Vegetative Propagation Activity Rubric

The purpose of this laboratory is to familiarize you with several plant propagation techniques that you can pass along to your students. Add your plant to be used and the number of cuttings to be taken under the Technique section!

Recommended technique: Do this: Why we do this: Done: Stem Section Cut thick stem sections into Fleshy stems often have meristematic three or four node logs. tissues along the nodes in a circle. By Scar one side of log with cutting stems into logs, a group of knife, add powder hormone, three or four new shoots cane be place log cut side down and started close together and planted as press lightly into soil of pot a unit to make a nice houseplant. Leaf Only Cutting Using Begonia leaves, place Begonias and other leaves have in a 601 tray, make cuts meristematic zones along their across the big veins in the vascular system. By cutting across the center of the leaf. Add veins we expose these cells. By powder hormone to the adding hormone, we trigger roots and cuts. Pin down with paper then leaves. Once growing, the leaf clips or pieces of florist wire. tissue can be removed from the tiny Keep moist under mist. plant. Tip Cutting Take several 2 to 5 inch tip Tips of plants are usually soft tissue cuttings; remove the lower with adequate meristematic zones leaves leaving two sets of near the nodes. Take cuttings that small leaves, Dip in have two or three immature nodes, hormone, and stick. Keep plant with the lower two in the soil. under mist until rooted. Usually most root is two-three weeks. KiKi or Plantlet Remove formed plantlet Many tropical epiphytic plants make from stem by cutting at kiki’s, or adventitious plantlets. Once base, leaving a small section separated, plant them as if they were of mother stem. Plant! a seedling. Air Layering Select a section of stem Ficus and many other tropical plants from the rubber tree 6-8” have preformed root initials below the growing tip. Cut (meristamtic zones that are leaning epidermis with knife, add towards being roots.) By adding rooting hormone, wedge hormone, we speed up the rooting open with toothpick piece, process. Instead of removing tiny tip wrap with moist peat moss, cuttings, we can root large branches cover with saran, cover with and have nice big plants, saving a few foil, tie down top and years in the nursery. Because the cut bottom with florist wire, upper section is not removed from twist ties or pipe cleaners. the mother plant, it gets nutrients Keep moist. Check weekly. from the roots too. Woody Cutting Make a standard tip cutting Woody tissue may have meristematic . 4” long or so. Remove ½ zones, but they are small and really leaves from lower half, dip not intended to make roots. It usually in dip-n-grow, let sit for 15 takes high concentrations of hormone min, stick in soil. Put under and many, many weeks to root these. mist. May take weeks!

Name ______Due in Box by Friday, March 29th, 2012.