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Propagating boxwood with cuttings at home is an easy task, and even a novice florist can handle it. By observing the breeding rules, you can grow a strong and healthy specimen, which will decorate the garden plot. Boxwood is ideal for forming hedges, looks beautiful in rock gardens, among bright perennials, in single and group plantings.
Features of propagation of boxwood cuttings at home
Boxwood is an unpretentious, evergreen plant that is widely used in landscape design. When purchasing one copy, flower growers often want to propagate it in order to grow a green hedge, create a beautiful border and make the summer cottage more attractive. Propagation of boxwood is possible by cuttings and seeds, but experienced gardeners recommend cuttings, as this is a simple and effective way. To propagate boxwood by cuttings at home, you need to follow simple rules:
- cuttings are cut from a healthy, non-lignified shoot;
- prepare light, drained soil for planting;
- for quick rooting, the cuttings create a favorable microclimate;
- care consists in watering and maintaining a temperature-humid regime.
When to cut boxwood
You can cut boxwood in spring and autumn, it all depends on climatic conditions. To grow a beautiful, ornamental shrub, you need to know:
- when to cut cuttings for propagation;
- what time to plant;
- how to properly root and care.
Cuttings of boxwood in spring
Boxwood can be propagated by cuttings in the spring immediately on the plot. Planting material cut and processed in a root formation stimulator is placed in a well-lit, carefully dug-up place with fertile, well-drained soil. To create a favorable microclimate, seedlings are covered with bottles or plastic bags. Also, spring breeding can be carried out in containers, at home. For quick rooting, the earth should not dry out, so the seedlings must be shaded from direct sunlight. In the evening, the micro-greenhouse is ventilated, and the plant is sprayed with warm, settled water.
During the season, the boxwood will get stronger, form roots and be ready to move to a permanent place by autumn. After transplantation, the trunk circle is mulched, and the young, fragile plant is covered with burlap or agrofiber.
To have an idea how to carry out cuttings of boxwood in the spring, you need to watch a video for beginner flower growers:
Cuttings of boxwood in autumn
Since boxwood blooms in the spring, propagation by cuttings can be done in the fall. Cuttings are cut from healthy shoots in early September, so that the wounds on the shrub are healed before the onset of frost. Planting material should have a length of 10-15 cm and well-developed buds. For planting, nutrient soil is prepared, the cuttings are deepened to the top foliage and covered with a jar or plastic bag to create a greenhouse effect.
Rooted boxwood seedlings are planted in separate containers, trying not to damage the earthen clod. The landing container is cleaned in a warmed greenhouse or a warm place with artificial lighting. Caring for seedlings at home includes regular watering, spraying and top dressing every 10 days, using a mineral fertilizer complex.
With the onset of spring, the cuttings need to be hardened. To do this, they are taken out to fresh air, daily increasing the time spent. After the end of spring frosts and warming up the soil to + 10 ° C, boxwood can be planted in a prepared place.
Cuttings of boxwood in winter
After the end of the summer season, gardeners often use the greenhouse as a place to store land and garden equipment. But the greenhouse can be used to advantage, for example, for winter propagation of boxwood cuttings. In autumn, 2 weeks before frost, the earth is dug up, soddy or leafy soil mixed with peat is poured on top, compacted and leveled with a rake. Then river sand is poured with a layer of about 2 cm. The breeding soil should be light and well-drained.
Planting material cut from 2-3-year-old shoots is suitable for winter propagation. After removing the lower foliage and treating the cut with a root formation stimulator, the cuttings are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other. After planting, the plant is shed and covered with polyethylene, which is pulled over a wire support.
Throughout the winter, it is necessary to ensure that the soil is always moist. By spring, the cuttings will take root, and after the onset of warm days, they can be planted in the selected area. In order for them to take root and adapt faster in a new place, they must be covered from direct sunlight for the first week. Plant care after propagation consists of watering, fertilizing and removing weeds.
