Azaleas from cuttings?

Good afternoon, all! I'm planning to dive extremely deeply into my azaleas after they've spent their last blossoms, cutting them back drastically! While I wholly approve of plants as a cover for a home's foundation, these particular shrubs were planted way too close to the foundation, and are such aggressive growers I'd much rather they be elsewhere. As they've been here longer than our six years, you can imagine how huge they are (I missed pruning the past two years). I'd like to move them, but I'm afraid that would not be an option due to the size of the root system, and the health of the owners. SO .... I hope it would be possible to start new plants from the woody cuttings. I know of no better source of deep knowledge and patient guidance than you lovely ladies and gentlemen here, at DG. They are truly beautiful plants, and I eagerly welcome your suggestions with open heart and arms!!

It has been quite some time since I last grew some azaleas from cuttings. There should be many excellent websites that offer great advice on when and how to do cuttings. Start with some good potting media (peat moss/perlite), clean pots, clean cutters. You should take cuttings after flowering and the stems are semi-woody (not wood but not green either). Keep your cuttings cool and hydrated until you can "stick" them in the pot. Rooting hormone would probably be beneficial as well. Keep the pot in filtered light. Don't let the soil dry out but don't make it soggy wet either. Cover with plastic to keep the humidity up until the cuttings can stand on their own. Air layering works pretty good too. If you want to move the plant it can be done as well. Fall would be a better time to do it though. You can cut azaleas back pretty hard and they will rebound with vigor. We've cut six foot azaleas to 18 inches and have them back to six feet in 3 to 4 years only to repeat it again at least twice more.

Oh my goodness, you've given me MUCH more information than I've hoped for! If I can cut them back as hard as you say, I can keep them in their current location, as they truly are pretty where they were initially planted! Thank you so much for your wonderful help; I'll soon have a wonderful abundance of azaleas and keep the parents where they are now as well! You are a great help, HC McDole! Thank you deeply!

I'm watching..but can say that when I have cut azaleas back hard, they would grow well on old wood.

Sometimes they just need to be trimmed back hard for jobs around the house such as painting and sometimes just to rejuvenate them due to their size.

I know many people are adept at rooting azaleas from cuttings (Terp can chime in here), but I have had zero success. On the other hand, I have had essentially 100% success doing a very lazy layering: Take a low-growing stem, push it to the ground, put a heavy rock or brick on the stem (being careful not to cover the tip of the stem), and go away. Forget about it. Return one year later. The stem will have rooted under the rock/brick. Cut the tip off (along with the new roots, obviously). It is best to put this baby in a pot of good soil and leave it for a year -- but not essential. If you don't pot it up first, be very attentive to keep your new plant well-watered for the next few years -- it is easy to lose these babies if they dry out. And of course, as with all azaleas, do not plant them deep.

Thanks Happy. Azaleas you can cut them back very hard, to the ground. They bounce back with little care and the occasional watering.

Here are some references for Rhodos articles: http://www.rhododendron.org/articles.htm

And this is the method that most prefer in the ARS and I use http://www.rhododendron.org/v48n4p201.htm

That should be all you need for success.

Note to all: There is an azalea nursery in Germantown, Maryland that has bin azaleas for $5 and hundreds of varieties at rock bottom prices. Deciduous. Evergreen and Natives. Take a look at his list online, he is a personal friend and a great person. If you go and you should to at least see what is in bloom tell him Paul sent you.

http://www.whites-nursery.com/
White's Nursery
22529 Wildcat Road
Germantown, MD 20876


Good luck

Paul: Do you end up needing to spray with benomyl or a similar fungicide? My recollection of my failed attempts is that the cuttings got moldy.

Do you use peat moss? I try not to use it because of environmental concerns and wonder if pine bark fines or something else could be substituted.

What time of year are you most successful taking the cuttings? I had always heard that around the 4th of July was the right time for our climate.

I know some people are successful sticking fresh cuttings into good dirt in a shady area outside and putting a glass jar over them -- have you tried that?

Where do you place your cuttings inside? Under lights?

Thanks for the reminder about White's, Paul; I had forgotten. What do you mean by "bin" azaleas? Are they named cultivars? I could easily use 20 for the back of my yard, but I am a bit fussy about the look. I don't much like the ones that you see all over town that are a kind of brick-ish to rose red and covered with blooms. I like the Glendale ones a lot....

This message was edited Apr 15, 2013 8:47 AM

Barb: By the way, the only problem with my layering method is that you will find it makes a lovely effect -- you will get drifts or waterfalls of azaleas, and you won't want to cut of the rooted pieces....

Just to add that Happy's method can be done into a pot as well as the ground, and the pot raised up enough to reach the branch!

Wind (Diana) is using the soda bottle method to propagate some figs. Might work for other plants, too.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2c3zTPd3EA

lol Happy! That cascading effect is nice, isn't it!

I so love it, Coleup. I find azaleas in bloom to be breathtaking. I never get used to it!

I like the soda bottle method -- EXCEPT that you have to water it several times a week. I'd never remember to do that consistently....

This message was edited Apr 15, 2013 12:38 PM

Wonderful -- I'll definitely go -- probably several times over the course of the bloom season (which I guess is already underway - at least my earliest bloomer is in bloom now -- a mid-lavender). I'll try to hit it this weekend. Let me know, any of you, if you want me to pick up anything for you or make it an outing.

Yeah, definitely. They have already started blooming!! The deciduous are just starting to leaf out, they'll be spectacular. Tina's Whorled is about to bust loose, grows to be 2 feet in 10 years!! http://www.rhododendron.org/images/roy/TinasWhorled.jpg

We have two deciduous -- they are knock-outs! I never thought of propagating them -- I don't know why it didn't occur to me. I'll try this year.

