Vegetative Plant Propagation

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Vegetative Plant Propagation

• Master Gardener Training

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What is Plant Propagation

• Plant propagation is the process of artificially
  or naturally propagating (distributing or
  spreading) plants

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Vegetative Propagation

• Vegetative propagation methods include
• Cuttings
• Layering
• Division
• Grafting and budding
• Tissue culture

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Propagation

• of plants by Cuttings

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Cuttings

• Cuttings involve removing a piece from the parent
  plant and that piece then regrows the lost parts
  or tissues.
• New plants can be grown from parts of plants
  because each living plant cell contains the
  ability to duplicate all plant parts and
  functions.

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Stock Plants

• The parent plants used in asexual propagation.
• Herbaceous cuttings
• Softwood cuttings
• Hardwood cuttings
• Other forms of cuttings are leaf cuttings and
  root cuttings

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Stock Plants (contd.)

• High humidity, indirect light and soil
  temperatures of 70 to 80 degrees F are best for
  most cuttings

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Trademarks

• Trademarked plants may be marked by the symbols -
  and .
• Trademarks remain in effect for 10 years and may
  be renewed indefinitely in 10- year increments
• Propagation of trademarked plants may be done
  asexually by taking cuttings
• You can use the cultivar name but cannot use the
  trademarked name such as Wave Petunias

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Trademarks

• Rosa 'Korlanum' is marketed under three different
  trademark names, each owned by a different
  company, SurreyTM, SommerwindTM, and Vente
  D'eteTM.

Vente Dete
Summer Wind
Surrey
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Plant Patents

• Propagation of patented plants in any way, shape
  or form without the owner's permission or until
  the patent term has expired, is strictly
  prohibited by federal law.
• Patents are for 17 or 20 years and are not
  renewable.
• Website with more plant patent details than you
  could need
• http//www.uspto.gov/web/offices/pac/plant/

Jack Frost Brunnera
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Cercis Ruby Falls (USPP 22097)

• List of plant patents held and applied for by
  Plant Haven
• http//www.planthaven.com/pdfs/planthavenpatentlis
  t.pdf

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Types of Cuttings

• Leaf cuttings
• Root cuttings
• Herbaceous stem cuttings
• Softwood cuttings
• Semi-hardwood cuttings
• Hardwood cuttings

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Leaf Cuttings

• Plants that can be propagated using leaf cuttings
  
• include African violets, begonias, sedum, jade
  and Peperomia.

Crassula streyi Jade plant
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Root Formation on Leaf Cuttings

• Leaf Cuttings
• Must initiate both a new root and a new shoot
  system

(Auxin)
(Cytokynins)
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Chimera

• Cells of more than one genotype (genetic makeup)
  are found growing adjacent in the tissues of that
  plant

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Types Stem Cuttings

• Herbaceous
• Softwood
• Semi-Hardwood (greenwood)
• Hardwood
• Deciduous
• Narrowleaf evergreen
• Broadleaf evergreen

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Stem Cuttings

• Houseplants
• Callus
• No flower buds
• Cutting 2-4 inches long with 2-3 leaves
• Remove lower leaves (not needed in media)
• Poke hole in media/prevents shifting of hormone
• Rooting hormone (auxin) in powder or liquid form
• Plastic Tent/Indirect light

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Stem Cuttings (contd.)
Preparing the cutting
Planting the cutting
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Herbaceous Cuttings

• Made from non-woody, herbaceous plants
• Herbaceous perennials, annuals
• 3 to 5 piece of stem is cut from the parent
  plant
• Leaves on the lower one-third to one-half of the
  stem are removed
• High percentage of the cuttings root, and they do
  so quickly.

