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How to grow Mint from cuttings

By geekgardener, on January 17th, 2012%

 

In most of my posts/comments, I recommend people to start with plants like mint that are very easy to grow. Mint for example, is easily available. It grows invasively and very easy to propagate. Or is it? I received many questions on how to successfully propagate mint. I have posted several times in this blog on how to root stem cuttings successfully but I thought it would be really helpful if I dedicate one post entirely for mint.

 

Steps to propagate mint with 100% success rate

  • Collect Mint cuttings — Buy or borrow mint that have slightly thicker stems.
  • Take the stem tip cuttings by making a cut at 3-4inches from the top. Make sure the cut is right below a node.

 

Mint-Cutting

  • Do not remove all the leaves. Leave them in the cutting, if the bottom most leaf in hindering them you can just remove them off.
  • Prepare the media (in my case cocopeat). The media should be moist but not wet. If you try squeeze the media, water should come out little bit.
  • Fill a propagation tray with the media. You can take any container. Propagation tray makes it easier to transplant.
  • Stick the cuttings into each cell and compact it so that the cutting is intact.

 

CuttingStuck

Mint-Cuttings

  • Now cover the whole setup with a polythene sheet. If your tray is small enough, you can enclose it in a polybag. Transparent cover is good. This step is extremely important. If you don’t cover the cuttings with a polybag, they will lose the moisture and wilt very quickly.

Mint covered in polythene sheet

 

  • Keep the setup in a bright location but not with direct sunlight.
  • No further watering is necessary. Keep an eye on the plants daily. The plants should remain fresh and not wilt. Wilting indicates that the plants are not covered properly in the polybag and is losing moisture.
  • If you properly followed steps 1 through 8, the cuttings should root in just about a week.

Rooted Mint cutting

  • Once rooted, slowly introduce the plants to the outside world. Since they were in humid environment inside the bag, sudden change in humidity will result in plant going through stress.

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  • Expose the plants to sun gradually. First start with an hour and then increasing by an hour every day to harden them.
  • In about 15 days time, your plants will be fully rooted and are good for transplanting.

 

 

This is how you propagate Mint from cuttings to get 100% successful results.

Happy gardening

GG

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Propagating Hydrangea from Cuttings

By geekgardener, on August 7th, 2010%

Hydrangea is not quite common here in Bangalore. Very few people I met, have them. What is so special about this flowering plant?. Look at this beautiful flower ball. I got this from Lalbagh and was curiously waiting for it to show its color. A very special thing about Hydrangea bloom is that the color of the bloom depends on how acidic/alkaline your soil is. Isn’t that amazing?.

Its nature’s own litmus paper. If the soil is acidic, you get blue color blooms and if it is basic a pink bloom is what you get.

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It needs partial shade to grow and the soil should always be moist. Never let it run dry.

They will grow into a huge bush when grown in land. They can also be successfully grown in containers/pots. They prefer moderate sunlight and will do well in partial shade.The one you see in this picture is grown in 3L pot. Hydrangeas are propagated mainly from stem cuttings.

  • Take a cutting from a stem that has a spent flower or a stem tip with a growing shoot is fine too.  Remove the bottom leaves so that there is just a pair of leaves in the stem. It should be like the one in the picture below. Next to the stem cutting is the media, in our case it was perlite. It is not a must that you should use perlite. Sand/Cocopeat  works equally well.

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  • Dip the base of them stem in a Rooting hormone. They come in several forms. I used a powder.  Its a practice to make a small wound in the stem by removing the outer layer of skin in the stem. It is supposed to speedup rooting by forming callous tissues.

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  • Gently stick the stem into the pot that contains the media. Water the container and ensure there is very good drainage.

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  • Put the container with the stem cutting into a large transparent polythene bag and seal the bag. You don’t need to water it. Just keep the bag in a place that gets bright light but not direct sunlight. It will take 3-4 weeks for rooting. Periodically open the bag and check for insects/infections and seal it back.

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After 3-4 weeks, gently pull the plant and you will feel the resistance. If you felt so , then the cutting has rooted. Slowly harden the plant by gradually exposing it the world outside. If you remove the bag suddenly , it will wilt. Hence, start with shorter durations initially and increase the duration gradually until it adapts to the environment.

You can see the root formation clearly in the pics below. This plant is ready to be potted up into a bigger container.

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The rooted cutting is potted up into a bigger pot where it is going to spend most of its time.

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Happy propagating!

GG

47 comments   article, gardening, greenhouse, medium, propagation   , , , , , , , ,  
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