How to Propagate Coniferous Trees
- 1). Prepare the pot before taking cuttings. Add equal amounts of horticultural grit and potting compost to a 4-inch nursery pot until 1-inch below its rim. Tamp the mix with your hand to remove trapped air bubbles before pouring water until excess seeps out through the drainage holes.
- 2). Insert a wooden dowel in the potting mix to form a planting hole. Prepare additional pots since you need one per cutting.
- 3). Locate a healthy, disease-free branch from as high up the conifer tree as possible. Sever the branch from the tree using sterilized bypass shears.
- 4). Spread the branch on a level surface and extend its stems out. Locate a 4- to 5-inch-long stem with a pliable shoot and healthy foliage. Pull the selected side shoot back in its natural direction to sever it from the branch. The shoot comes off with some bark and tissue from the branch.
- 5). Remove the foliage from the lower half of the stem using your fingers. Repeat the process of selecting additional shoots from the branch so you use one per pot. Insert the cut end of each shoot in a glass of water to keep it from dehydrating until you root them.
- 6). Pour rooting hormone powder on wax paper or in a bowl. Insert the moistened end of a cutting into the powder until completely covered. Tap the cutting to remove excess powder.
- 7). Insert the covered end of the cutting into the planting hole in the pot. Press the potting mix around the base of the cutting so it stands on its own. Repeat the process with the remaining cuttings.
- 8). Insert three or four wooden dowels into the potting mix around the edges of each pot. Insert each into a clear plastic bag to provide the cuttings the necessary heat and humidity needed to root. Ensure the bag does not touch the foliage of the cutting. Wind a length of elastic wire around the opening of each bag to seal it.
- 9). Place the pots near a window with indirect, bright light. Alternatively, place the pots on a heating mat set at 70 degrees Fahrenheit and place them near a warm window. Mist the potting mix frequently so it remains evenly moist at all times. Cuttings that offer resistance when tugged, or show signs of foliage growth have rooted.
- 10
Transplant rooted cuttings to 1-gallon pots filled with compost and potting soil. Place the pots in a sheltered outdoor spot for one year to acclimate the cuttings to the outdoor environment.
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