I have been making hardwood cuttings in the fall in gallon pots with a light planting mix and put them outside in partial shade. The winter weather here in the Willamette Valley is mild, usually only one snow a year that melts in a few days. I have had a 95% survival rate of cuttings using this method.
When I first came to Oregon over 40 years ago, the winter weather in February would freeze the ground for several weeks with the east wind coming from the Columbia Gorge, but it hasn’t been so lately. I don’t know if these cuttings could survive two weeks in the frozen ground, but they do well in the mild winter.
Congratulations, John! I do that with hibiscus senensis cuttings here with about the same success rate. Roses, however, don’t work that well with that method here. I have rooted some that way, that time of year, but the success rate is significantly less. Wrapping them first to precallus them, then planting them deeply in pots yields nearly a 100% take in this climate. It’d be great to simply plant them to make new plants. That, I envy!
Henry Kuska’s recent topic above called “Research Regarding Cuttings” is a good resource if you follow his links. I also recommend the booklet published by the Rose Hybridizers Association entitled “The Next Step.”
A lot depends on the conditions at the time of year we make the cuttings, whether it is a very cold area, and the ground is frozen, or the ground is too dry and overheated.
In Oregon there are large nurseries growing hardwood cuttings of various trees and plants. They use the method of wrapping cuttings in sealed bags in a temperature-controlled environment. Depending on what they are rooting, they know when to open the bag up and check the calluses, which are a precursor to rooting. This keeps the cuttings from rotting. Then in the spring they plant them in seedbeds or pots. The propagator in these nurseries is the most highly skilled employee, because he knows how to handle each plant variety for best rooting conditions.
Some people can put their hardwood cuttings sealed up in a compost heap protected from too much moisture in cold areas like New York, where the ground freezes, or in a cold garage wrapped up. I don’t think much of putting roses in a trench without winter protection over them in New York. Softwood cuttings can be produced in a greenhouse earlier in the year with a controlled environment with a spray mist that’s on a timer. They need to be protected from too much moisture so they don’t rot. The biggest problem with cuttings is over watering, causing rot, or being baked by too much sunlight.
i plan on taking some z5 cuttings this weekend. it’s cool in the twin cities but not cold yet. my plan:
-take cuttings
-dip in rooting hormone, place in root riot cubes
-place in my cannabis grow tent with the light low
-add humidifier to drive humidity
-when i see roots in the bottom of the cubes, pot up into half gallon pots
because i’ll have to overwinter them, i will also experiment with light intensity over the winter. i have a separate area for starting veg seedlings in the basement, and i think they ought to be alright down there if they establish well in the grow tent.
