propagating bridal wreath and smoke bush

What are some effective ways of getting rooted cuttings of bridal wreath and smoke bush?

I have rooted bridal wreath in the house in winter with small dormant cuttings less than 1/8 inch around. I just use 4 inch pots crowded with short cuttings. I use regular potting soil, rooting powder and all watering is with peroxide solution. I try to put two nodes in the soil and at least one above. They root easily and I repot after a couple of months. This works with many shrubs and trees. When the cuttings start leafing out you can do a gentle tug and if there is resistance there are roots

Hey Twiggybuds, thanks for your quick reply to my query. I've had a lot of luck with forsythia, but never with spirea or bridal wreath.
Are you suggisting woody cuttings 1/8 in thick or 1/8 in around?
How long are the cuttings?
What is the peroxide solution?
I hope I'm not asking too much.

Whatever you do with forsythia should also work for these. I just take a small woody limb or twig that is dormant but hasn't been frozen and cut them up to allow 2 nodes in the soil and one or two above. It ends up varying lengths usually between 4 to 6 inches long. I crowd them 10 or more in a 4 inch pot on the theory that too many is better than not enough and to save my limited space in the house. If your air is dry you can put a plastic bag over the pot to create greenhouse conditions. After most start putting on new growth I pluck out the duds. Sometimes I just leave them in the pot until spring to save space. Extras of anything make for trading and making new friends here at DG.

I haven't learned to do a hyperlink yet so look on the nearby thread concerning sprouting daylily seeds to learn about peroxide water. I got it from this forum and highly recommend it. I've used it for almost a year with fantastic results. It's great for sprouting many kinds of seeds, rooting and for watering houseplants. It almost eliminates the problems associated with overwatering, rot, damping off and fungus. I keep two jugs of peroxide water made up. One has liquid fertilizer added.

Good luck.

I checked in both the daylilly and propagation forums for the peroxide solution, but there are just too many posts to go thru. Does anyone have the recipe? Thanks. Susan

Susan there have been varying amounts of hydrogen peroxide to a gallon of water mentioned. I don't measure, but it probably works out to 5 or 6 tablespoons. My post above is almost a year old and I have continued to have good luck with it. It did occur to me that since I live in the country without clorinated community water that the peroxide might be even more important to my results. The additional very important things are good drainage, sufficient light and plastic tents for humidity until roots form. Good Luck.

Twiggybuds, Thanks for the information.

Twiggybuds: How much fertilizer do you use when rooting? I had thought we should use none.

I never use fertilizer on anything until new growth indicates it has rooted and then just half strength liquid food at first. When several new leaves are really growing it can get off the baby food. Often space is limited and I want new plants to develop roots but not get big so I deliberately keep them on a diet until a couple weeks before moving outside.

Thanks! That is helpful. Do you just use the regular drug store hydrogen peroxide for the water?

Yes just whatever is on sale. Mix a batch you can use in a few days or store in dark place because light degrades hp. Good luck.