Oh yeah they are gorgeous!! And there are so many varieties of them, and there are even FRAGRANT deciduous azaleas.

I would definitely air-layer them. They are much harder to do than evergreen azaleas

Many thanks to all of you. Terp, I've got your links safely tucked away in a folder for use when we get the pruning done.

Happy, you wrote: "Do you use peat moss? I try not to use it because of environmental concerns and wonder if pine bark fines or something else could be substituted."
What environmental concerns are there with peat moss? I have used it a lot, and generally have 1-2 bales on hand. If it's not a good thing, I don't want to be using it!

It is just that peat moss is a limited resource -- see, for example, http://www.naturallifemagazine.com/0712/asknlpeat.html. This site, http://flrec.ifas.ufl.edu/Hort/Environmental/Media_Nutrition/COIR%20potential.htm, says "As a product of wetland ecosystems, both sphagnum and sedge peat can't really be considered renewable resources at the level at which they are harvested from bogs and swamps to satisfy horticultural demand, despite claims made to the contrary by some industry representatives. Sedge peat (called "Florida peat" in that state), the less expensive of the two peats, is notorious for inconsistency in pH and quality. Sedge peat also has a tendency to breakdown quickly and sometimes loses volume after wetting. The superior (and much more expensive) sphagnum peat has shown wide swings in both price and availability in the last decade. Consequently, a high quality peat alternative that is consistently available and also satisfies heightened environmental concerns would be a "natural" in the marketplace. But can coir dust grow plants comparable in quality to sedge and sphagnum peat?"

But see this: http://journeytoforever.org/compost_peatmoss.html-- it claims that Canadian sphagnum peat moss is not threatened.

I don't know what the true answer is -- I have just avoided it. I just use pine bark instead as a soil conditioner -- the Kambark branch (which Meadows Farms carries for $4 a bag) contains quite small pieces. Plus I have a huge compost pile. I also use Tapla's soil mix for containers.

BTW, I don't like coir very much -- when it dries, it becomes crusty.

This message was edited Apr 16, 2013 3:49 PM

Ah, you're so wise; thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I'll read the links you have provided, and further expand my own.
You know, I've never even heard of coir until you guys were discussing it earlier last month! :o) Oh, the vast information gleaned from DG!

Terp -- how do you label your azaleas? I'm worried that if I use a plastic locking label on the base, it'll girdle the plant eventually and I won't notice and the plant will die. If I just hang a tag on a branch, it'll break off. If I put a marker on the ground (which is what I do with perennials), it'll get kicked away over the years.

Happy. I have no system. Some have ground markers, some I just remember distinctly, and most I have no clue. I believe the preferred method is using the aluminum tags on the plant.

http://www.gemplers.com/product/T800/Aluminum-Marking-Tags-Box-of-100

Ok, I'm going to buy some. Anyone else want a box? Shipping is cheaper if we buy in bulk. Just let me know -- I'll order in a few days. I'll post this on the swap thread as well.

Devon,

I would love a box. Im not sure why I don't have one already

Got you down for one box.

Terp: Mike White said that these are the strongest markers he has used: http://www.amekron.com/nproducts.html. They work out to 14 cents each, delivered, with a minimum order of 500 (which is fine). He said that all the other brands he has used are inferior in terms of their weight and longevity. I didn't think to ask him if he had used the Gempler markers - those work out to 22 cents each, delivered, if we buy at least 300. So based on Mike's recommendation, I'm leaning towards the amekron. Thoughts? I'm happy to buy 400. I just want them to be really really long-lasting.

BTW, Mike said to NOT use the wires that come with the markers to tie the markers to the shrubs. He said that in his experience, they damage the shrubs -- maybe because of the way they conduct heat/cold. He recommends using telephone wire.

Also, Mike said I was taking azalea cuttings too early -- I had always heard to take cuttings on July 4 weekend. He said to wait until August/September -- to use only 3-4" cuttings, from new growth, taken when the cutting is firm enough that it will snap.

Wow. He was very helpful.

Well--that is good info.
That is why my 3 have not "taken"--even if they feel totally rooted in.
Don't remember when I pulled them up. They were NOT cuttings--but already rooted pieces.

What will you do with the one you took, Paul? Mine are still sitting there--all naked....
G.

Just sit and wait, I guess.

Terp -- are you ok with the Amedron markers, which Mike endorsed, or do you think the Gempler ones are better?

I would say we go with his suggestion. I can't afford to buy anymore than 100 though right now.

These actually cost less than they ones you had suggested. I'm fine buying 500, so you can have whatever portion you want. I just wanted to be sure you didn't have reason to think the Gemplers ones were superior.

Sounds good.

Went to my local Farmers Market just before it closed for the day. Very surprised to find table and tables of of over 50 varieties of azaleas and Rhodies all from area gardens and blooming now. This is the first time the Potomac Vally chapter of Amer Rhod Soc local members did a 'show' but bouyed by the response are considering coming back with more plants for sale and more blooms since blooming azalea season is 4 mos. or longer round here.

As they were closing up, I was offered the opportunity to take home a bouquet of my favorite blooms and invited to a member's garden! Pics below.

How much do I wish I could 'propagate' each one from these 'cuttings'!!!!! Native desiduous are spectacular. Unusual narrow leaves on #2

Another link from The Azalea Society on propagation methods:
http://azaleas.org/index.pl/azpropagate.html

wow cool. As soon as those blossoms dry up. I'd clean them up and jam them in moist pots. Who knows....

You can send cuttings to this nursery and they will root them for you. $3/each including shipping. You only pay for successful rootings.

http://www.vanveennursery.com/
http://www.vanveennursery.com/Custom_Propagation.html