Cuttings

Keep it in the Family

Growing bonsai takes patience.  Trees grow relatively slowly (depending on the species) so I can understand the impatience of wanting your tree to grow branches, foliage and have a thick trunk quickly.  That is the beauty of growing bonsai - you come to the realisation that as much as you want to, you cannot force something to happen.  You must wait, do the right thing at the right time, and you will eventually be rewarded.  

However, there are ways around most things.  One way that has worked for me is to collect as many bonsai as you can that are in different stages of development.  This way, you can maintain, reshape, graft, cut heavily, repot, wire, and mist until your heart is content.  There will always be something to do and you create the illusion of not waiting too long.

  

The other way of speeding up the time process is by taking CUTTINGS, which will be the focus of this post.  

A cutting is simply a small branch cut from a larger tree.  

There are some excellent reasons for taking cuttings:

1. You can grow a bonsai from this cutting.  It is a great deal quicker compared to growing from seed.

2.  The cutting will contain the same characteristics of the parent tree.  This is interesting - if you have a bonsai tree that possess strong branch structure, small leaves, attractive looking bark - then the cutting will also have these characteristics!  Seeds will not - seeds are very much hit or miss.

This is a juniper tree that is growing in the Yamingshan Mountains.  I have been growing these trees for the past year.  I have a close look at the trees and decide on the ones that has good structure.  I then take the cutting from the top of this tree.  It is important to take the cutting from the growing tip because this is the part of the tree which is the strongest, giving the cutting a greater chance of survival.  If taken from the side, the branch is less likely to grow up straight - this maybe what you want, for example if you desire a cascade or semi cascade style bonsai.  

Make sure your cutting has brown wood.  The green shoot growing is still not going to be strong enough to take.  

Once you cut, you need to remove some of the lower shoots.

I end up cutting those other two small branches as well.  When you plant these cuttings in soil, you need to push them 2/3 of the way in.  

Working my way through the trees.

Generally the cutting should be between 7.5 to 12.5 cm in length
and make sure you include two or more nodes.  This way, your cutting has a greater chance of living.

I take some cloth and keep it wet, then wrap these cuttings up and place it in a plastic bag.  The reason why the cloth is wet is that you do not want to dry out your cuttings - keep them moist on the way from the top of the mountain to the bottom.  Some propagators have been known to make the cuts under water!   I have also heard that if you place your cuttings in a cup of water with 2 spoonfuls of sugar for 3 to 4 minutes, this will help roots emerge.  Hopefully, all these cuttings will eventually grow into adult bonsai one day.

Cutting soil should be well draining.  I mix half potting mix with some acadama soil.  

It is important that the water drains freely.  I add some drainage stones on the bottom layer.  Having the soil hold too much water will cause the cuttings to rot.  

I buy some root growth powder to facilitate rapid growth.

The cutting being dipped in root growth powder.  The two sections at the base of the cutting is where I hope the roots will also grow out from.  

Ideal time to take cuttings?
Generally, he ideal time to take cuttings is during early spring.  This is when the weather is not too hot - if it were steaming hot, the leaves of the tree would be screaming out for some help from the roots.  As there are no roots formed yet, you have to rely on the power of the branch to keep it alive.  Misting the leaves or buds becomes important.  Do this at least twice a day.  

23 - 27 degrees centigrade (73 degrees - 81 F) is the temperature range that is conducive to root growth.  Use these temperatures as a guide for your particular area. 

Roots will usually form in two to five weeks.

Research suggests to plant your cuttings close together.  This method has a better chance as there is less moisture loss through transpiration.  

Looking like a little forest already.

Make a hole with a chopstick first and then push the cutting down into the hole.  Use your index and middle finger of your same hand to compress the soil on either side of the cutting.

Next, give them a healthy watering using a hose that has very fine holes.  This way you will not disturb the soil.  This has to be one of my favourite things to do.  For some reason it is very satisfying for me.  There is probably some psychologist that can explain why.  

We also decided to take some flowering cherry cuttings from the side of the road.  Four of these cuttings produce red flowers and three produce brilliant white flowers.  

We will do our best here and see what happens.  One of the great things about trying to begin a new bonsai by taking a cutting is that it is for FREE.  If they fail, try and work out why, but at least you haven't lost any money.  

Place your cuttings in a shaded area.  

You want partial sun and as little wind as possible.  I have put up some protection and I am hoping to have these offspring produce roots that will then supply enough water and fuel to the leaves in about a month's time.

In the meantime, I will closely monitor the dryness of the soil.  I will wait until I can see little signs that the soil is drying a touch and then I will water again.  It will be a fine balance - you do not want to wait too long and dry everything out and on the other hand you do not want to water lodge and rot the base of each cutting with too much water.  This is where experience and trial and error comes into play.  I will also endeavour to mist the leaves and buds a few times a day, especially if there is a freak snap of hot weather.    

Please, give cutting a try and GOOD LUCK.  

I will update this post in 5 weeks to let you know what has happened.  If unsuccessful, I will try and work out why, so you do not make the same mistake.  

Happy Year of the HORSE from Taiwan.