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Conifer cuttings

treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY

15 years ago

Hey all,

I decided to try rooting some conifer cuttings this winter. The Cedrus deodara 'shalimar' has broken bud only two weeks after having "planted" the cuttings. Will these survive? I ask because I assume the need for water and nutrients by the leaves will be hampered by the lack of roots, leading to death. I have the cuttings in a covered ten gallon fish tank to keep up humidity, continuous fluorescent lighting, and a heating pad beneath the tank for bottom heat. So far the bud breaking on the Cedrus is the only change, the other cuttings look the same as when I collected them. Here's a list of the ones I'm trying:

Cedrus deodara 'shalimar'

Chamaecyparis lawsoniana

Juniperus rigida

Thuja standishii

Thuja plicata

Tsuga caroliniana

Xanthocyparis nootkatensis 'pendula'

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Comments (8)

gardener365
15 years ago
Take the cutting out and see if any callous is forming. That seems too fast, actually way too fast (However, You can re-stick them, even dip em in hormone at this time).

Dax
treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY
Original Author
15 years ago
Hey Dax,

I forgot to mention that I treated half the cuttings of each species with a 10,000ppm IBA quick dip solution prior to sticking them. The other half was dipped in an .8% IBA powder before sticking them. I purchased both the powder and the solution and wanted to see which gave better rooting success. Is this "way too fast" bud break typical of hormone treated cuttings?

Thanks!
Evan
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Your scaremongering is still spurious. The warning on bottles of internet DMSO are to protect the bottlers from liability due to people who attempt to use it medically. Such ridiculous warnings appear on many potentially hazardous items. It is not considered an environmental hazard by the EPA. In fact, it is used in mutagenicity testing as a carrier for other chemicals because it is a confirmed non-mutagen. "DMSO is not a teratogen in mice, rats or rabbits. Because of this low potential for toxicity, the EPA has approved DMSO as a solvent or a cosolvent, in pesticides which are applied before crop emergence or prior to the formation of edible parts of food plants." No world health/environmental entity has singled it out as a hazard: http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC35618 In contrast, the incredibly ubiquitous 2,4-D - available to bozos at any Home Depot in the country - gets worse ratings from various organizations: http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33440 If Wood's company stopped using it, it could have been due to a liability concerns, as it penetrates the skin very easily and would carry rooting hormone into the body, or because it was more expensive and no more effective than other solvents. The bulk price for DMSO is about 5X higher than isopropanol. Here is a link that might be useful: http://www.gaylordchemical.com/uploads/images/pdfs/literature/106B.pdf
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In general, Cupressaceae and Taxaceae are fairly easy*, Pinaceae difficult to very difficult. * That's as conifers go Â they're all very difficult compared to e.g. willows. Resin
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It depends on what type of conifers. Some conifers are actually very very very easy to grow from cuttings. Basically you could just stick them in a pot with potting mix and they are likely to grow. Use some rooting hormone and your chances are even better. Some are next to impossible to grow from cuttings. Some are in between. Step one would be to determine which species of conifer you want to grow. You might also want to check out the Conifer Forum here on GardenWeb. I'll bet you'll be able to find posts about growing multiple types of conifers from cuttings on that forum. And/or better define what you are trying to do and maybe we can also give you more advice here.
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gardener365
15 years ago
NO! It's probably too warm (maybe you have them in a "mini-greenhouse") and the cuttings are just taking off before callous. Think grafting in the terms that a scion will push early prior to callous if they're heating up too quickly instead of a slow rate of temp change to heal the wound sufficiently.

All I can think of other than a light cycle that is too lengthy. It's not the powder or the solution just to reiterate.

Dax
treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY
Original Author
15 years ago
Hey Dax,

I think you're right about the heat. A couple of the cuttings are dying. I'm going to try moving the fish tank with the cuttings from the basement into the attached garage. That should keep them above freezing but well below "wake up" temperatures. If the continuous light might also be triggering premature bud break, what photoperiod would you suggest?
gardener365
15 years ago
Mimic outdoor light or 10 hours is sufficient.

Dax
tapla (mid-Michigan, USDA z5b-6a)
15 years ago
I've rooted various Chamaecyparis, Juniperus, Thuja and Tsuga species by simply sticking late fall/early winter cuttings in well-aerated raised bed soil in full sun and letting nature take it's course. I've rooted the Xanthocyparis nootkatensis 'pendula', too - if that is the plant that was removed/renamed from Chamaecyparis.

The bud activity you are seeing now is something akin to cutting pussy willows or Forsythia in Jan and putting them in water - 'forcing', is what it's called. Buds have their own storehouse of energy at their base, so all they need to open are water and temperatures above 45*. That you're seeing bud movement isn't a sign that roots have formed.

Again, I get variable strike %s - but I'm not going to any special effort either - by sticking prunings/cuttings from plants I'm growing on for bonsai during the cold months as described above and forgetting them. You could probably do much better (% of strikes) than I with some attention to sanitation and by providing more favorable cultural conditions.

Al
gardener365
15 years ago
Use at least 4" pots too. That'll help significantly. Those little domes are for seeds in my opinion or super tiny cuttings about 1-2" max.

Dax
treeguy_ny USDA z6a WNY
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks for the additional information. The pots they're in are a little small, now I know better for the future!

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