What Does Cuttings Mean?
In horticulture, cuttings are the pieces of a plant that a gardener takes intentionally to create clones of the parent plant in which the cuttings were taken.
Cuttings are largely stems, but leaves and roots can also be taken as cuttings in order to propagate new plants.
A common propagation method, taking cuttings refers to the process
of trimming certain parts of the stem and then rooting them to produce new
plants. Cuttings are the plant material taken from the mother plant. When they take root and start becoming new plants, they are no longer cuttings, but clones.
Maximum Yield Explains Cuttings
In order for the cuttings to thrive, it is essential to maintain a high level of humidity around the stems. However, contrary to popular belief, an entire greenhouse is quite unnecessary when it comes to propagation through stem cuttings. If you’re only planning on rooting a few cuttings, you can use a small flower pot placed in a clear plastic bag.
In some cases, it is also possible to create a high-humidity environment by rooting the cuttings in planting trays before covering them with clear plastic. In some cases, you may need to stretch the plastic over wire frames to help it stick better. Cloning domes are also available expressly for this purpose.
To help the cuttings thrive, it’s also important to make some holes at the bottom of the trays or holes. Botanists normally recognize between various types of vegetative cuttings: stem cuttings, for instance, target the portion of the stem that’s under the soil and it normally includes a leaf node. Other types of cuttings include root, scion, or leaf cuttings.
While it is somewhat difficult to root cuttings from certain tree species, birches, elms, and crape myrtles are quite easy to propagate through cuttings. Other people plants that can grown through cuttings are cannabis plants, succulents, aloe vera, certain types of flowers, and more.
Taking cuttings is a form of plant propagation. Because the new plants grown from cuttings are genetically identical to their parent plants, they are considered clones. This entire process is often referred to as cloning.
