4 MASS. EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETIN 382 



Differences Between Individual Plants 



Age of tree from which cuttings are taken, regardless of age of wood 

 of which cuttings are made, is also a factor. Cuttings of some species, 

 including dove-tree (64), hemlock, white pine (24), apple, pear, Catalpa, 

 white elm, black locust, cherry plum, Mahaleb cherry (33), Norway 

 spruce, Ginkgo, Norway maple, red oak, and white ash (109) root more 

 freely if taken from young, seedling trees than if taken from mature 

 trees, and the ability of some of these to root well without treatment de- 

 creases rapidly as trees become more than one, two, three or four years 

 old. It may be assumed, unless stated to the contrary, that the work 

 described in this bulletin was done with cuttings from mature trees. 



Cuttings from some individual trees root more or less readily than 

 cuttings from some other trees of the same species even though all are of 

 the same age. American holly (129), white pine, Norway spruce (24) 

 and red maple are examples. Snow (93;) took softwood cuttings of red 

 maple from a number of different trees in early July, treated them with 

 indolebutyric acid (200 mg. per liter for 6 hours) and planted them in 

 sand-peat outdoors. Average percentages which rooted varied from about 

 97 to about 17 percent for different trees or clones, a clone being, as he 

 uses the word, "a group of plants which have originated by vegetative 

 propagation from one individual seedling." 



Making Cuttings 



Unless indicated to the contrary, it may be assumed that cuttings are 

 made of wood of the current year, wood not more than one year old. 

 There are a few exceptions, including Chimaphila umbellata, July cuttings 

 of which rooted better if made of wood two years old (69) ; pecan (hard- 

 wood cuttings) (95); and many conifers, cuttings of which root well if 

 so made as to include all of either one or two years' growth (61). The 

 larger the conifer cutting, the larger the root system is likely to be (123) 

 and a rooted large cutting is, of course, more of a plant than a rooted 

 small cutting. A good way to make cuttings of some conifers is to make 

 them of complete shoots, cut or pulled from the plant at a yearly ring. 

 "Heeled" cuttings, cuttings with a bit more of heel or older wood at the 

 base can, in the case of many species, be made by pulling rather than cut- 

 ting the cuttings from the plant. 



In the work of Chadwick (14) with softwood cuttings of deciduous 

 plants made to include part but not all of the current year's growth, the 

 best place for the basal cut proved to be about a half inch below a node 

 in the case of 75 percent of the species; at a node in the case of sweet 

 pepperbush, golden-chain, madenhair-tree, box, pea-tree, beauty-bush, 

 alder, buckthorn, Photinia villosa, Potentilla fruticosa var. Veitchii, Vibur- 

 num Sieholdii, Pyracantha coccinea var. Lalandii, and six species of Coton- 

 easter; and about a half inch above a node in the case of California privet, 

 common privet, Magnolia stellata, and Weigela florida. 



The more leaves there are left on leafy cuttings of most species, the 

 better they are likely to root, provided, always, that wilting or most 

 wilting is prevented. Basal leaves are usually removed to make it easier 

 to treat or insert cuttings in rooting media, and large leaves may be re- 

 duced in size or number; otherwise, leaf areas are usually kept at a max- 

 imum. There are a few exceptions mentioned below in connection with 

 the species. 



