Friday, Oct. 23, 2009

Hardwood cuttings help propagate new plants

Q. When I was a kid, my dad would go out in the middle of winter to take what he called hardwood cuttings to start new plants. I should have watched better, because I never learned how he did it. Do you know the procedure and if you do, what plants does this work on the best?

-- W. K. of Caseyville

A. Taking hardwood cuttings is a procedure that is one of the easiest ways to propagate new plants. You do not need any special equipment except a sharp knife or a pair of curved hand pruners.

As your question indicated, this procedure is done when plants are dormant in winter. This method works on roses and other deciduous flowering shrubs such as Golden Bells (Forsythia species), Honeysuckle (Lonicera species), Mock Orange (Philadelphus species), Privet (Ligustrum species), Viburnum species, and Weigela species.

You start by cutting eight- to 10-inch-long cuttings about the thickness of a pencil from the branch ends of the stem. Make sure that each cutting contains at least three nodes or buds, and make the cut about a half-inch below a node.

You should make this cut on an angle; this will help you identify the bottom end of the cutting and also produce more area for root development. Then, after you have made about 10 cuttings, you can cut all the tops evenly about two-inches down. These tops would probably die back anyhow. You can wrap the bundle with rubber bands or with several wraps of masking tape, one about one-third down from the top and another about one-third up from the bottom.

Place these into a trench about 10-inches deep upside down. Then, you can place the soil back over them and gently firming it up. Leave these in place until mid-spring. When the soil begins to warm up, dig these bundles gently so as not to break off the ball of callous tissue that has formed. Then, carefully separate each plant and gently plant them in locations or put them in containers of a 50-50 mix of peat moss and perlite.

Plant these plants in a permanent location in the fall. Be careful to never let these cuttings dry out as the roots are very fragile, especially in the beginning.

Q. What can we do with all lady bugs getting into our house? I do not want to hurt them, but I certainly do not want them in my house.

-- Several homeowners

A. You are questioning about a fairly new species in North America of the multicolored Asian lady beetle (Harmonia axyridis), which has become a nuisance by moving into homes following an autumn frost.

Most people have discovered that squashing these beetles leads to a foul odor and lingers when several are killed.

You can use a small vacuum cleaner and vacuum them up, then clean the bag outside to release them back to nature.

Unfortunately, in our heated homes, they will never go dormant and fly around until they use up all their energy, unless you have plenty of aphids on your plants to feed them.

The beetles, in a way, are providing a service to show you where there are air leaks in your home. When the weather gets colder, the pests will find good hibernating locations, such as patches of tall grass or leaf collections.

Send your gardening questions to Charles Giedeman, Lifestyle, P.O. Box 427, 120 S. Illinois St., Belleville, IL 62222-0427.