Andy H
Newly Registered
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:57 am

Trying to propagate Thuja Green Giants

Not sure if I'm doing this right but here is what I've done


Took cuttings that were about 6" long off of established trees

made a clean cut at the bottom and dipped them in this

[img]https://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i211/james2331/sfwfs.jpg[/img]

for a couple seconds

and then placed them in a 50/50 mixture of this


[img]https://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i211/james2331/DSCF7565.jpg[/img]


and this


[img]https://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i211/james2331/DSCF7566.jpg[/img]






in a 10 gallon aquarium


[img]https://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i211/james2331/DSCF7562.jpg[/img]



[img]https://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i211/james2331/DSCF7564.jpg[/img]







The Temp is kept around 70 in the aquarium and is under a fluorescent light and near a window for more light




one thing I'm kind of concerned about is the Peat Moss. I was in a hurry at the store and didn't even notice that it said it was mixed with miracle grow plant food? is this going to hurt anything? if so I'll get something else


do you see any other problems with this setup? Should I had heat to the bottom of the tank with a heating pad?

User avatar
Gnome
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 5122
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A

Andy,

Welcome to the forum. It looks like you have most of the elements in place. Light, warmth, humidity, rooting hormone. The medium may be a little heavy but I'm not sure I would bother to replace it now.

Cuttings can be a somewhat hit-or-miss proposition, sometimes they strike and sometimes not. I have had mixed results in general but have never tried this species in particular.

This may help. Brent is a professional nurseryman so he knows his stuff.

[url]https://www.evergreengardenworks.com/cuttings.htm[/url]

[url]https://www.bonsai4me.com/Basics/Basics_Cuttings.html[/url]

Norm

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

Cuttings are touch and go, I will recommend against using peat moss because it contains little or no nutrients and is very hard to soak with water. The surface often looks wet but, if you stick your finger in the peat moss, the center will be bone dry.

Also, with rooting horemone; I've used it over the years with some results but, plant rooting horemones (Auxins and Gibberellins) are naturally found in the soil. So, you might try just digging up some soil and uing that or just sticking your cuttings in the soil outside.

I've actually had very good results using sifted compost and potting soil as a growing medium.

Andy H
Newly Registered
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:57 am

Ok, it's been two months and I'm not seeing any signs of roots. Should I keep waiting or perhaps I did something wrong?

I heard these are easy to propogate :(

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

Are your cuttings still alive? If they are still alive, leave as they are.

I have found that it is easiest to just stick a cutting in the ground and see what happens. Very few of my cuttings have taken that I've done in pots.


Auxins and giberrellins are the plant hormones that cause root formation and are available in non sterilized soil. I've had little success with the rooting hormone that you buy in the nursery. Try just sticking some cuttings into the garden and see what happens.

Andy H
Newly Registered
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:57 am

Yup, the cuttings still look as good as the day I cut them from the tree.
Maybe they just need more time.


when it warms up I'm going to try some more outside, if they root great and if not, no big deal.

Andy H
Newly Registered
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:57 am

Ok, just wanted to update this. I checked again yesterday and every single cutting has roots. On average each has about 4 or 5 roots that are between 1/2 and 1" long

I gently took them out making sure not to damage the roots and put them in small containers and under a grow light. I did this so that I could have room in the aquarium to get another 50 or so cuttings started.

opabinia51
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 4659
Joined: Thu Oct 21, 2004 5:58 pm
Location: Victoria, BC

Congratulations, and have fun with your trees!

Incidentally, my stepmother drives around all of the montainous roads around her area and pulls the western red cedar from the side of the road before the muncipality mows them down. She plants them as hedging around her property.

But, you could use these trees for bonsai as well.

User avatar
Jess
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1023
Joined: Mon Mar 19, 2007 7:50 pm
Location: England

Andy H wrote:Ok, it's been two months and I'm not seeing any signs of roots. Should I keep waiting or perhaps I did something wrong?

I heard these are easy to propogate :(
The reason for the delay in rooting is the timing. Most plants have a dormant season. Your next batch should develop roots much faster.

TheLorax
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1416
Joined: Tue Feb 19, 2008 9:40 pm
Location: US

Good job! No, great job!

I've used Hormex Rooting Powder #8 trying to root Thuja occidentalis cultivars before and enjoyed success. I like that particular rooting product best for conifers but that's just preference based on personal experiences. Never thought of using an aquarium to keep the relative humidity high but it's a great idea and seems as if we all have old aquariums sitting around un-unsed.

Andy H
Newly Registered
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:57 am

Just figured I'd give an update on this. I had great success with these and I'd guess about 95% of them rooted. I actually did about 200 more after this and had the same results. About 90% of them made it through the summer and are still doing good now. They have not grown much but I'm guessing this will be the year they start to shoot up.

I actually have a few hundred more propagating right now.

User avatar
Gnome
Super Green Thumb
Posts: 5122
Joined: Wed Jul 05, 2006 12:17 am
Location: Western PA USDA Zone 6A

Andy,

Thanks for the update. I've always enjoyed propagating my own material. A few questions for you; what are you doing with all of these plants? Are you moving them outside at the appropriate season? Have you tried any other species yet?

Norm

Andy H
Newly Registered
Posts: 8
Joined: Mon Dec 03, 2007 7:57 am

I move them outside around the middle of April or so (I'm in zone 5) right now they are in a cold frame just because I was worried about them getting crushed by all the snow. I have about a mile of property line so using all these trees will be no problem. May also try selling some on ebay in the future.

tree
Newly Registered
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Mar 29, 2010 2:14 am

Does thuja occidentalis tend to grow in the climate in central europe?

User avatar
!potatoes!
Greener Thumb
Posts: 1938
Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2009 2:13 pm
Location: wnc - zones 6/7 line

re: central europe, should be fine. the OP is in zone 5, where it gets down to between -10 and -20 F as an average minimum temp [that's -23 to -29ish C]...I'm seeing zones 2 or 3 to 7 for T. occidentalis...unless you're way up in the mountains, you should be fine.



Return to “Trees, Shrubs, and Hedges”