Question
QUESTION: How do I, and what is the success rate of starting plants from cuttings of cedar? This particular cedar is to cut down soon. 20 ft tall 8 ft spread, tips are light yellow to light green, a very healthy, perhaps Yellow Cedar? (Pacific Northwest Washington)

ANSWER: Hello Dee and thanks for your great question!  Cedars can be propagated from cuttings taken in late summer (semi-mature wood). However, you need to use a very strong rooting hormone called IBA - Indole-3 Butyric Acid at .55%.  It sounds like you can't really wait until late summer though.

The easiest way to propagate Cedars is by seed.  If the tree has any cones on it, look for the ones which are brown and just opening or haven't yet opened all the way. You can trick the unopened brown cones into opening (called dehiscence).  It's important to get only the brown cones, though, because cedar cones take 4 years to ripen and develop seeds.  

If you would like the steps it takes to grow cedar seeds, let me know.  I know your question was on rooting cuttings, so I won't go into a long bit on seed germination of cedars.  Don't hesitate to write back if you need the seed information, please!  Trees are precious old friends and I'm so glad to hear that you are trying to let the tree carry on in some way.

Just on the outside chance that the tree's been mis-identified, see if you can get the genus of the tree.  There are several genera of trees which are called cedar, but only Cedrus species are true cedars.
I add this, because many of the trees called cedars erroneously, CAN be rooted easier from cuttings.

I look forward to hearing from you!
Eirinn

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

QUESTION: Thank you, SO much!
I will ask the owner for further details. Where would I look for the details you started to give on seeding?
Is O'Bhriain Scottish or Irish? My mother's maiden name was Mac Donald, and she said she was Scotch-Irish. She cannot communicate intelligently any more.
Bless you for your help, I am thrilled.
Dee Barker

Answer

Cedar Cones   Good morning Dee!  Hopefully the tree's human companion will be able to give you a positive ID.  As far as where to go for the details on propagating Cedar (and other conifer) seeds....I am at your service.
I'm actually germinating some conifer seeds as we speak; it's a bit like having toddlers in the house again!

褺hr靉靚 is Irish-gaelic.  It's the actual legal spelling of my name, but to make pronunciation easier for non-gaelic speakers, I often use the english spelling of my name, which is Erin O'Brien.  I'm from Belfast, and my ancestry is Irish on both sides.  The O'Brien side we can trace back to the late 900's and our first ancestor Brian Boru (that's his folk hero name. His actual name was Bhr靉靚 mac Cinn鑔e - the old speling of Kennedy). Brian Bor?was the first Ard R?na h蒳reann (High King of all Ireland).

Your mother's maiden name could be either Scots or Irish.  The Scots and their country are lovely.  Even in the state your mother's in, I do hope that inside she feels at peace.

Now, here's the instructions for germinating Cedar seeds.  I'm going to include at least one photo for ease of explanation.
1.  Find some brown (3rd year-4th year) cones. If they aren't open yet, you can trick the cone into opening and releasing its seeds by soaking it in luke temperature water for around 12 hours, then dry the cone(s) well in a warm room for 24 hours.
2.  Once the cones open, check to see which seeds are viable and which are dead or infertile.  Cut a portion of the seeds in half. You only need to do this to a few.  The viable ones will have white-ish, healthy interiors; dead ones look hollow and dessicated.  You'll notice a pattern among the viable seeds.  They tend to be darker in colour and a solid colour.  Dead seeds are mottled, and sometimes insect eaten.
3. Break the 'wings' off of the seeds, then put the seeds into a zippy bag (label it with the tree's name and put the date you began to stratify them on the baggie first.) and add enough moist soft sand to cover the seeds and a little extra.  Don't let the sand be so moist that water sits in the baggie.  Mix the seeds and the sand, and pop the lot into your refridgerator's crisper for 2 weeks' time.
4.  After a fortnight, some of the seedlings may germinate in the baggie. No problem.  Just sow all of the seeds into pots of moist, soilless mix and keep it at around 59-62 F.  When your seedlings put on their first set of true leaves - the set after the initial cotelydons they grow to show they've germinated - gently pot each up in your choice of containers.
5. Now you can use a potting mix which you can make yourself.  It's much cheaper than pre-mixed, and it doesn't contain moisture retention granules.  Those granules will easily water log your seedlings and kill them.  Here's the mix to use:

To make a good, all purpose soil, I mix equal parts humus/compost, coarse sand, perlite. To that I add 1/2 part composted manure.  All of these are available at garden centers, and, at least here in southern Illinois, the lot of it costs less than $10.  Some of the brand name potting mixes, such as Miracle-Gro and Sta-Green, for only 2 cubic feet, can cost almost as much or more depending on the garden centre.

(For my Master Gardener students who want to make thier own potting soil, and get the benefit of knowing what they're putting thier plants into, but have very few plants, I get them to get a gardening buddy and split the potting soil ingredients in two.)

6.  Now it's time to feed your new brood! Leave the blue stuff alone. Here's a miracle of a recipe for giving plants healthy growth, and great disease resistance:

BEST EVER PLANT FOOD:
1 Tbl. liquid or dry kelp/seaweed (save money by going to a health food store and buying powdered kelp. It's very inexpensive. Just mix it with water until it's the consistency of thin buttermilk.), 1 tsp. Blackstrap molasses, 1 Tbl.willow tea, 1 gallon of water. (The willow tea is made by taking a twig of willow - any kind - and cut it into 1 inch bits.  Soak it in boiling water for a couple of hours or at least until it cools completely. Strain out the twigs.) Put the fertilizer into a spray bottle and spray the plant's leaves, both top and undersides. You can then water in your NIP with this mix, as well.  The kelp has high amounts of nutrients, natural plant growth hormones, trace minerals and has been found to make plants more pest and disease resistant. Willow contains natural plant growth stimulating hormones. The molasses contains iron, sulfur and simple sugars which nourish the plant.

7.  If you notice your seedlings bending over and dying at around their 2nd week of growth or so, they've got damping off disease.  Here's an easy cure or rather prevention:
Make a very strong chamomile tea & let it cool.  Strain it, put it in a spray bottle and thorougly spray your seedlings.  You can then water them with this tea, to prevent root rot, etc.

Good luck and let me know how the seedlings come along!
Eirinn