Re: Cheryopteris, Weigela, Lilac, Japanese Maple...

Hi, just joined the group. We sold our house last January. Many of my perennials needed dividing, so I was able to pot up some of my favorites before the ground froze, but as always, there were many that I didn't get to, so I am looking forward to trading on this site. I am also a seed saver and have many to trade once we are settled in our new home and everything is unpacked. I have had great success in propagating hydrangeas, euonymous, roses, lavender, and perovskia from stem cuttings using only rooting hormone and my garden soil (sandy, but fortified with many years of composted oak leaves compliments of neighbors doing their fall clean up while the property was vacant prior to our purchase. It was black gold!). I didn't know you were supposed to cover the cuttings with plastic, I just kept them under our covered porch until they rooted and then they went directly into a garden bed. In two years, they really came into their own as good size plants. I generally began the cuttings in July when I also planted seeds from perennials. Any advice in regard to propagating cheryopteris (Blue Beard), Weigela, Lilac, or Japanese Maple would be appreciated. Can most shrubs be propagated this way? Thanks. Susan

Hi Susan and welcome to DG! I have a book on propagating coming from Amazon, so there should be some good info in that one. You must have had adequate humidity where you put the cuttings; I rooted hyds over the summer in my house without a humidity dome (I cut up soda or water bottles for humidity domes, easier than plastic bags) but now that I'm rooting on a heating mat, I find a dome helpful for maintaing humidity. I don't always use hormone and I've successfully rooted mints and cordylines (Hawaiian ti plants) and lucky bamboo (Dracaena sanderiana). BTW, I don't root in soil, it doesn't drain well-enough and if I plan to send my cuttings, it's better to root in something that's soil-less. What I use may vary with the plant; I've used perlite alone, perlite mixed with peat and sand, peat and sand, cactus/succulent mix with perlite. These have worked for me.
Do you plan to trade cuttings? What lavender cultivars and hyd cultivars do you have? I have a few types of each, always interested in more.
Right now I'm rooting a dwarf plumeria, some cordyline varieties, and a peppermint-scented pelargonium.

Unfortunately I planted the lavenders and hydrangeas in my old gardens of the sold house. The only Hyds I have are a variegated leaf and and Endless Summer. Not knowlegeable on the cultivars, maybe if and when I am ever able to retire. I will be happy to trade once I have gardens once again. We have lots of humidity on the East End of the North Fork of Long Island.

Oh Endless Summer is one I'd love. remind me come spring, I'll have to divide some of my lavender and I'll send you some to root. And I can do hyd cuttings again mid-summer. When my book comes I'll look up the other plants. I'll be away from the computer until Sunday night or Monday.
So what zone are you out there? DH is a Stony Brook grad.

I'm going to start rooting ES hyd tomorrow and will be happy to send you some if it works this late in the season. I need some advice on how to pack it for mailing. I'd love some lavender. Do you have Grosso? I have never heard of dividing it by the roots. Do you find it easier than doing root cuttings?

Hi Susan,
my book came! Here's what it says: hyds and weigelas-- root semi-ripewood cuttings; lilacs -- root cuttings in autumn, for lilac cuttings, wait for spring and take softwood cuttings from branches when flowers have faded; I can't find out what kind of plant cheryopteris is. Japanese maple- root softwood cuttings in spring. It's probably too cold now to root lavender, we've had frost already. I have a few varieties growing and I'll be dividing in the spring. My lavender spreads itself, so to keep it confined I have to divide it. I haven't been propagating it but now I will.
The ES probably won't be ready to plant until then anyway. To ship rooted cuttings. I use either watersorb gel or moist paper towels in plastic bags or in cut-off plastic soda or water bottles, and a plastic bag over the top of the cutting. If there are leaves, I mist them and fasten a plastic bag over them to keep them moist. I ship by priority mail in a strong box, like the ones from USPS.

I think there was a typo -- it is Caryopteris (as in Caryopteris divaricata 'Snow Fairy').

Thanks h_m, I can look that up when I return home.

Found caryopteris: book says it can be propagated from greenwood, semi-ripewood, semi-hardwood, and hardwood. So it can be propagated now from semi-hardwood and later in fall from hardwood.

I actually went to a nursery yesterday and found the correct spelling of Caryopteris. Thanks for all that information. What book did you order?

It's by Ken Druse and called Making More Plants.