Question
QUESTION: I have burning bush plants and glossy abelia along the driveway. They are about 4 feet tall and I want to take clippings from them to grow along our property line. What is the best method to achieve this. When is tha best time to do this? I would like to Start them in the garden and transplant them when they have a large enough root ball to survive.

ANSWER: Hello Tim

You use the same method to propagate both these plants and Spring or early Fall are the best times to do it.

Rather than planting the cutting directly into the ground you will get much better results by starting the cuttings indoors, or in a very sheltered spot outside, in pots which are themselves placed inside clear plastic bags to keep the humidity up.  Freezer bags are ideal.

So - you will need 2 (labelled) plastic bags to put the cutting into as you collect them; several 4 inch plant pots (4" measured across the top of the pot); as many clear plastic bags as you have pots - the pots should fit loosely inside the bags;  hormone rooting powder; potting compost mixed with horticultural sand until the compost feels very gritty; a mister or watering can with a fine rose; twine or plastic coated wire to secure the tops of the bags.  

The most successful method of propagation is to take soft wood cuttings from the ends of this year's growth.  To find the best cuttings look at the ends of the stems, go back from the tip about 3-4 inches and gently bend the stem, if it bends very easily then it's not 'ripe' for propagation; if you have to use some force to bend the stem (and it looks 'woody'), it's over ripe and gone past the stage when it would make a good soft-wood cutting. You should only have to use a very small amount of pressure to slightly bend the stem.

Take as many cuttings as you can find).  To take the cutting, use a sharp pair of secateurs and cut the stems.  Don't forget to put the cuttings into the plastic bags as you go along, so that they don't dry out before you can plant them.

Once you have your cuttings, plant them as soon as possible.  First fill the pots with the compost/sand mixture; tap a little of the hormone rooting powder into the container lid.  At the end of the exercise dispose of any remaining powder in the lid to avoid spreading any infection that may be present to other plants in the future.

Strip off all but the the 2 pairs of leaves at the top of the cutting; gently cut the stem at 45 degrees just below the place where the lowest leaf(s) were; dip the bottom of the cutting into the hormone rooting powder, tapping off the excess; push the cutting into the compost/sand mix, close to the edge of the pot - I would recommend that you put 4 cuttings in each pot; mist or water each pot as it is filled and place it into a plastic bag and secure the top. Place the pots where they will get good light, but not direct sun.

It usually takes about 6-7 weeks for roots to form and you shouldn't need to open the bags before this time.  Once you do take the cuttings out of the bags and the pots (gently) you should see that each one has a ball of fibrous roots. Those that don't can be put back into the pots (gently) and the pots put back into the bags for another week.  Cuttings with a good ball of healthy roots should now be planted singly into their own 3-4 inch pot and placed outside in a sheltered position where they will get good light but not direct sunlight.

Make sure that the young plants are kept moist and give them a dilute general liquid feed every 3-4 days.  When the are about 8-9 inches high they can be planted out into the yard.  

I don't know which part of California you live in, so the above timings are sort of 'general purpose'.  If it gets cold where you are, it might be better to keep your plants inside in a frost free place with good light until the late spring - or when all danger of frost is past, before planting them out.

If you live in a warmer area and are confident that the temperature is going to remain above 45 degrees, you can plant them out sooner.

Lastly, it is unlikely that you will get a 100% success rate.  Don't be discouraged, this is quite usual and it's the reason I always recommend that the propagator takes more cuttings than they think they'll need!  It happens to all of us!!

Good luck

Gill





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Gill,
Thanks for your imput on my question. I live in Missouri and we had our first frost yesterday. Do you think I should hold off until spring to start this project? I nomally cut back the bushes in the winter when they are dormant. It will be difficult to try to get these cutting going during the winter. Do you think I would have have better luck in the spring? Should I wait until the bushes start to green out before I take the cuttings?.
I appreciate your imput on this matter.
Tim

Answer
Hi Tim

Cut back your shrubs as you would normally do, but under the circumstances I think it would be better to hold off taking cuttings until next August - end of the month for preference, to give the plants an opportunity to put on plenty of healthy new growth.

Just follow the procedure as I've already described and you should get plenty of new plants for free!!

Good luck.

Gill