademarks remain in
effect for 10 years and may
be renewed indefinitely in
10- year increments
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Propagation of trademarked
plants may be done
asexually by taking cuttings
You can use the cultivar
name but cannot use the
trademarked name such as
Wave Petunias
Trademarks
• Rosa 'Korlanum' is marketed under three
different trademark names, each owned by a
different company, SurreyTM,
SommerwindTM, and Vente D'eteTM.
Surrey
Summer Wind
Vente D’ete
Plant Patents
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Jack Frost Brunnera
Propagation of patented plants
in any way, shape or form
without the owner's permission
or until the patent term has
expired, is strictly prohibited
by federal law.
Patents are for 17 or 20 years
and are not renewable.
Website with more plant patent
details than you could need
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http://www.uspto.gov/web/offic
es/pac/plant/
Cercis ‘Ruby Falls’ (USPP 22097)
List of plant patents held and applied for by Plant Haven
http://www.planthaven.com/pdfs/planthavenpatentlist.pdf
Types of Cuttings
• Leaf cuttings
• Root cuttings
• Herbaceous stem
cuttings
• Softwood cuttings
• Semi-hardwood
cuttings
• Hardwood cuttings
Leaf Cuttings
• Plants that can be propagated using leaf cuttings
• include African violets, begonias, sedum, jade and
Peperomia.
Crassula streyi
Jade plant
Root Formation on Leaf Cuttings
• Leaf Cuttings
• Must initiate both
a new root and a
new shoot system
(Auxin)
(Cytokynins)
• Cells of more than
one genotype (geneticChimera
makeup) are found
growing adjacent in
the tissues of that
plant
Types Stem Cuttings
• Herbaceous
• Softwood
• Semi-Hardwood
(greenwood)
• Hardwood
• Deciduous
• Narrowleaf evergreen
• Broadleaf evergreen
Stem Cuttings
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Houseplants
Callus
No flower buds
Cutting 2-4 inches long with 2-3 leaves
Remove lower leaves (not needed in media)
Poke hole in media/prevents shifting of hormone
Rooting hormone (auxin) in powder or liquid
form
• Plastic Tent/Indirect light
Stem Cuttings (cont’d.)
Preparing the
cutting
Planting the cutting
Herbaceous Cuttings
• Made from non-woody,
herbaceous plants
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Herbaceous perennials, annuals
• 3 to 5” piece of stem is cut from
the parent plant
• Leaves on the lower one-third to
one-half of the stem are removed
• High percentage of the cuttings
root, and they do so quickly.
Softwood Cuttings
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Softwood cuttings are taken from
first-year branches
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Late spring/early summer
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Emerging shoots
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However not so green that it wilts
immediately after being cut
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Use diagonal cut
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Make cuttings 2 - 5” long with
several nodes
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Cuts slightly below a leaf node
Softwood Cuttings
• Rooting time may vary
from 7-10 days to 3-5
weeks or more depending
on genus
• Tug test
• Reduce mist after rooting
to prevent rot
Semi-Hardwood Cuttings
• Broadleaf and needled
evergreens, deciduous
trees/shrubs
• Time varies based on
cutting type
• 3-6” long
Semi-Hardwood Cuttings
Type of Cutting
Best Time to Cut
Broadleaf Evergreens Mid-July to early
September
Deciduous
Summer
Needled Evergreens September into
Winter
• Most needled evergreens benefit from cold
temperatures
Hardwood Cuttings
Types
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Deciduous
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Broadleaf Evergreen
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Lost leaves Oct./Nov. and
carry through to late winter
Last season’s growth
6-20” long
See methods to right
Bottom heat beneficial
Jan. - March
Needled Evergreen
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Late fall and winter –
greenhouse conditions
4-8” long
Hardwood Cuttings
Hardwood cutting
Hardwood Cuttings
Manipulation
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Bottom heat
Plastic Bag
Winter treatment
Warm temperature
Outdoor ground beds
• w/bottom heat
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Hardwood Cuttings – Winter Treatment
Cuts at a slant, 5 to 12 inches
long
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Treat with rooting hormone
Bundle together buried
outside or in suitable
structure with tops down in
sand/sawdust or soil level
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Callus
In spring, plant cuttings in a
hotbed or other protected site
with morning sun exposure or
filtered light.
Keep cuttings moist until a root
system forms
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Root Formation on Leaf-Bud, Herbaceous,
Softwood and
Hardwood Cuttings
• Only necessary
that a new
adventitious root
system be formed
• Shoot system is
already present
Root Cuttings
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Take cuttings from newer root
growth
Dormant season (Dec.-March)
Younger plants/closer to main
stems/trunk – better rooting
Roots can be dug, cleaned,
“fungicided” and stored
Must retain polarity while storing
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Closest to stem (proximal)– straight
cut and planted “upright”
Distal End – Slanted cut
Root Cuttings
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Store cuttings for 3
weeks in moist rooting
medium at 40 degrees
F.
Remove from storage
and plant upright in the
growing medium or
horizontally in flats
covered with ½” of
medium
Bottom heat may prove
beneficial
Root Cuttings
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If root cuttings are
taken during active
growth, skip the
storage period and
place cuttings directly
in the rooting medium.
For smaller plants, take
1- to 2-inch sections
and place cuttings
horizontally a half inch
below the surface of the
rooting medium.