Rules for cutting cuttings
Cutting boxwood cuttings for propagation is carried out from a healthy, mature, but not lignified shoot, 10-15 cm long. It is better to cut boxwood cuttings with a knife, at an acute angle, to increase the area for root formation. Additionally, shallow, circular grooves are made on the lower part. The lower leaves are removed from the cutting to reduce moisture evaporation, and for rapid propagation, the cut is treated in a root formation stimulator.
How to plant boxwood from a twig
Boxwood can be bred from branches. To do this, choose a healthy, non-lignified shoot and cut or separate cuttings no longer than 15 cm long. When tearing off the planting material, it is necessary to leave a lignified “heel”. Thanks to her, the area for the appearance of the root system will increase.
Preparation of planting containers and soil
For rooting boxwood cuttings at home, any container, previously washed and disinfected, is suitable. Drainage holes are made at the bottom of the pot so that water does not stagnate after watering.
For high-quality reproduction, purchased soil or self-prepared soil is suitable. To do this, mix turf or leaf soil with sand in a ratio of 1: 1 and add complex mineral fertilizers. The mixture should be light, fluffy and nutritious.
How to root boxwood from cuttings
The prepared soil is poured into containers, a recess is made and the cutting is set at an acute angle so that a small part with leaves remains on the surface. When propagating boxwood at home, before the appearance of the root system, the planted plant is not watered, but slightly moistened. This is due to the fact that the waterlogging of the soil leads to decay of the cutting cut.
To keep the soil always moist, you can lay a wick under the soil mixture. To do this, a thick rope or twisted cotton fabric is laid on the bottom of the pot. Cover with soil so that the opposite end can be lowered into a jar of water. Thanks to this simple method, irrigation will take place automatically and in the right amount. In order for the process of root formation to occur much faster, it is necessary to create favorable, greenhouse conditions for the cutting. The planted seedling is covered with a plastic bag or a glass jar to maintain the temperature and humidity conditions.
Cutting Care
Caring for seedlings at home is simple, the main thing is to maintain the desired soil and air humidity. For this:
- spend several times a day spraying with warm, settled water;
- regular airing of the mini-greenhouse;
- make sure that the cuttings do not come into contact with each other or with covering material, since rot and black fungus often develop at the place of contact;
- after 14 days, the cuttings will begin to take root, and they can be fed with mineral fertilizers;
- with a lack of lighting, artificial light is installed;
- after a month, the stalk will grow a powerful root system, and then it will be possible to remove the shelter and carry out further care as for an adult plant (regular watering, top dressing every 10 days, in hot weather, spray in the morning or evening hours).
Transplantation in open ground
Planting boxwood cuttings is carried out on fertile, well-drained soil, in a sunny place or in partial shade. The place must be protected from drafts and gusty winds. A boxwood breeding site is prepared 2 weeks before planting. To do this, they dig up the earth on a spade bayonet, add rotted compost, peat, sand and mineral fertilizers. Breeding technique:
- A planting hole is dug in the selected area, the size of the root system of the plant.
- For better water permeability, a 15 cm drainage layer is laid out at the bottom (broken brick, pebbles, expanded clay).
- A boxwood seedling is abundantly shed and removed from a pot with a clod of earth.
- The plant is planted by transshipment, filling each layer, trying not to leave air voids.
- I compact the soil, spill it with warm, settled water and mulch.
After transplantation, the boxwood seedling is not fed, but constantly moistened, since the soil under the plant should not dry out. To retain moisture and stop the growth of weeds, the soil around the planted plant is mulched. As mulch, use rotted humus or compost, dry foliage or hay. Also, mulch will be a good organic top dressing.
2 weeks before the onset of frost, the propagated boxwood is abundantly shed, fed with wood ash and covered with agrofiber or non-woven material. So that the plant does not suffer from the spring sun, the shelter is removed after the snow melts and the onset of warm days.
To obtain a rapid growth of lateral shoots, a young plant after reproduction can be cut under a stump, and the cut point can be treated with a garden pitch or any antiseptic.
Conclusion
Even a novice gardener can propagate boxwood by cuttings at home. Subject to the rules of rooting, the plant can be quickly propagated and planted throughout the backyard. Boxwood looks beautiful among bright perennials, in single and group plantings, when creating borders and hedges.