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Softwood Cuttings

• Softwood cuttings are taken from first-year
  branches
• Late spring/early summer
• Emerging shoots
• However not so green that it wilts immediately
  after being cut
• Use diagonal cut
• Make cuttings 2 - 5 long with several nodes
• Cuts slightly below a leaf node

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Softwood Cuttings

• Rooting time may vary from 7-10 days to 3-5
  weeks or more depending on genus
• Tug test
• Reduce mist after rooting to prevent rot

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Semi-Hardwood Cuttings

• Broadleaf and needled evergreens, deciduous
  trees/shrubs
• Time varies based on cutting type
• 3-6 long

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Semi-Hardwood Cuttings
Type of Cutting Best Time to Cut
Broadleaf Evergreens Mid-July to early September
Deciduous Summer
Needled Evergreens September into Winter

• Most needled evergreens benefit from cold
  temperatures

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Hardwood Cuttings

• Types

• Deciduous
• Lost leaves Oct./Nov. and carry through to late
  winter
• Last seasons growth
• 6-20 long
• See methods to right
• Bottom heat beneficial
• Broadleaf Evergreen
• Jan. - March
• Needled Evergreen
• Late fall and winter greenhouse conditions
• 4-8 long

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Hardwood Cuttings
Hardwood cutting
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Hardwood Cuttings

• Manipulation

• Bottom heat
• Plastic Bag
• Winter treatment
• Warm temperature
• Outdoor ground beds
• w/bottom heat

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Hardwood Cuttings Winter Treatment

• Cuts at a slant, 5 to 12 inches long
• Treat with rooting hormone
• Bundle together buried outside or in suitable
  structure with tops down in sand/sawdust or soil
  level
• Callus
• In spring, plant cuttings in a hotbed or other
  protected site with morning sun exposure or
  filtered light.
• Keep cuttings moist until a root system forms

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Root Formation on Leaf-Bud, Herbaceous, Softwood
and Hardwood Cuttings

• Only necessary that a new adventitious root
  system be formed
• Shoot system is already present

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Root Cuttings

• Take cuttings from newer root growth
• Dormant season (Dec.-March)
• Younger plants/closer to main stems/trunk
  better rooting
• Roots can be dug, cleaned, fungicided and
  stored
• Must retain polarity while storing
• Closest to stem (proximal) straight cut and
  planted upright
• Distal End Slanted cut

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Root Cuttings

• Store cuttings for 3 weeks in moist rooting
  medium at 40 degrees F.
• Remove from storage and plant upright in the
  growing medium or horizontally in flats covered
  with ½ of medium
• Bottom heat may prove beneficial

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Root Cuttings

• If root cuttings are taken during active growth,
  skip the storage period and place cuttings
  directly in the rooting medium.
• For smaller plants, take 1- to 2-inch sections
  and place cuttings horizontally a half inch below
  the surface of the rooting medium.

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Root Formation in Root Cuttings

• Must initiate both a new shoot system from an
  adventitious bud as well as adventitious roots
• Used to propagate plants that naturally produce
  suckers (new shoots) from their roots
• Naturally free of foliar pests or nematodes

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Plants that can be propagated by root cuttings

• Acanthus mollis
• Amsonia
• Brugmansia
• Chaenomeles speciosa\
• Cornus stolonifera
• Dicentra species
• Echinops
• Epimedium
• Ficus carica
• Geranium spp.
• Hydrangea spp.
• Malus spp.
• Phlox spp.
• Populus alba
• Rhus spp.
• Rosa spp.
• Syringa vulgaris

•                

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Layering

• Layering causes roots to develop on shoots that
  are still attached to the parent plant.
• The stem is not cut from the main plant until it
  has rooted.
• Simple layering is done by bending a branch to
  the ground and burying a portion of it while the
  tip remains uncovered.
• Treatment with rooting hormone is helpful.

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Layering, continued

• Layering is done in early spring while plants are
  still dormant or in late summer on wood that has
  not become woody.
• Other types of layering include compound, trench
  and mound layering.

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Air Layering

• Air layering can be used to propagate large,
  overgrown house plants such as rubber plants.
• Woody ornamentals such as azalea, camellia,
  magnolia, oleander, and holly can also be
  propagated by air layering.

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Air Layering, continued

• For optimum rooting, make air layers in the
  spring on shoots produced during the previous
  season or in mid to late summer on shoots from
  the current seasons growth.
• For woody plants, stems of pencil size diameter
  or larger are best.
• Choose an area just below a node and remove
  leaves and twigs on the stem 3 to 4 inches above
  and below this point.

