Practical: Producing Cuttings
- Many perennials, shrubs, and herbs can grow adventitious roots from their cut stems
- The use of cuttings is a straightforward propagation technique that can expand plant stock at a very low cost
- Desirable characteristics of the plant are guaranteed in the progeny because propagation is a form of asexual reproduction
- Cuttings can grow to full-sized plants much quicker than plants grown from seeds
- Equipment needed:
- Sharp scissors or secateurs
- Potting compost
- Pots to house new plants
- Hormone rooting powder
- Plastic bag to cover cutting
- Hormone rooting powder contains auxins that promote mitosis and cell differentiation in the new root growth
- If the cut is made just below a stem node, meristem tissue forms at the lower end of the cut
The process of taking cuttings
