Possible to root Rhododendron hard wood?

17 years ago

I'm sorry if this has been asked before - I have a evergreenrhododendron that needs to be cut back this spring but I am hoping that I can somehow root it? Don't know the name of it, but it's large leave and a hot dark pink. The piece that needs to be cut is about 1" where it should be cut, and it's hard-wood. I've hard of something called air-layering, where it's cut part way thru and then packed with root hormone and wrapped in spagnum mss and kept moist.

Would that work with this piece? I did find one post that talked about taking cuttings using a single leaf rosette but wanted to know if it could be done this way?

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

luis_pr
17 years ago
Hello, Linda0210. What you described sounds like grafting. You take a cutting from plant A and graft it into plant B.

Air Layering involves making a slit to a low growing branch, putting some growth hormone on the exposed cut area and then bending/burying the branch into the soil so the area with the cut is covered with soil. In about two seasons or less, you will have good roots and can cut the new plant from the parent & transplant it.

It was not clear when you wanted to start propagating. If you are trying to get this done before spring, Air Layering will definitely not do it since it takes about two seasons. And if you are trying to start now, the lack of leaves and the near frozen condition of the plant will make successful grafting and cuttings near impossible.

So if you were planning to start now, please wait until the plant leafs out and then choose between grafting (more complicated) or propagating by stem cuttings (less complicated, takes less time... from over a month to 4 months). Be aware that most people who propagate by stem cutting get best results when they start in the Summer.

That technique works as follows: turn on the sprinklers the night before, take many cuttings the next morning (when the stems are full of moisture) with 5 leaves per cutting, apply growth hormone (with fungicide) to the cutting, plant the cuttings in peat moss (half) and perlite (half), top with a plastic soda bottle (or use trays sold with plastic tops at nurseries/Lowes/etc), mist often, provide bottom heat (+75 degress F) and wait. In 1.5-4 months, when you have good roots, you can transplant them to a bigger pot with peat moss and perlite in a ratio of 60:40 & fertilize.

For more details on propagation by cuttings, click here. For more details on propagation by grafting, click here.

There are also others in the forum who have more experience with cuttings than I so hopefully they will see this thread and share their experiences, specially those in Zone 5 and/or those who have started cuttings in early spring.

Good luck Linda0210,
Luis
rhodyman
17 years ago
luis, what you are describing is layering. Air layering is exactly what linda described. One precaution linda, cover the sphaghnum moss bag with a white plastic to keep it from cooking everything.

The technique for hardwood cuttings doesn't work too well for rhododendrons. Most anything will work with evergreen azaleas.

Here are some notes on air-layering by Art Drysdale (email: art@artdrysdale.com)

[Several weeks ago, I did a segment on my "Daily Gardener" vignette on Shaw TV here on Vancouver Island, and mentioned using the air-layering method to propagate Rhododendron shrubs. I believe I used my standard recommendation of taking an angular bite out of the stem to be propagated, just below a bud union. A variation, often used on Rhododendron shrubs is to carve a circle all the way around the stem, removing the bark, again just below a bud union. ... Generally it will take a couple of weeks for the callus to form, and then another few weeks for roots to grow. But, it is easy to tell when the rooted ÂlayerÂ is ready to sever from the main branch because the plastic wrapping will be filled with roots. And, if the plastic wrapping is tightly enough applied, say with wire twistems, the sphagnum moss wrapping should not dry out, and thus generally does not need to have water added.]

Here is a link that might be useful: Air Layering Rhododendrons
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It actually looks better in the more recent photograph. Leaves appear healthy and green even though there's a sizable patch of bare stems. What happens if you scrape away the bark on these stems? Can you see green cambium tissue anywhere? If you can, try trimming them back to that point. If the stems are clearly dead all the way to the base, cut them back to the bootom. It does not seem terribly likely that a dry rootball would be the problem after 2-3 years, but possible if this has been a particularly dry summer. The leaves in the second photo do not suggest dryness at the root, either. At this point, I'm not very confident in the fungal infection diagnosis, either. Could the patch of dead stems be the result of winter sun and wind exposure?
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Looks as though you've asked a popular question, Barb! I wrote all this out THEN I found a video that shows exactly what I wrote. Watch the video, it's easier, lol. Knowing what I NOW know about moving or removing large bushes, let me say this: If you have enough willing people and think the moving process through, I'm convinced a 2-4 teenage/adult group of people can do it without the machinery. The hand digging is a must to free the shrub's rootball. Just "Google" the subject 'Transplanting large shrubs' and a half-million links show up with all sorts of advice and devices used in large tranplantations. Much more care has to be used (like NOT putting a chain around the trunk) if the shrub is going to be saved. If the shrub is going to shrub heaven, then de-branch it (if that's a word), leave a few feet of the trunk to use as a lever to rock the roots, and basically chop or use a pruning saw on the rootball. The size of the trunk will help indicate how large the rootball is. Bear in mind that mine are 2.5 to maybe 6 caliper trunk size, and it was pouring the whole time the guys were digging so those rootballs were larger than perhaps necessary to help ensure their survival and they were dripping wet. A drier rootball on a thinner trunk won't be as heavy. I had specifically requested that I wanted them carried by machine because I didn't want a Come Along used fearing bark would be injured. Dee: I would not hesitate to move your already pruned rhody by hand. With helping hands, you can most probably get a tarp under the rootball and pull it out and to its new site. Barb: Go for it. They can live 100 years+, but if your 70 years old guy is unhealthy or its lack of prime is making the owner unhappy, life goes on. I didn't want to lose my old pine trees and cried when they were felled, but today my street border is very alive, neater, and very colorful. My 3 rhodies were moved roughly 75 feet down on my street border. The naked land where the pines had been felled was scraped and 18 yards of new soil was spread where the rhodies were going and it cost $1000. It was the only way I was going to get an instant 15 foot tall border and I have no regrets. For those who remember that saga, 'Pining Over Pines', I have also placed 5 flowering trees in front of the rhodies to give them more filtered shade and the whole border is underplanted with azaleas. To me, gardening is outdoor housekeeping and design. Sometimes the 'furniture' needs rearranging. Kindly, Jane Here is a link that might be useful: This Old HouseTree Stump Removal Video
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When a portion of a rhododendron dies like this, the usual cause is boytryosphaeria fungal infection, commonly known as branch or stem dieback. Unfortunately, there is no fungicide that can treat this infection once its symptoms become obvious. I would certainly check with your extension service or state agriculture department to confirm this diagnosis as photographs are no substitute for direct examination. Stressed plants - too wet, too dry, too hot - are prone to this kind of infection. Check the moisture level of the soil and do not water unless there's a need. If boytryosphaeria is confirmed, the best you can do is cut out the dead parts and provide what's left with ideal growing conditions. What species of cyclamen is growing under the rhododendron?
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The first image (David's) shows a stem irreversibly compromised by a fungal infection, the tell being the longitudinal wrinkles in the stem between the soil line and the grafting tape. The wrinkles are resultant of vasculature destruction and subsequent desiccation in that immediate area. Whether or not any of the plant mass above that damage area will remain viable if treated as stock for cuttings remains to be seen, but the infection that undoubtedly started in the roots is now systemic. I grow and give away dozens of this variety of Aeonium every year. The next 2 are very tiny - in Chap Stick caps The plant is amazingly drought tolerant, and a very fast-draining and highly aerated medium offers best insurance against the rot issue you're experiencing now. I once prepared about a dozen small rosettes with short lengths of stem attached in January, but forgot about them and left them lie on a paper towel on the work bench in my basement until mid-May. During that time w/o soil or water, they produced a conspicuous volume of adventitious roots, and took right off when I finally potted them up in small pots. The tiny ones are potted in fine Turface screenings - about the size of restaurant-grind black pepper (inappropriate for anything other than tiny plantings); larger plants are in gritty mix. I keep hearing these plants are winter growers, but they grow all year long if you keep them out of the hot summer sun. I usually move them into shade in June and back into sun when it cools in the fall. I leave them outdoors until frost threatens, then bring them indoors under lights with the tropical bonsai I over-winter in my basement. Because I use a very fast soil, I'm able to fertilize and water them right along with everything else I grow in containers. I'd rate them as being very difficult to kill, so long as they're not over-watered. Because I use Sprint 138 when I fertilize, an Fe chelate for high pH applications, I normally see more green in the rosettes than one might be used to seeing, unless I remember to prepare a bit of solution w/o the chelate for them and other red/maroon plants. Foliage-Pro 9-3-6 is my 'go-to' fertilizer for more than 95% of what I grow in containers. Al
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davidl_ny5
17 years ago
Linda,

In addition to what people said above, a good place to look for info on propagating shrubs is in William Cullina's, Native Trees, Shrubs and Vines. He gives good information generally on techniques as well as species-specific suggestions.

David

Here is a link that might be useful: Bill Cullina's Shrub Book
Woodsy
17 years ago
thanks for the information on rooting. I just came over to this forum for this very information. My mothr in law has a Delp rhody (unidentified) that I would love to take cuttings of.
krazy_karma
16 years ago
I started trying to root cuttings this June (following all the advice gathered from several sources), and out of about 12 cuttings, only one looks like it MIGHT make it. I'm thinking of trying air layering (not ground layering), but the nights here do get chilly (even in summer), so I don't know if it will work. We just bought over an acre (building house soon) and I need LOTS of Rhodies. Can't afford to buy them all. I'm usually very good with plants, so I must have done SOMETHING wrong.
morz8 - Washington Coast
16 years ago
You may have taken your cuttings a little early for ideal semi-ripe wood. Now would be great, or next month into September...

Read through #s 15 and 16 by Dr Goheen, longtime contributor to the Portland Chapter ARS....

Here is a link that might be useful: Rhododendron ABCs - Goheen

Possible to root Rhododendron hard wood?

Comments (6)

luis_pr

rhodyman

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Woodsy

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morz8 - Washington Coast

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