Back in the fall I decided to take some arborvitae (Thuja occidentalis) cuttings and test to see how well they would root over the winter. Propagating plants over the winter as hardwood cuttings has some big advantages so it was definitely worth trying.
How I Took the Arborvitae Cuttings
I used the same method for taking cuttings that I wrote about in this post: Propagating Arborvitae from Cuttings and stuck them in a container with a mix of sand and fine bark shavings (it’s often sold as soil conditioner). You can see the mix of sand and bark shavings in the picture below. The bark shavings were on the bottom for drainage and the sand was on top to help support the cuttings. I’ve used peat moss in the same manner in combination with the sand.
Every now and then I would check on the cuttings over the winter. Sometimes a cutting would brown up and I would pull the cutting and throw that away. You will always lose a few plants with any type of cutting. The key is to take more cuttings than you need so you end up with your target number. You can always give a friend the extras!
Maintaining the Cuttings
I pretty much left the cuttings alone to do their thing. After about 9 months I checked them and repotted them. You can see the results in the video and pictures below. There’s no need to wait 9 months, that was life circumstances that delayed me. You should be able transplant your cuttings in the spring time.
Advantages of Fall Cuttings for Arborvitae
The big advantage to taking cuttings in the fall is the lower maintenance involved.
- In Tennessee it rains fairly regularly in the winter and while you may have to water in a dry spell most of the time the rainfall is enough for these cuttings.
- With lower fall and winter temperatures cuttings don’t dry out as fast which improves their chances of success.
- There is also less of a risk of fungal issues developing in the winter.
That doesn’t mean cuttings in the fall and winter are no maintenance. They do require monitoring and need supplemental watering sometimes but they are far easier than cuttings done in the heat of late spring and summer.
Overall I’m very happy with the results. I don’t remember how many cuttings I started with, I suspect it was around 12 or so, but to have 8 very successful cuttings root is pretty good. If you would like more details on the results check out the video below or go to the earlier article I published on how to root arborvitaes. The process is very simple and I think any gardener can do this!
Video Results of Arborvitae Cuttings Taken in the Fall
Check out the video I put together about these arborvitae cuttings below.
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