What is the Best Way to Grow Stem Cuttings?

English/Malay

Regrowing new plant from cutting is one way of plant propagation; one advantage is that this method allows faster fruit development when compare to plant propagation from seed.

Regrowing new plant from cutting is an acquire skill; some cuttings are easy to regrow while some require tender loving care.

The techniques I'm writing are based from the tips I've learnt, read and practiced. I hope you'll find this writing to be useful as these techniques have been my guidance.

1. Cut beneath the node

One advice I've learnt from a bonsai seller during Royal Floria Putrajaya 2018 is to cut your cuttings below the nodes; node is referring to the bump on the stem where new leaves are developed, as well as roots. The lengths varied from a couple millimeters to a couple of centimeters, depending on the length of the internodes (the space between two nodes).

New root developed at the node of Brazilian/Sissoo spinach

Tips: Plants in general stored their reserves in the stems and leaves; the reserves are used to form new leaves or roots, depending on the environmental stimuli. Hence the age of the stem is important; too young, there won't be enough reserves whereas if the stem is too old, the cells that are responsible for new development would have already differentiated into different kind of cells/organs. While regrowing Mulberry cuttings, I noticed that better regrowth were observed in thicker cuttings (diameter around 1cm); not that thin cuttings cannot be regrown, they can, very few and they did not flourished like those from thick cuttings.

2. Leaf or No Leaf?

Once the cutting is done, next question is...should I remove all the leaves or leave a couple? It depends on the plants.

✓ Leaf (just two/small number)

• Basil (Sweet basil, Thai Basil).
• Cuban oregano/Mexican mint.
• Spearmint.
• Roses.

✗ Leaf

• Citrus.
• Figs.
• Mulberry.

Not fussy

• Brazilian/Sissoo spinach.
• Hibiscus.
• Laksa leaf/Viatnamese coriander.
• Moss Rose

Author's Note: The list may be updated from time to time. If I do update, I will write it on the title. On the other hand, I may just share a progress in my FB page.

I have planted the cutting of Kaffir/Makrut lime for weeks when I read that
I need to remove all leaves. Once done, few days later, these tiny buds shown themselves.

3. Water or Soil?

There are two school of thoughts when it comes to cuttings; one favors for the cuttings to be put inside a glass/jar of water while other prefers to plant it directly into the soil. Again, which approach is the best depends on the plant species.

Water

• Figs.
• Mulberry.

• Important: Change water everyday.
• Note: Fig and mulberry cuttings can be planted directly into the soil. But I found higher success rates when put them in the water first. The presence of water led to the development of callous which later will develop into roots..

Callous development of fig cuttings.

Soil (or other medium)

• Basil (Sweet basil, Thai Basil).
• Citrus.
• Cuban oregano/Mexican mint.
• Hibiscus
• Spearmint.
• Roses.

• Important: Do not move the stem until root has properly developed. Touching or moving the stem may interrupt root development.
• Note #1: Root development can be promoted with the use of root powder. I used them on rose and citrus cuttings since I found them to be challenging.
• Note #2: This is just for sharing: normally I used cocopeat + perlite for herbs and soil mix (whatever soil I have at home) for non-herbs. You are also welcome to share your favourite medium in the comment section ☺.

Sweet basil cuttings grown in a mixture of cocopeat + soil (perlite finished).

Not fussy

• Brazilian/Sissoo spinach.
• Laksa leaf/Viatnamese coriander.
• Moss Rose

Author's Note: The list may be updated from time to time. If I do update, I will write it on the title. On the other hand, I may just share a progress in my FB page.

4. To Cover or Not to Cover?

Typically, I do not over my cuttings except for two plants; citrus and roses.

One possible reason is that, these plants thrive under the sun so by covering, the cover will trap water that was released from the stomata and hence, increase the humidity around the plants. Since roots have yet to develop, water uptake will be limited and plants can die/weaken from water deficiency. With high humidity, the amount of water released from the stomata will be less in comparison to water loss in dry environment.

After many failures, I finally succeeded to regrow rose cuttings.
Key points are: i) cut below the node, ii) leave two leaves, iii) medium with good drainage,
iv) cover and v) under the sun.

5. How do I know whether my cuttings has regrown or not?

A) Leaf emergence. It was one of happy moments when I see new leaves developed from my cuttings.

The dark leaves on the left are original leaves while the leaves on the right were newly developed.

B) Changes in stem colour. If you noticed that no leaf has developed and the colour on your cuttings are changing, most probably your cuttings are no longer viable to develop new organs.

Author's Note

Well, that's all I have for now. If I learnt new knowledge, I'd practice it and if it valid, I'll update my writings. Feel free to share your thoughts on this.