Root Formation in Root Cuttings
• Must initiate both a new
shoot system from an
adventitious bud as well
as adventitious roots
• Used to propagate plants
that naturally produce
suckers (new shoots)
from their roots
• Naturally free of foliar
pests or nematodes
Plants that can be propagated
by root cuttings
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Acanthus mollis
Amsonia
Brugmansia
Chaenomeles speciosa\
Cornus stolonifera
Dicentra species
Echinops
Epimedium
Ficus carica
Geranium spp.
Hydrangea spp.
Malus spp.
Phlox spp.
Populus alba
Rhus spp.
Rosa spp.
Syringa vulgaris
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Layering
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Layering causes roots to
develop on shoots that are
still attached to the parent
plant.
The stem is not cut from the
main plant until it has
rooted.
Simple layering is done by
bending a branch to the
ground and burying a
portion of it while the tip
remains uncovered.
Treatment with rooting
hormone is helpful.
Layering, continued
• Layering is done in
early spring while
plants are still
dormant or in late
summer on wood that
has not become
woody.
• Other types of
layering include
compound, trench and
mound layering.
Air Layering
• Air layering can be used to propagate large,
overgrown house plants such as rubber plants.
• Woody ornamentals such as azalea, camellia,
magnolia, oleander, and holly can also be
propagated by air layering.
Air Layering, continued
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For optimum rooting, make air
layers in the spring on shoots
produced during the previous
season or in mid to late
summer on shoots from the
current season’s growth.
For woody plants, stems of
pencil size diameter or larger
are best.
Choose an area just below a
node and remove leaves and
twigs on the stem 3 to 4 inches
above and below this point.
Air Layering, continued
• With a sharp knife, make two parallel cuts about
an inch apart around the stem and through the
bark and cambium layer.
• Connect the two parallel cuts with one long cut
and remove the ring of bark, leaving the inner
woody tissue exposed.
• Scrape the newly bared ring to remove the
cambial tissue to prevent a bridge of callus tissue
from forming.
Air Layering, continued
• Surround the wound with moist, unmilled
sphagnum moss (about a handful) that has been
soaked in water and squeezed to remove excess
moisture.
• Wrap the moss with plastic and hold in place with
twist ties or electrician’s tape.
• Fasten each end of the plastic securely, to retain
moisture and to prevent water from entering.
• After the rooting medium is filled with roots,
sever the stem below the medium and pot the
layer.
Division
• Division is the cutting or
breaking up of a crown or clump
of suckers into segments.
• Each segment must have a bud
and some roots.
• These segments are replanted and
grow into new plants identical to
the parent.
Division
• Most perennials should be lifted and divided
when they become overgrown and begin to lose
vigor.
• Vigorous growth in most perennials occurs on the
outer segments of the clump.
• Carefully dig the plant, loosening the roots and
lifting the plant from the soil.
• Split apart the main clump with two spades or
forks or chop with a shovel or hatchet if the
clump is firmly massed.
Division
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In some cases outside
segments of the plant can
be removed and replanted
without disturbing the
rest of the plant.
A good rule of thumb is
to divide fall-flowering
perennials in spring and
spring- and summerflowering perennials in
fall.
Bulbs and Corms
• Bulbs can be propagated by
removing small bulblets or
offsets that form at the base
of the parent bulb.
• These small bulbs take 2 or
3 years to mature into plants
that flower.
• Many lilies can be multiplied
by removing scales from the
mature bulb.
Corm (Crocus)
Bulb (Tulips)
Bulbs and Corms
• Place offsets in rich, light soil for their
development, and this same procedure should be
followed for plants which form from corms, such
as gladiolus.
• Dust the scale with a fungicide and place, base
end down, in a moist growing medium in a warm,
protected area. Bulblets will form at the base of
the scale.
• In 1 to 4 years these bulblets will grow and be
ready to flower.
Tubers and Rhizomes
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Tuberous plants can be dug
up and the tubers separated.
In separating the tubers,
each must have a segment
of the crown that contains
at least one eye or bud.
Rhizomes grow and
develop buds along their
length.
The rhizomes can be dug
and cut into sections that
each contain at least one
eye or bud.
Tubers
Rhizomes
Grafting
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Grafting involves the joining of
different segments of two different
plants of the same species.
Grafting is usually done in the
spring and involves collecting
small branches called scion wood
In grafting, the cambium layers of
the two different segments are
aligned and grow together.
Grafting (cont’d.)
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Grafting allows gardeners to
produce plants identical to a
parent plant.
It also allows growers to
control size and shape of a tree
or shrub.
On the negative side, some
grafting attempts will be
rejected.
Some grafted trees or plants
produce large numbers of
suckers which can crowd out
the desired plant or tree and
are unsightly.
Budding or Bud Grafting
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Bud grafting is faster, easier and less messy than other
forms of grafting. Cambium layers do not need to be
aligned.
Bud grafting is done from early July through early
August.
This method uses a newly developed latent bud, taken
from under a live leaf.
Micropropagation or Tissue Culture
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Each plant cell has the potential to
grow into a new plant exactly like the
parent.
In tissue culture, individual or small
groups of plant cells are manipulated
so they each produce a new plant.
A tiny piece of bud, leaf or stem can
produce incredible numbers of new
plants in a small space in a short time.
Micropropagation or Tissue Culture
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The advantages of tissue culture, in addition to speed
and efficiency of propagation, include production of
disease-free plants and new plants can be made
available to the public more quickly because of tissue
culture.
Absolutely sterile conditions must be maintained, and
temperature, light, humidity and atmosphere are strictly
controlled with electronic sensors and computerized
controls.
Questions?