by Sammy Stein

Created on: April 13, 2010

Propagation by cuttings simply means taking a portion of the plant and encouraging it to form roots. It is a cheap, relatively easy and effective way to get more plants and the new plants have the same characteristics as the parent plant. Certain parts of the plant create roots more easily than others and the parts which make roots best vary from plant to plant.

Cuttings can be taken from roots which prove an economical method and is commonly used by gardeners, stems which produce roots directly from the stem itself or from the callous (wound healing tissue) which forms at the base or leaves- many will produce roots from near their veins.

Cuttings are a more complicated method of increasing plants than sowing seed seed and are mainly performed on plants that do not come true from seeds and cannot be divided or layered or simply for those whose seeds do not readily germinate. 

They are best taken in the middle of the growing season (spring or summer) so plants can make the most of the available light and heat and become established before winter. The exception is root cuttings which are taken during the dormant period.

How it works. It is not possible to cover all types of cuttings in a short article but whether you use leaves, softwood, semi-ripe, hardwood,leaf or apical cuttings, the principle of how they work is the same.  All plant tissue has the ability to differentiate into any kind of organ and when materialis removed from the parent a plant it loses its orientation and can be encouraged to form new roots. Plant tissues contain hormones which stimulate the cells to perform particular functions. Adventitious roots most often develop from young cells produced by the cambium – the layer of cells that are involved in the generation of new vascular tissue and in the thickening of stems. These are usually located close to food producing and water conducting tissues. Adventitious rooting is helped by auxins which accumulate in the base of a cutting. 

Given the right conditions the hormones for making roots (auxins) are stimulated. Taking cuttings does this  and roots will grow from the pieces (cuttings) of the plant taken because they are given contact with soil, the plant tissue is wounded so hormones rush to site and gravity plays a part too.

Dipping the cuttings in hormone rooting powder before placing them in a medium may provide extra encouragement. Hormone rooting powder supplements those present and quickens

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