Summer Cuttings

July is a good month to take summer cuttings, especially when it is cool and wet as it has been for the past week. It is this year's new shoots that are used as cuttings. Summer cuttings usually also called halvförvedade cuttings, because the annual shoots in July and first half of August, woody only at the bottom and green and soft in general.

Unlike winter cuttings is summer cuttings are not in resting, but continues to perspire and be active when they have cut off the mother plant, which makes it a little trickier to handle them.

The cuttings are then after the initial strong growth period in the spring and early summer. Viewing to the base of the shoots must be slightly woody, it is easy to feel the difference between soft, still herbaceous shoots and halvförvedade shots. The cuttings are taken from straight shots that do not bloom, and from the sunlit side of the mother plant. Because the cuttings are so active this time of year, they need to be taken care of at once, otherwise they dry out easily.

A good length of the cuttings are 7-15 cm. The lower section is directly below a blade mounting and all the leaves on the lower half of the cutting are removed. For many cuttings increases rothormon chances considerably to succeed. Manufactured rothormon use in commerce to increase sticklingars tendency to root, but it is easy to manufacture completely harmless rothormon home in the kitchen. What to do:

1. Remove the leaves from the shoots of some willow (Sallow, empty, pil) and cut it into 1-2cm large pieces.
2. Pour in 1 liters of water and let stand for 24 hours.
3. Dip the cuttings in the fluid in 1-2 hours before they are put in the ground.

The liquid can be frozen and then get almost unlimited durability.

This process triggers a plant hormone called indolebutyric acid (IBA) which are plentiful in Salix and which is the same hormone used in the commercial products (albeit at higher concentrations).

The soil used need both contain much air and be moisture-holding. A proven mixture consists of two parts vermiculite and some seed compost or peat. One may also use instead of sand, vermiculite.

Because the cuttings dry out so easily, it is important to maintain a steady humidity, Please close 100% if it goes. One way to achieve this is the timber a plastic bag over each pot. Self, I used a kind of mini-greenhouse to accommodate all the cuttings. Where spurts I entered the water a few times a day with a spray bottle.

The plants should not be exposed to direct sunlight, 70-80% Shading is good. The cuttings root best at 18-24 ° C and it will take between four and twelve weeks before they are gathered (or withered, which unfortunately happens quite often with summer cuttings).

First winter it is advisable to overwinter cuttings under protection, t.ex. in a greenhouse or in a cellar. The next year, they can be planted out.

The table below shows which plants are suitable for cuttings this time of year:

T = S = early late
"Lug" means to allow a small heel of the last years scorch remain at the base of the cutting.

Literature

Crawford, Martin (1998). Greenwood Cuttings, Agroforestry News, Vol. 6, No. 4.
Crawford, Martin (2010). Creating a forest garden.
Jagne, Ingela (2006). Förkning of the garden all the plants.