I’m always excited to learn how to propagate something new. Recently I’ve managed to get a few cuttings of a dwarf chamaecyparis to successfully root. I started the cuttings back in the fall and kept them overwintered in the garden shed. I didn’t have any bottom heat even though I’m sure that would have sped the rooting process up significantly. We all like it warmer don’t we? Plants do too. I kept the cuttings moist in the typical sand medium I like to use and covered them with a plastic lid. Essentially it was like a greenhouse in a greenhouse. About 6 weeks ago (End of March/beginning of April) I discovered the first two cuttings had roots. I still had 4 more cuttings waiting to root and I found just a couple days ago that the next one had rooted. Sometimes patience really pays off. Here’s a picture of the rooted chamaecyparis. The tiny white nub is the beginning of will be the new root system of a really cool chamaecyparis.
I took the cuttings from a garden club member’s chamaecyparis but I’ve forgotten the cultivar. I know it’s a dwarf and it’s extremely slow growing. It might be 2 years before this little cutting is suitable for planting in the garden. Most likely it will never go above 18 inches tall. I need to check and see which variety it is. The branches have a neat twisting habit that combined with the scale-like leaves makes the chamaecyparis appear almost fluffy.
With the warm weather beginning to stabilize I’m looking forward to propagating a while lot more for the garden! Have you propagated anything lately?
Here’s A Few Posts on Plant Propagation from The Home Garden