Arrowwood viburnum (Viburnum dentatum) is one of my favorite shrubs (among too many to list) for good reason! It’s easy to grow, it’s dark glossy leaves change to various colors in red hues during the fall, and it provides nourishment in the form of berries for our local avian population. This variety is called ‘Morton’, a ‘Northern Burgundy®’ viburnum which is named for its fall color. The viburnum berries began forming in late June, turned blue at the beginning of August and completely disappeared a few days later. You can thank our Mockingbird neighbors for that! I like this shrub so much that it will come as no surprise to you that I propagated more, which I’m sure will please the birds as well as myself.
Viburnum Propagation
The viburnum propagation process can be done in a couple ways: layering or cuttings. When layering take a low hanging branch and make a small notch with a knife just below a node in the direction of the node. A little slit is all that is necessary. Be sure that the knife is clean. Treat the cut with rooting hormone then stick a toothpick in the wound to hold it open and bury the branch underneath a small amount of soil.
Over time roots will form around the wound and you can sever the plant from the mother plant and plant the new plant either in a pot or in the garden. Sometimes branches will begin to root where they meet the ground on their own – without use of the knife. The layering method is reliable but I prefer taking cuttings. With cuttings you can make more viburnums faster.
Taking Viburnum Cuttings
When I take viburnum cuttings I select healthy 3-4 node branches. I cut just below the node but as you can see in the pictures the roots will form along the stem. I treat the cut end of the viburnum branch with rooting hormone then I set it in the rooting media covering both of the bottom nodes. On the top node I left one leaf attached to gather light for photosynthesis. If the leaf is really large I may cut it in half to help reduce moisture loss. Moisture loss happens through the leaves which is why misting is such an effective method to propagate plants. It keeps the moisture from leaving the leaves.
Finding the balance between moisture loss and photosynthesis is important. Too much leaf surface area on a cutting will cause it to lose water but you want to leave enough that the cutting can gain energy. Cuttings that are sensitive to moisture loss can be trimmed to make smaller leaves and covered with a plastic bag. Don’t worry too much, experiment and see what works best!
When propagating plants always remember that some will not be successful. Don’t get discouraged. Analyze what succeeded and what failed. What kind of cutting was it? Is one branch thicker than another? Which ones had more nodes?
Once the cuttings are put into the rooting media give them about 2-3 weeks to root. ‘Shasta’ Viburnum also roots very easily!
For a great reference book on Plant Propagation check out the book Plant Propagation (Aff.) by Alan Toogood. It has a wealth of knowledge on propagating many kinds of plants. It’s great to get you started!
- Plant Propagation: The Basics of Cuttings
- 10 Easy Plants to Propagate For your Home Garden
- 5 More Easy Plants to Propagate!
Layering a Viburnum, The Results!
It’s not a secret that I’m a fan of plant propagation. Who wouldn’t be? You get free plants! One of the easiest ways to propagate a plant is through a technique called layering. With layering you essentially pin down a branch of a shrub or…
How to Pot Up Rooted Cuttings
Once your plants have rooted they need potted up or planted. In most cases I will pot up the newly rooted cuttings to help them grow stronger and more established root systems before planting in the garden. Potting up cuttings is a very simple process…
Viburnum and Spirea Cuttings
Last summer I took cuttings from one of my viburnums and a couple spireas. They have a good start this year and are beginning to put on new growth. The viburnum came from a softwood cutting that was about 3-4 nodes long. I need to…
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I have 'Winterthur' and the berries haven't turned blue yet. Maybe I better go take another look huh? 😉 Anyhow I love them so much that I'm always thinking of more varieties to add, thanks for sharing some info on yours.
Another great post Dave.
I'm not convinced about rooting hormone mind, I tend not to use it, but that's neither here nor there, your posts have spurred me on to propagate loads of stuff these recent weeks!
cheers
What is the white stuff on the cutting? It is the roots? I don't have this type of viburnum but would love it. My 'Mt. Airy has given me many red berries but they are tiny. I'll have to look for this one.
Racquel,
From what I have read on Viburnums bloom times can vary and there are so many varieties out there that bloom differently. I would have liked for this one to wait a little longer on the berries but nature will always take its own course!
Rob,
Rooting hormone really isn't necessary for everything but it drastically speeds up the process. It simulates the natural auxins that are already in the plant. What are are working on propagating?
Tina,
Those are the roots in the sand. I prefer to just leave the sand around the cutting rather than wash it off. There really isn't any point to cleaning them and the risk of knocking off valuable roots is too high for me! We need to get together and swap some stuff. I started two more cuttings the other day from this viburnum and three from another arrowwood. It may be the same variety but it was bought on discount so I don't know for sure!