Propagating Sweet box?

How would I go about doing that?? Does anybody have an idea??

I got a cutting (well, filched a cutting) from a Home Gardener's course I was at yesterday. The lecturer passed around a few cuttings to demonstrate fragent plants in the garden and it just smelled SOOOOOOO good - and since I was in the back and the cutting ended up with me.... (maybe I should be posting this in seed snatching ! LOL!)

SO I brought it home and stuck it in one of my window rooters and the little stem perked right up- which gives me hope. There are a bunch of buds on it- like early rose growth. Think I could propgate like a rose? Any feedback would be great!

Heather

Keep the soil damp at all times. You can enclose the cutting in the pot by covering with a piece of plastic making sure the plastic does not touch the cutting. a bend wire hanger can be helpful holding the plastic above the cutting. Wrap a rubberband around the plastic to hold it to the pot. Open the plastic every few days. Keep out of direct sunlight, but keep warm.

The development of buds are fine.. they usually develop into new leaves which is what you want. But avoid letting the cutting go into flower. Make sure you disbud any flower buds, but wait until later to do this to make sure you know what the buds are.

Buds and leaves may develop long before roots, so don't be in a hurry to remove from the plastic covered pot. Instead give it plenty of time, and in a few weeks, gently tuck on it to see if it has rooted. If it comes out easily, it has not.

You do not want to make a "sweat box" but instead a tent with high humidity. Temperatures should be warm but not hot. 70-75 F is ideal soil temperatures for most cuttings.

Hey there! I'll give it a shot. Try covering the whole plant & pot with a mini terrarium made out of a 2 liter clear plastic soda pop bottle with the neck cut off. This works for me and I am almost a pure cuttings guy. Actually I cut the tops off at just above the line running around the neck, where the neck meets the body of the bottle. First my cutting is dipped in root hormone. Then I place it into a pencil hole made into the dirt of a 4" common plastic pot. I put a little water in the pot holder. Then I take the 2 litter bottle with the neck cut off & invert it then place it into the 4" pot (it will fit snugly and stay put.) Walla...a mini terrarium that will keep the moisture in to prevent the leaves and stalk from drying out. This gives the cutting a better chance to grow roots. Keep it in the light, but not in direct sun. You should see humidity form around the inside of the bottle. Something else I do is if it's a green stalk, I use potting mix as the soil. This will absorb water and keep the green cutting moist. If it's a hard stalk I use dirt vs the potting mix. I don't want the hard stalk to rot. Sometimes it helps to scratch the hard surface of the stalk before dipping into rooting hormone. This works very good when making cuttings from Hibiscus or similar plants.
Art

Thanks sooo much!! Kenneth- I get so much great info from you! And Art- it just so happens my daughter's got a big bottle of juice that we will be finishing up later today- can you guess what is going in it??

There were already flowers on it so I know what they look like and I will remove them before I plant it.

Can I keep it on my heat table? It has Florecent lights for my seedlings though.

Heather

Hi Again. On keeping it on the heat table, not sure. Down here it gets hot. Keeping plants in pots is a chore. Daily watering all year round or they will dry out. If you get humidity inside the plastic you won't have to worry about watering at all. I would go with your regular routine since it's something you are familar with, but keep an eye on it. The humidity can be a problem if you don't pay attention. It can easily cause mold & rot. I am on my plants in the cutting area three or four times a day and sometimes with the heat, that's not enough.
Art