Plant Cuttings

Taking a cutting from one plant to grow another is a great way to make more plants for your garden. Getting a plant cutting to root and grow only requires basic plant skills and materials.
Taking a cutting from one plant to grow another is a great way to make more plants for your garden. Getting a plant cutting to root and grow only requires basic plant skills and materials.

When you take a plant cutting, you are essentially making a clone of the parent plant. Before you begin taking cuttings, be sure that the parent plant (sometimes called “mother plant”) is healthy with no sign of disease and it has enough stems to allow one to be removed.

The most important factor for the actual cutting process is a very sharp knife to cut the plant. Anything dull will tear the stem as you remove it instead of allowing a clean slice that will heal easily on the mother plant. Choose a new tender stem for cutting; it can be up to about 3 inches long, but you don’t want to deal with anything too much longer.

Remove the bottom leaves from the plant cutting to create a smooth stem. Any part of the plant that will be below soil level should have leaves removed. Plant the cutting, cut side down, in a sterile potting mix and care for it as you would a seedling—keep it warm and moist. You can also add a powder or liquid rooting hormone to the cutting to speed up the rooting process. Roots will emerge in the soil from the cut stem in a few weeks.

When you are able to tug at the cutting and it doesn’t move, it’s roots are developed and you can move the plant cutting to a larger pot to continue growing before planting it in the garden.

Taking Plant Cuttings: