Daily Archives: November 3, 2010

Q. What are the other key factors which may effect whether cuttings root?

a) Air Temperature: When temperature rises, plant metabolism increases. Photosynthesis and respiration are temperature sensitive. As temperature rises, the rate of respiration tends to increase faster than photosynthesis, which may result in cuttings losing weight and possibly even dying. Rooting will be slow or success will be limited if temperatures are too low because the…

Q. How do I classify the type of plant that I am propagating?

A. There are three categories of cuttings: softwood or succulent, semi-hardwood (greenwood) and hardwood. There is some cross over in the categories, but usually they are easy to identify. a) Softwood/Succulents: The emerging growth of most plants are classified as softwood. Things to look for are cuttings that can be easily bruised with a nail,…

Q. How did the five-second dip become standard?

A. Research has proven that a 5-second dip is equally effective as a 160-second dip in promoting root growth. Longer dips, such as a 320-second dip, actually decreased effectiveness.(1)

Reference:
(1) Dirr, Michael and Heuser, Charles. The Reference Manual Of Woody Plant Propagation. Athens, GA: Varsity Press, 1987.