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Air Layering, continued

• With a sharp knife, make two parallel cuts about
  an inch apart around the stem and through the
  bark and cambium layer.
• Connect the two parallel cuts with one long cut
  and remove the ring of bark, leaving the inner
  woody tissue exposed.
• Scrape the newly bared ring to remove the cambial
  tissue to prevent a bridge of callus tissue from
  forming.

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Air Layering, continued

• Surround the wound with moist, unmilled sphagnum
  moss (about a handful) that has been soaked in
  water and squeezed to remove excess moisture.
• Wrap the moss with plastic and hold in place with
  twist ties or electricians tape.
• Fasten each end of the plastic securely, to
  retain moisture and to prevent water from
  entering.
• After the rooting medium is filled with roots,
  sever the stem below the medium and pot the
  layer.

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Division

• Division is the cutting or breaking up of a crown
  or clump of suckers into segments.
• Each segment must have a bud and some roots.
• These segments are replanted and grow into new
  plants identical to the parent.

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Division

• Most perennials should be lifted and divided when
  they become overgrown and begin to lose vigor.
• Vigorous growth in most perennials occurs on the
  outer segments of the clump.
• Carefully dig the plant, loosening the roots and
  lifting the plant from the soil.
• Split apart the main clump with two spades or
  forks or chop with a shovel or hatchet if the
  clump is firmly massed.

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Division

• In some cases outside segments of the plant can
  be removed and replanted without disturbing the
  rest of the plant.
• A good rule of thumb is to divide fall-flowering
  perennials in spring and spring- and
  summer-flowering perennials in fall.

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Bulbs and Corms

• Bulbs can be propagated by removing small
  bulblets or offsets that form at the base of the
  parent bulb.
• These small bulbs take 2 or 3 years to mature
  into plants that flower.
• Many lilies can be multiplied by removing scales
  from the mature bulb.

Corm (Crocus)
Bulb (Tulips)
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Bulbs and Corms

• Place offsets in rich, light soil for their
  development, and this same procedure should be
  followed for plants which form from corms, such
  as gladiolus.
• Dust the scale with a fungicide and place, base
  end down, in a moist growing medium in a warm,
  protected area. Bulblets will form at the base of
  the scale.
• In 1 to 4 years these bulblets will grow and be
  ready to flower.

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Tubers and Rhizomes

• Tuberous plants can be dug up and the tubers
  separated.
• In separating the tubers, each must have a
  segment of the crown that contains at least one
  eye or bud.
• Rhizomes grow and develop buds along their
  length.
• The rhizomes can be dug and cut into sections
  that each contain at least one eye or bud.

Rhizomes
Tubers
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Grafting

• Grafting involves the joining of different
  segments of two different plants of the same
  species.
• Grafting is usually done in the spring and
  involves collecting small branches called scion
  wood
• In grafting, the cambium layers of the two
  different segments are aligned and grow together.

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Grafting (contd.)

• Grafting allows gardeners to produce plants
  identical to a parent plant.
• It also allows growers to control size and shape
  of a tree or shrub.
• On the negative side, some grafting attempts will
  be rejected.
• Some grafted trees or plants produce large
  numbers of suckers which can crowd out the
  desired plant or tree and are unsightly.

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Budding or Bud Grafting

• Bud grafting is faster, easier and less messy
  than other forms of grafting. Cambium layers do
  not need to be aligned.
• Bud grafting is done from early July through
  early August.
• This method uses a newly developed latent bud,
  taken from under a live leaf.

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Micropropagation or Tissue Culture

• Each plant cell has the potential to grow into a
  new plant exactly like the parent.
• In tissue culture, individual or small groups of
  plant cells are manipulated so they each produce
  a new plant.
• A tiny piece of bud, leaf or stem can produce
  incredible numbers of new plants in a small space
  in a short time.

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Micropropagation or Tissue Culture

• The advantages of tissue culture, in addition to
  speed and efficiency of propagation, include
  production of disease-free plants and new plants
  can be made available to the public more quickly
  because of tissue culture.
• Absolutely sterile conditions must be maintained,
  and temperature, light, humidity and atmosphere
  are strictly controlled with electronic sensors
  and computerized controls.

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Questions?