Content
Propagating boxwood by cuttings at home is an easy task, and even a novice florist can handle it. Observing the breeding rules, you can grow a strong and healthy specimen, which will become a decoration of the garden plot. Boxwood is ideal for the formation of hedges, looks beautiful in rock gardens, among bright perennials, in single and group plantings.
Features of reproduction 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 suburban area more attractive. Breeding boxwood is possible by cuttings and seeds, but experienced gardeners recommend cuttings as it is a simple and effective method. To propagate boxwood by cuttings at home, you need to follow simple rules:
- cuttings are cut from a healthy, non-lignified shoot;
- light, drained soil is prepared for planting;
- for fast rooting, the cuttings create a favorable microclimate;
- care consists in watering and maintaining the temperature and humidity 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 the cuttings for propagation;
- what time to plant;
- how to root and care properly.
Cutting boxwood in spring
You can propagate boxwood by cuttings in the spring immediately on your personal plot. Planting material, cut and processed in a root formation stimulator, is placed in a well-lit, carefully dug place with fertile, well-drained soil. To create a favorable microclimate, the seedlings are covered with bottles or plastic bags. Also, spring breeding can be carried out in containers at home. For quick rooting, the ground should not dry out, so the seedlings must be shaded from direct sunlight. In the evening, the microgreenhouse is ventilated, and the plant is sprayed with warm, settled water.
During the season, the boxwood will get stronger, form roots and will be ready to move to a permanent place by the fall. After transplanting, the trunk circle is mulched, and the young, immature plant is covered with burlap or agrofibre.
To have an idea of how to cut boxwood in the spring, you need to watch a video for novice florists:
Cutting 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 bush heal before the onset of frost. The planting material should have a length of 10-15 cm and well-developed buds. For planting, a nutritious soil is prepared, the cuttings are buried to the upper 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 lump. The container with the planting is removed in a warmed greenhouse or a warm place with artificial lighting. Caring for seedlings at home includes regular watering, spraying and feeding 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 into the fresh air, increasing the time spent on a daily basis. After the end of the spring frosts and the soil warming up to + 10 ° C, boxwood can be planted in a prepared place.
Cutting boxwood in winter
After the end of the summer cottage 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 by cuttings. In the fall, 2 weeks before frost, the earth is dug up, sod or leafy soil mixed with peat is poured on top, compacted and leveled with a rake. Then, river sand is poured in a layer of about 2 cm. The breeding ground should be light and well-drained.
For winter reproduction, planting material cut from 2-3-year-old shoots is suitable. After removing the lower foliage and processing the cut with a rooting stimulator, the cuttings are planted at a distance of 20 cm from each other. After planting, the plant is spilled 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 quickly take root and adapt to a new place, the first week they need to be covered from direct sunlight. Caring for the plant after reproduction consists in watering, feeding and removing weeds.
Rules for harvesting cuttings
Cutting boxwood cuttings for reproduction is carried out from a healthy, ripe, but not lignified shoot, 10-15 cm long. It is better to cut boxwood cuttings with a knife, at an acute angle, in order to increase the area for the formation of roots. Additionally, shallow, circular grooves are made on the lower part. The lower leaves are removed from the cuttings to reduce moisture evaporation, and for rapid reproduction, the cut is processed 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 more 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 tanks and soil
For rooting boxwood with cuttings at home, any container, previously washed and disinfected, is suitable. To prevent water stagnation after watering, drainage holes are made at the bottom of the pot.
For high-quality reproduction, purchased soil or self-prepared one is suitable. To do this, mix sod or leafy soil with sand in a 1: 1 ratio and add complex mineral fertilizers. The mixture should be light, loose and nutritious.
How to root a boxwood from a cutting
The prepared soil is poured into containers, a deepening is made and the handle is set at an acute angle so that a small part with leaves remains on the surface. When reproducing boxwood at home, before the root system appears, the planted plant is not watered, but slightly moistened. This is due to the fact that waterloggedness of the soil leads to decay of the cuttings.
To keep the soil always moist, you can put a wick under the soil mixture. To do this, a thick rope or twisted cotton cloth is laid at the bottom of the pot. Fill 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 cuttings. To maintain the temperature and humidity conditions, the planted seedling is covered with a plastic bag or glass jar.
Care of cuttings
Caring for seedlings at home is simple, the main thing is to maintain the required soil and air moisture. For this:
- spraying with warm, settled water is carried out several times a day;
- regular airing of the mini-greenhouse;
- make sure that the cuttings do not come into contact with each other or with the covering material, since rot and black fungus often develop at the point of contact;
- after 14 days, the cuttings will begin to take root, and they can be fed with mineral fertilizers;
- if there is a lack of lighting, artificial light is installed;
- a month later, the cutting 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, feeding every 10 days, in hot weather, spray in the morning or evening hours).
Open ground transplant
Planting boxwood cuttings is carried out on fertile, well-drained soil, in a sunny place or in partial shade. The place should be protected from drafts and gusty winds. The breeding site for boxwood is prepared 2 weeks before planting. For this, the earth is dug onto a shovel bayonet, rotted compost, peat, sand and mineral fertilizers are added. Reproduction technique:
- A planting hole is dug in the selected area, the size of the plant's root system.
- For better water permeability, a 15 cm layer of drainage is laid out on the bottom (broken brick, pebbles, expanded clay).
- The boxwood seedling is spilled abundantly and removed from the pot with a clod of earth.
- The plant is planted by transshipment, filling each layer, trying not to leave air voids.
- I tamp the soil, spill it with warm, settled water and mulch.
After transplanting, the boxwood seedling is not fed, but is 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. Rotted humus or compost, dry foliage or hay are used as mulch. Also, mulch will be a good organic fertilizing.
2 weeks before the onset of frost, the multiplied boxwood is abundantly shed, fed with wood ash and covered with agrofibre 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 off under a stump, and the cut site can be treated with garden varnish 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 garden plot. Boxwood looks beautiful among bright perennials, in single and group plantings, when creating borders and hedges.
Thank. Very literate and accessible. I will definitely try it.