Top 10 Easiest to Grow from Cuttings

I'm just curious, what are your Top 10 Easiest to Grow from Cuttings? I chopped up 6' of golden pothos a few weeks ago, and they are all nicely rooted now and starting their first new leaves. I also chopped up 6' of phylodentrum, and, though a quick grower, it is somewhat behind the golden pothos. My baby spider plants are taking over! I've done all sorts of ivy's in the past. Just curious what other "fool-proof" (read karla-proof) plants I could try? My cube at work is near a window and seems to be a good environment for rooting things...

Thanks. Looking forward to hearing your recomendations!

PS Put in your "favorite(s)" also, even if they aren't "easy" -- someday I might could call myself a real gardener & I might get arround to trying them out!

Karla

Wandering Jew, roots form over night for me
Pothos, In water they grow pretty quick a day or two to see roots
Angelwing Begonia,Grew very well in water and the roots were huge
Kalanchoe-Mother of thousands, never seen anything easier to root than that..lol
bridal veil
Assorted succulents
Hmmmmmm can't think of anything else at the moment
Holly

These are the easiest for me:
In water - Aluminum plant, philodendron, gynura, ivy, swedish ivy, pothos
In soil - AV leaves, peperomia, jade plant

My favorite - rex begonia leaf cuttings in soil. I'm only successful about 1/4 of the time, I guess that's why I keep trying.

Cindy

boy i feel terrible....i can not get my pothos to take in potting soil....a lady gave me 2 cuttings she had rooted in water(nice long strong roots btw)........i brought them home and put them in potting soil...they look shriveled but still alive...they are not wet but just moist...now what did i do wrong?...i can root all sorts of stuff in water and propogate other plants, but i can kill a pothos in a heartbeat...i have before.....cindy

Diefenbachia - just stick in the soil and keep moist

Oleander - same thing with green stems

Marigolds, believe it or not. Stick a broken branch in water and it will root. Have no idea why you'd want to...

Geraniums, directly in potting soil

I just found out that the dried out stick from mom's visit to Hawaii is Plumeria! It looked like firewood but it was a dried out cutting. I stuck it in soil and the thing actually started growing..lol.
Trish

Brommom,
I have read that when cuttings are rooted in water, they grow roots suited for water, they have to adapt and grow new roots when put in soil. Because of this, I always root in soil whenever I can, but still can't resist the excitement of watching those roots sprout in water!

I have had the same experience with pothos - if you have patience I think they will do OK. Also, Golden Pothos is much easier to root than Marble Queen. HTH

Brommom,
I have also found that when I finally put my pothos cuttings in soil, they seem to need a lot more water then they would if they were a full grown plant. I am realizing this with a cutting I have now. It was not accurately watered in the beginning so some of the leaves are shriveled and funky looking. But now that I have upped the water intake, the newer leaves are coming out the way they are supposed to look. It also seems the more water I give it the happier it is. But Mine is in a clay pot so be careful if yours is in a plastic pot, because then the way I water mine may just kill yours!
HTH! Holly

Forgot coleus. Another one that roots very easily in soil.

Brugmansia are so easy. In water for a few days, then in soil. I've only lost 2 out of about 30.

Flowering Maple (Abutilon)

Tig,
Easier than Brugmansia...African violets are easier, Trichocereus species, Psychotria species,....Mertilocactus Geometrizans....and so much more---but yes Coleus, Jade, etc are all easy as well. Guess everything is easy with the right amount of luck though...

My Mother has often brought back dried up old sticks from walks, which turn into monster Rhodos, Stags Horn trees etc. When I take a fresh cutting it seems to curl up and die LOL.

African violets and fuchsias seem to root (and sometimes rot) well as do Dahlias, petunias and pelargoniums. Felicia is a little blue daisy from South Africa whic also takes well but I don't often root in water, as said above they do much better in soil.

I wish I had the luck with pelargoniums that everyone else seems to have! I am constantly taking cuttings from a well-established peppermint scented pelargonium, but they always rot for me!

Baa, I'm with you. I rarely root in water...my prefered method is always to root in soil or to airlayer. You can stick a few stems of leaves in water just as easily as you can stick them all in the same pot to root.

mexican petunias, fire spikes, morning glory bush start rooting when they hit soil. i just rooted 7 pink pet roses.... amazing, since the mama was dug up and sat in the shade for a few days, finally cut her all the way back, left her siting in water for a week before i planted. she is now covered in blooms and even the foot tall piece with several branches is putting out pretty new purple growth.

My strobilanthus (persian shield) rooted easily in potting soil outside. I just kept it moist and in about 10 days they all had roots. Weigela is easy if you cut it at the right time, if not, forget it. Red twig dogwood is really easy. Hibiscus isn't too difficult. Forsythia is easy.

i use vermiculite for cuttings, its free draining, but keeps them moist. i recently rooted some pelargoniums, rosemary and oregano in three days this way.

lil

Brugmansia, forsythia, geraniums, pothos, aloe vera, spider plants, kalancho, sedum, begonia, hibiscus.

My #1 easiest is Gardenia.

Bay Leaf, was so easy!

My Top 10 for Easiest to Propagate from Cuttings

1) Mums - start new cutting in June, you'll have beautiful flowering plants for Fall.

2) Pyrocantha - Break off a piece and stick it in the ground... no rooting powder required.

3) Mexican Sage - In Zone 6 this plant is not hardy. Bring a few pieces in to overwinter and start taking cuttings around January. By spring planting, you'll have plenty to go around the garden.

4) Rosemary - Snap off a piece and stick it in the soil.

5) Thyme - Most thymes root easily.

6) Geraniums - Break off a piece, stick it in a pot. Keep moist.

