Michigan Gardening: Propagation of shrubs, 1 by penth2o

penth2o wrote:
Hi Folks,
I want to make sure I have this right before I whack all my forsythia’s for propagating.
I cut about 6 inches off, strip the lower four leaf sections, remove the bark/skin about an inch from the bottom, pour rooting compound on the stripped section & plant them in a loose soil.

If that is right my next questions:
1: Do I cut them from my new shoots or the older branches?

2: Can I cut the new shoot down 6 inches and cut another 6 below & continue on to get two or more from one shoot or do you only use the top portion with the tip of the shoot.

3: I have older ones that I transplanted. They got chowed but this year a bunch of new little leaves came out on them. They don’t have new long shoots like my other ones do. These have thick stems and branches. Should I cut these down to 2 ft to start over and can I use the pieces I cut off with the thick stems to root somehow?

4: Would it be best to plant them right in the ground or put them in a cold/hot frame I’m building & keep them over winter to get bigger then plant them in the ground.

Same with the common lilac. Can I sever off shoots from the bottom of older big lilac shrubs and put rooting compound on the severed part & plant them. Some of these shoots are four feet high. Do I cut them down to 2 ft when I sever them.

Thanks again folks.

Joel.