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how to take cuttings from a tree?

13 years ago

can most trees be propagated via cuttings?

there is some kind of tree with like 2-1/2" pink/red buds all over it at a house I'm working on and I don't know what it is.

it i were to take a branch from it would i be trying to root it in water?

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Comments (10)

Toronado3800 Zone 6 St Louis
13 years ago
A nice project.

Post some pics of your plant using a site like photobucket.

The range is from ridiculously easy to do for some willows which i bet you dont have to almost impossible w/o some specialty equipment.

But first put some pics up.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
though it is possible.. often it is not probable to root trees ... short of a propagation bench [with heat] .. and a greenhouse.. and a couple decades of experience ... and some rooting hormone .... and doing it at the right time of year.. which is most likely not at flowering time ...

check out the link.. look familiar????

should be able to get one at the bigboxstore for not all that much ...

unless the 'project' is the fun part ...

w/o an ID.. it is impossible to give you any real info ... since every tree has differing abilities and rooting capabilities ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
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You should ALWAYS ask permission! What if you and a thousand other people decide to take cuttings of a particular plant at the restaurant, at the grocery, at the park, dentist's parking lot, Disney Worlld, on municipal property along the road? :-) If it's not yours, you should ask first. Check with your City or County municipal departments. Most have a landscaping division with a director or superintendent in charge. Ask for the manager at the grocery, or the owner of the business. Believe me, if the thought of snitching one or two cuttings has crossed your mind, it has occurred to plenty of others ahead of and behind you. Accumulatively, that constitutes property damage. Right? You simply have to ask; it's the right thing to do. You will either get permission right away or you might get asked to wait until they can take the cuttings for you or they will ask that you don't. Whatever happens, they will appreciate that you asked. I've asked and received permission to take cuttings and seeds from public parks, exotic nurseries, cemeteries, parking lots of businesses, and from the gardens of complete strangers who answered my knock on their doors.
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How easy is it to take cuttings from bamboo?
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edrob- A few observations that may be helpful. First, lets be clear on "cuttings." Bamboo is not like other plants (e.g., trees or shrubs): you can't take a cutting off the culms (the main stalk) or the smaller branches and get it to live. (Well, you can with some tropical bamboo, but that's not a consideration with where you live.) Also, bamboo flower very rarely, so seeds are usually not available for most species. Therefore, the way one gets more bamboo is through field divisions. All this means is that you dig up a decent-size rootball with one or more viable culms attached. The rootball should be about soccer ball size or larger, and it should be kept moist and transplanted ASAP. Bamboo can be very hard to get out of the ground without saws, pruners, and steel pry bars, so, if you send me your email address, I will send back a more detailed explanation of how to do this. As for bamboo's aggressiveness, it can vary based on the species. I have some perfectly behaved plants that have pretty much stayed in one place for years, even thought they are "running" bamboo, and some others that have been, shall we say, vigorous. Most bamboo that will be available to you are the running kind: these send out runners in all directions and reproduce the fastest. There are also clumping bamboo that stay in one place and just get bigger each year, but it would take a lot of time and money to install a 150' hedge of this. In your Zone you should be able to grow most of the running bamboos and have them stay green the whole year round. If you are going to dig it yourself, you obviously go with what you have available that is viable in your area. If you are going to buy it at a nursery, they will know what should work. If you want to educate yourself, you should read a basic book, like "The Gardener's Guide to Growing Temperate Bamboo," by Michael Bell. Another resource for you (although not very close to where you live) is the very famous La Bambouseraie near Anduze in the south of France. The web site is: http://www.bambouseraie.com/ Lastly, there is a very good web site -- Bambooweb -- that will give you photos and information on most commercially available bamboo, and their growing characteristics and hardiness. Here is a link that might be useful: Bambooweb
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taking a cutting from a tree
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Comments (5)
Shelby, This is a task not to be concened about. First don't just hack up the tree. Take end branches over 14 inches if possible. Make sure the wood is grey or brown on the end you cut. Do not cut all green wood cuttings as they will not have as much chance of rooting. Make clean cuts, if your pruners crush the wood trim with a very sharp knife until damage doesnt show. Do this on both the tree and the cuttings. We allways sterilize our cutting tools between cuts. Try to make cuts on the tree on a downward slant of about 45 degrees. If the branches are large on the trees cover the wounds with a seal such as white water based latex caulk. Another good practice is to dip your cutting after trimming into a rooting hormone. Then put the cuttings in a dark room like a closet until spring and they should be just fine. Jack
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Concerning the idea of cuttings from crab apples. You will get an identical plant from a cutting. It's seed where you might get something else. This is, of course, providing you take your cutting from above the graft point if your tree is grafted. Regarding rose cuttings, I have a climbing Buff Beauty grown from a cutting which is fine but if your original bush is grafted on to a vigorous rootstock you may find a cutting on its own roots is weaker growing.
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haroldandcher17222_yahoo_com
13 years ago
It varies based on the tree and some trees are easier than others. Some impossible.

To best get an answer, first determine what it is you are ttrying to clone, make sure it's not patented (that's a no-no) and then type into a search engine tree cuttings propagation and you'll find some lists that give specifics as to what type of wood you need to take, what time of year and what type of rooting hormone (if any).

To have success with this you generally need to invest in a setup that provides constant humidity, yet good drainange and circulation so the things don't rot.

This is the type of project you do to learn how it's done rather than to save money buying plants.

There is one exception. Willows and cottonwoods. It's been said you can easily root these from a thin branch jabbed a couple of feet into the ground with no special setup.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
wait.. 2 to 2.5 inch flowers.. lets try magnolia soulangeana ... check the link

though the buds are about that size.. the flowers go to about 6 inches when they open.. incredibly fragrant ...

in my garden.. this plant.. 9 out of 10 years.. opens on the day of the first wind storm .. and the show is very short ... and the 10th year.. the buds get frosted before opening .. lol ....

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
13 years ago
Be SURE to ask the owners if you may have a cutting from their tree. I'd be extremely upset if I looked out a window and saw someone chopping away at something of mine...angry to the point of asking the person to leave and not come back. But I would probably be happy to take cutting myself, wrap them in a wet paper towell, and write down some instructions if I were asked.
Dan _Staley (5b Sunset 2B AHS 7)
13 years ago
Most trees do not root in water. You'll have to ID tree then look it up and see if it will root, then exactly what is needed to do it. Exactly.

Dan
tlowery04
Original Author
13 years ago
the magnolia is probable, i will be back by there to work tomorrow. No worries on the part of the owner, the house has been vacant for over a year, went through forclosure and I am cleaning it up for a mortgage company to sell. I would never take a cutting without asking first =) Will post up pictures tomorrow, gotta find my small ruler for scale.

take a look at my garden shed seed starting setup, would this be suitable?

Here is a link that might be useful: My Pepper Starting Area
greenthumbzdude
13 years ago
could also be a redbud tree. If it is its not worth the effort since they are so cheap.
tlowery04
Original Author
13 years ago
it's a magnolia, it's white/pink. I will take a few cuttings when the tips have a few leaves on them and with any luck I'll get some beautiful magnolia's =) on a saide note, this one seems more like a bush. I always thought they were trees. Maybe just tons of suckers from the base, the house was neglected for a very long time before it went into foreclosure.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
13 years ago
i doubt you will root a branch ... but have fun trying ...

you would be better off seeing if you can get a sucker with a root or too.. presuming the plant is not grafted ...

they are 'trained' into tree shape.. left to their own devices they are flowering shrubs ...

they can be had at the bigboxstore rather cheap ... if you really want one ...

ken

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