Note: In this lab exercise, you will learn procedures for propagating some deciduous hardwood trees by cutting. Turn in the lab report by April 7, 1999.

I. Introduction
        Most hardy shrubs and many deciduous trees can be grown from cuttings. This is an easy and inexpensive method of reproducing new plants that are identical to the parent from which they were taken. Cuttings may be made any time during the dormant season, preferably after the rest period has been satisfied but before any bud swelling occurs. If cuttings are taken during late fall or during the winter, they should be stored in moist peat at 40 ^oF (4 ^oC) or in an outside sand pit. If cuttings are taken in late winter or early spring, they should be placed in moist peat at 70 ^oF (21 ^oC) until the bases show white calluses (5-15 days). Then, treat with IBA or NAA and plant directly in the field or hold in peat at 45 ^oF (7 ^oC) until planted.
        Hardwood cuttings should be prepared from last season's wood. The wood should be cut into 4"-8" lengths excluding immature tips and the thick-based portion of each branch. Because of the polarity within each cutting, it is essential that all tops be placed together and planted in an upright position. The base of the cuttings should be just below a node and the top should be just above a node. Each should include at least 3 nodes. A diagonal or sloping basal cut may help you in identifying the polarity of the cuttings prepared. Treating the bases of hardwood cuttings with hormones may increase the number of roots formed or the rate of root formation. However, rooting of many woody plants are not influenced by hormone treatment. Hardwood cuttings can be planted directly into the field in early spring. A slit row should be made to enable the planter to easily insert the cuttings into the soil. At least one bud should remain above ground. After being in the cutting nursery for one to two years, they may be lifted and sold or replanted. Rooted hardwood cuttings may also be potted and placed in the greenhouse in very early spring and later moved outside. A light potting mix should be used and the cuttings should remain in the container only one year.
        The rooting ability of hardwood cuttings differs widely. In the genus Cornus, the red-twigged dogwood roots most readily while the flowering dogwood does not root at all. Various clones within certain species root from 0 percent to 100 percent. Plants which root reasonably well from hardwood cuttings are: poplar, willow, plane tree, eleagnus, black locust, osage orange, rose, grape, redleaf plum, currant, gooseberry, quince, elderberry, forsythia, spirea, hydrangea, philodendron, viburnum, bittersweet, deutzia, dogwood, weigela, privet, honeysuckle, caragana, snowberry, barberry, tamarix, euonymus, hibiscus.

II. Procedures

           Plant Materials:

1. Cornus sericea `Cardinal' (Red-Twig Dogwood)
2. Euonymus bungeana (Winterberry Euonymus)
3. Forsythia x 'Northern Gold' (Northern Gold Forsythia)
4. Physocarpus bracteatus 'Aureus' (Golden Twinpod Ninebark)
5. Populus deltoides (Eastern Cottonwood)
6. Salix purpurea 'Gracilis' (Slender Purple Osier Willow)

A. Influence of Growth Regulators

1. Prepare 100 cuttings from one species of your choice.
2. Treat the cuttings with the following growth regulator series:

3. Stick the cuttings into the rooting medium containing 50% peat and 50% perlite.
4. Make observations of cuttings for signs of callusing and eventual rooting as before.

B. Influence of Bottom Heat and Reverse Polarity

1. Make 40 stem cuttings of a species of your choice.
2. Use 4000 ppm IBA solution as rooting hormone.
3. Use two separate trays filled with a rooting medium containing 50% peat and 50% perlite: one for bottom heat, the other for no bottom heat.
4. In each tray, stick one-half of the cuttings (10 cuttings) upright, the other half upside down (treat growth regulator at the `sticking' end).
5. Place one try on the bottom-heated bench and the other without bottom heat and score the rooting of each treatment.

Using the data sheet, record the rooting in each treatment. Average the scores and discuss the outcome of your experiment. Write a lab report summarizing your data.

Write a report (less than 3 pages) summarizing your findings. The report should have the following format:

a. Title and Your Name
b. Abstract
        - A brief summary of findings
c. Introduction
        - One or two paragraphs
        - Importance and objectives of the experiment
d. Materials and Methods
        - Plant, soil and other materials used
        - How the experiment was run
e. Results and Discussion
        - Data on rooting percentages and their comparisons
        - Discussions and comments on your findings
f. References
        - List literature if cited

Table 1. Effect of plant age on rooting of cuttings. It was found by chance that cuttings of apple taken from one-year-old seedlings rooted very readily. Comparisons of different aged plants were then made with other species. Some of the results were as follows:

            Source: Gardner, F.E. 1930. The relationship between tree age and the rooting of cuttings. Proc. Amer. Soc. Hort.
                          Sci.26:101-104.

The author noted that not only were a greater number of cuttings rooted from younger plants but that the time required for roots to occur was much shorter. He also observed "that if one-year-old apple seedlings are cut back to the ground, the growth of the second year can then be rooted and in some cases even more readily than that of the first year." Cuttings from apple varieties grown one year from an inserted bud (one-year nursery trees) failed to root. The suggested seed influence was tested by treating cuttings from older trees with extracts from germinating seeds. These cuttings also failed to root.

            Plant species ________________________

            Date examined ________________________
 

PLSC 368 Plant Propagation
Cutting Propagation Lab 1- Hardwood Cuttings

Preparations Needed

1. Plant Materials

1. Cornus sericea (Red-Twig Dogwood)
2. Viburnum trilobum (American Cranberrybush Viburnum)
3. Viburnum trilobum `Bailey Compact' (Bailey Compact American Cranberrybush)
4. Eleagnus angustifolia (Russian Olive)
5. Populus alba (White Poplar)
6. Salix pentandra (Laurel Willow)
7. Salix purpurea `Gracilis' (Slender Purple Osier Willow)
8. Ribes alpinum (Alpine Current)
9. Forsythia x `Meadowlark'
10. Lonicera hybrid (Hybrid Honeysuckle)

1) Commercial rooting powders
    Check to see if we have all powder formulations)
2) IBA solutions
    Prepare IBA solutions (in 50% ethanol) in 300 ml bottles
    (Dissolve IBA in 100% ethanol, and then dilute to 50%)
3) NAA solutions
    Prepare NAA solutions in ethanol or NaOH, then dilute with water.
4) Also prepare control (water) solutions.
    All growth regulator solutions must be kept in brown bottles or wrapped in aluminum foils. Store the bottles in the refrigerator until use.
5) Buy or get about 50 styrofoam cups to small aliquots of growth regulator solutions during the lab period.

          3. Supplies and Tools

1) Pruning shears (20 pairs)
2) Plastic labels (one box)
3) Sharpee pens (5-6, or a box)
4) Rooting medium
    A 50% perlite: 50% peat mixture (about 2 ft³)
5) Trays and cell packs
    About 20 trays and 20 cell pack trays.
6) Other supplies: paper towels, etc.