7) Hyrdangea - Most root easily. Keep cuttings moist and cool.

8) Buddleia (sp?) - Butterfly bushes start easily from softwood cuttings.

Ok... couldn't think of ten... but these are fun and will add greatly to your landscape. -S

Impatients root easily in water or soil.
Gardenias root easily in water or soil.
I have good luck with hybiscus in soil
Hydragneas root well in water or soil.
Most of my others that I thought of have already been mentioned.

Rooted in soil and with no special care, I've had luck with:
Dracena marginata
Altheas and Hibiscus
Mexican Heather

Dicentra: You had such good luck with your plumeria because you are actually supposed to let the cutting sit out for about a week (long enough to callous) before planting. Be careful not to overwater, though, as they can rot very easily.

Did someone mention the ornamental sweet potato vines that are so popular and useful? This year I used the variagated white/pink one as an underplanting along the edges of my butterfly garden. It's just beautiful with the dahlias, zinnias, and asters rising from it. I've done the lime/apple leafed margarita before as well. They root in a day or two in water or like coleus you can just stick them in damp potting soil and they'll take off.

So far this year I have failed at hibiscus(hardy) , hydrangea,flowering maple,roses,passiflora,african violet,and lots of others.The things I have rooted are Brugs,fushia,rex begonia,mums,and some plant that I still have not identified.I'm a loser when it come to rooting,seed starting etc..... CC

Yahoo, I got one passiflora rooted.. Mentha species are very easy too.

I have a rubber tree plant and in the same spot I put a few spider plant babies right off the spider plant (mother). They are looking good and growing. I did this so that the spider plant looks like ground cover.

Here goes my list from down here in fla

1.Dwarf mexican petunias
2.Abuliton (flowering maple)
3.Cassia Tree
4.Firespike
5.Brugmansia
6.Crape Myrtle
7.Viburnum
8.Durante Repens (golden dewdrop)
9.Cape Coral Honeysuckle
10.Blue Ginger

One more time, I'm surfing for tips on propagation and find a thread that is interesting to me. Sooo, I'm bumping it back to the top of the stack so I can ask some questions. :-D

I'd like to know, in relation to propagation by cuttings,
1) what type of medium (soil mixtures in particular) works best for you.

2) When using soil mix to root cuttings, what do you look for (aside from ROOTS! ;-) ) that indicate a cutting has "taken"?

3) When do you begin feeding the new cuttings; with what; how much; and how often?

4) How long do you wait to transplant cuttings to their permanent environment...in particular outdoor plants, specifically perennials?

At the present time I have Coleus, cotoneaster, pelargonium, impatiens, euonymous, and several cuttings and other "accidents" that would be considered "annuals" in my zone, being carefully watched in my garden shed.

My goal, this year, is not to actually propagate plants for use in my garden, but to learn *how* to propagate them, hopefully to carry them through well enough to get a few plants that I really like for *next* year.

Any help would be appreciated.

~julie~

Oooh, I can't wait for everyone's answers! These are questions I've been wondering myself.

Claire

THANKS for joining in here, clairelise! Maybe this would be as good a place as any to announce that I HAVE ROOTS!!! :-D

I checked my pelargonium cuttings today *again* when I realized that one of the cuttings had a flower bud on it. I took the cuttings 6-24 and had only occasionally checked on one of them (the largest of 3). After having read this thread again, I hurried outside to the shed to check the other 2.

YIPPEEEEE!!! ROOTS!!! and LOTS of them. OH DUH.

But the best part of all is that upon reexamining the larger cutting, I found that it, too, was trying with all its might to make roots. All kinds of little white protrusions on the stem. :-D I immediately pinched of the bud...just want to see if it roots faster now.

And *now* I know where to look for roots on pelargonium!

Now...on with the OTHER questions. LOL

If the shoot starts to send out new growth, that's a good sign the cutting has taken.

1) I use 1/2 perlite & 1/2 peat moss mix.

2) after about 2 weeks of the plant sitting in the rooting media, I give a gentle tug. If there is resistance, that is a good indication of rooting. (also new offsets like maryinla said).

3) i've only used water...I'd like to know the answer to this too!

4) I usually give them as much time as possible. Once the new growth is somewhat substantial, I'll transplant. Or, if it has evidence of having roots for more than 3 weeks...I'll transplant.

Thanks MaryinLa and kcherest. I honestly *do* appreciate *any* input here. kcherest, I'm glad I'm not the only one in the forum who has questions about handling the feeding of the new 'offspring.'

~julie~

Well, it depends on the plant, but:
1) 50:50 perlite, or sometimes with a little added vermiculite. If I root in water, I move them into a mix that has even more perlite before moving up to their standard mix. For some plants, I might use long fiber sphagnum.

2) new growth - leaves etc. blooms I pinch off.

3) a week after new growth is visible, with really dilute (like 1/10th strength) seaweed fert. Low feeders just get the one shot. High feeders might get a weekly, increase dose in a month or so, depending on the plant.

4) I don't do outdoor plants much so no idea....

The AHS has a great book on propagation (the hard cover one) - nice reference material for people who are obsessed with propagation.

Thanks Keyring...very helpful info there. Thanks for taking the time to write a reply. I'll have to check into the AHS propagation book. I think the last book I bought on propagation was sometime in the 70's...and I *know* a lot of things have changed since then. In fact, I think DDT was still "ok" in that book. :-)

Thanks again.
~julie~

bump

Angelonia--I don't think I've ever a had a cutting in soil that ever failed to root.

Not taken many cuttings but here's my top 3
Mint!!!
Aloe Vera, has loads of babies!!
Rosemary

Great Post