Last night I had a crazy thought “why not take a few last minute cuttings before the cold weather moves in for good?” The cuttings would need warmth to root and survive, so keeping them outside was not an option at this time of the year.
I found a decorative pot that my wife bought a few years ago at a campus art sale back in college and filled it up with sand. Sand works great as a rooting medium for cuttings. Then I went out to my butterfly bush and took enough greenwood material to make 8 cuttings.
I cut each of the cuttings to about 4 inches long with at least two nodes and a couple leaves. I pinched the growing tip from the top of each cutting and dipped the bottom of the cutting in water. Next I dipped the cutting into some powdered rooting hormone and inserted it into the sand. Finally I put it in our bathroom and watered it.
A while back I put a small shelf between the two windows in the bathroom. It’s a great location since there is a good amount sun by the windows and there is humidity in the bathroom. It doesn’t look too bad at all with the decorative pot.
I’ll check them in a few weeks to see if rooting has started, then pot them up in a good potting mix. I’ve been fairly successful with rooting butterfly bushes like this in the past so I anticipate good results. The mother plant was a declining nursery stock plant that I bought for $5 and nursed it back to health. Now it’s an extremely vigorous and attractive butterfly magnet!
To help your cuttings you can put a plastic bag over the container like a little tent to keep the humidity high.
Steps to Root Butterfly Bush from Cuttings
- Cut each cutting to about 4 inches long with at least two nodes and a couple of leaves.
- Pinch the growing tip from the top of each cutting.
- Dip the bottom of the cutting in water.
- Dip the cutting into powdered rooting hormone.
- Insert the cutting into the sand.
- Place the cuttings in an area with indirect light and high humidity. A plastic bag can be placed over the container to create a tent for maintaining high humidity.
- Water the cuttings.
Check for rooting in a 4-8 weeks and pot up in good potting mix.
Russian Sage Propagation through Hardwood Cuttings Results
Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is indeed easy to propagate from hardwood cuttings. In fact taking hardwood cuttings may prove more reliable than from softwood cuttings. I’ll continue with both methods at the appropriate times of the year but the hardwood cuttings have not had any…
How to Grow Southern Magnolias from Seed
The other day while on a shopping trip I sat in the car with my daughters while my wife ran into the store for a few things. In front of our parking space was a magnolia. I doubt it was the full sized magnolia (Magnolia…
How to Propagate Arborvitae from Cuttings
Fall is officially here but that doesn’t mean it’s time to stop propagating. In fact it means that many of the best plants are in their ideal state for hardwood and semi-ripe cuttings. Arborvitae is one such plant that does very well from cuttings taken…
How to Propagate Lavender from Cuttings for The Home Garden
Who wouldn’t want to make more lavender from cuttings? Lavender is a great perennial plant to have around the garden and is an easy one for home gardeners to propagate. Designers use it in knot gardens, formal gardens, or even in pots. It smells great…
How to Propagate Caryopteris
Caryopteris cuttings root very easily from internodal cuttings with greenwood or semi-ripe wood. The best time to take cuttings is the the late spring to early summer to allow time for roots to form and the plant to get established before fall. Caryopteris was one…
Garden Shed Plant Propagation Update
This year was the first year I’ve been able to house my cuttings in the garden shed. It’s been great so far. There’s no heat but the plants have been protected from the coldest of the winter lows. Essentially I’ve moved them 1-2 heat zones…
Discover more from Growing The Home Garden
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.