japanese privet
I have just got a ligustrum sinensis (japanese privet) that I have had for about 4 weeks now and it is growing long shots from the trunk about 4 or 5ins could I take them as cuttings and if so how.
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Gnome
- Super Green Thumb
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- Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
- Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A
andrew,
Hello and welcome to the site. I assume, considering your location, that you have this tree indoors and that it is in active growth, correct? I ask because if this is the first flush of growth this year I would not be too anxious to cut it off. The foliage is what provides the tree with its energy. I usually prune privets throughout the growing season. Cut them back to just a few pairs of leaves. The pieces you remove can indeed be rooted as cuttings.
Allow them to extend to perhaps 4 to 6 inches long before removing them. remove all of the leaves except those at the very top, this reduces water loss through transpiration. Make a clean slanting cut across the bottom of the cutting with a razor, not crushing the tissue. I usually cut just below a node as this is where many species will root from. If you have rooting hormone on hand by all means use it but if not you still may have success.
Choose a light, sterile medium. This is one of the few instances where I would consider commercial potting mix. You can also use straight Perlite or include some in the mix if it does not already have some. If you are just doing a few I like to put some sort of cover over them to keep humidity up. Large Jars work well, as do cut of soda bottles. An old aquarium works well as a propagator.
Keep them out of strong, direct sunlight until you are sure they have rooted. When you see fresh growth it is a pretty good indicator that all is well.
[url]https://www.actionvideo.freeserve.co.uk/cuttings.htm[/url]
Norm
Hello and welcome to the site. I assume, considering your location, that you have this tree indoors and that it is in active growth, correct? I ask because if this is the first flush of growth this year I would not be too anxious to cut it off. The foliage is what provides the tree with its energy. I usually prune privets throughout the growing season. Cut them back to just a few pairs of leaves. The pieces you remove can indeed be rooted as cuttings.
Allow them to extend to perhaps 4 to 6 inches long before removing them. remove all of the leaves except those at the very top, this reduces water loss through transpiration. Make a clean slanting cut across the bottom of the cutting with a razor, not crushing the tissue. I usually cut just below a node as this is where many species will root from. If you have rooting hormone on hand by all means use it but if not you still may have success.
Choose a light, sterile medium. This is one of the few instances where I would consider commercial potting mix. You can also use straight Perlite or include some in the mix if it does not already have some. If you are just doing a few I like to put some sort of cover over them to keep humidity up. Large Jars work well, as do cut of soda bottles. An old aquarium works well as a propagator.
Keep them out of strong, direct sunlight until you are sure they have rooted. When you see fresh growth it is a pretty good indicator that all is well.
[url]https://www.actionvideo.freeserve.co.uk/cuttings.htm[/url]
Norm
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Gnome
- Super Green Thumb
- Posts: 5122
- Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
- Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A
alisios,
Thanks but it's not that I'm smart so much as stubborn though. I have been fooling with plants on and off for decades now. I've also done a lot of reading. I own hundreds of books on subjects as diverse as silver-smithing to computer technology, nearly two dozen (excluding magazines) on bonsai alone. I've even managed to put some of it into practice.
Norm
Thanks but it's not that I'm smart so much as stubborn though. I have been fooling with plants on and off for decades now. I've also done a lot of reading. I own hundreds of books on subjects as diverse as silver-smithing to computer technology, nearly two dozen (excluding magazines) on bonsai alone. I've even managed to put some of it into practice.
Norm
[/code]Sometimes stubborness pays off. Don't give up so easily. Where one cutting fails, another may thrive. Your best bet is with rooting hormone (as Norm's already said) and using multiple cutting. Just line them up, being sure to strip all but the uppermost leaves. You can also try just leaving the cuttings in a glass of water. Srewier things have happened. 