It's very difficult to bring the entire pot in, but you can take small cuttings, root them over the winter months, and then next spring plant them out in your containers. When you're taking a cutting, all you really want is a four to six inch piece of the
Being winter the time taken for the cuttings to strike is much longer. Generally it's going to take 2-4 months for roots to develop on a cutting taken during winter. This is due to temperatures and light conditions. Most plants understand what season it is based on the light.
Propagating plants in winter does take a bit longer than in the summer, two to four months for roots to develop, but it's a great way to get free plants from winter prunings. Providing bottom heat will speed things up a bit, but isn't necessary.
Place the cutting in moist vermiculite, perlite or a well-drained potting mix. Set in a bright location out of direct light. Loosely cover with an open plastic bag to increase the humidity around your cutting. Water often enough to keep the soil evenly moist, but not soggy.
“Grafting, budding, and plant propagation can be done on many types of plants during the winter, not just hardwoods.” High humidity and moisture are important during the post-cut and post-grafting periods.
When to take cuttings. The best time to take softwood cuttings is from mid-spring to early summer. Hardwood cuttings are taken later in the year, from mid-autumn to mid-winter.
Preparing cuttings
The plant material should be semi-mature, i.e. semi-hardwood. The best time, therefore, to take cuttings is late spring or early summer. Cuttings taken at other times will often root but may take much longer, although there are many exceptions.
Hardwood cuttings provide an easy and reliable method of propagating a range of deciduous climbers, trees and shrubs, and as bonus, they are taken from mid-autumn until late winter when more time is usually available to the gardener.
Cuttings will root more quickly and reliably in warm rooting mix. Keep your cuttings between 65°F and 75°F, avoiding excessive heat. If your area is too cold, consider a heating mat or cable especially designed for this purpose.
It is best to harvest cuttings in early spring and plant immediately but if this is not possible, cuttings can be stored safely for about 4 months. Store cuttings in a cool, dark, and moist place. Do NOT store in a wet area as this will promote root growth and weaken the cutting.
Warm growing medium temperatures accelerate cell division which leads to faster callusing, root initial development and subsequent root growth. It also speeds up the dry-down rate of the growing medium, which also helps encourage better rooting. The best way to warm the growing medium is through bottom heat.
The problem is if the cutting is too long the plant is more likely to wilt and stress. If the cutting is wilting it's far more likely to fail and not generate roots. Smaller cuttings will lead to better success rates and overall better outcomes for you and your cuttings.
Most cuttings taken in spring will be flowering in their first summer. Those taken in late summer will be overwintering under glass and be ready to harden off during May. One of the keys to overwintering rooted cuttings under glass is to keep them on the dry side in bright frost-free conditions of around 7°C (45°F).
Give cuttings bright light but not sun. Keep soil moist but not wet. The cuttings should root within three weeks. Admit air gradually to wean the cuttings from their humid environment, then pot singly before outdoor planting.
It will slow transpiration while the necessary components are used at the root sites to build a new root structure. Keep the atmosphere around the cutting warm (not hot), keep the humidity relatively high (>90%), and keep the root zone temperature warm (at about 25°C).
Technically, you can transfer your cuttings to soil at any time. In fact, you can actually propagate directly into soil, however, it's much harder to do within your home. When you propagate in soil, you have to keep a good balance of soil moisture, air flow, and humidity.
Some plants will root in water, but cuttings will develop a better root system when rooted in a soil-less potting mix. Sand or perlite can also be used, especially for cuttings that need good drainage and may rot if kept too wet.
You will know the plant has rooted if after a month or two it is still alive, the leaves haven't fallen off, and new growth is apparent. After a few weeks, you can gently tug at the cutting and if it sticks, you're OK.
September/October is the ideal time to take cuttings from your favourite strains of tender perennials to increase your stock for next spring or to make sure they live on if the parent plants do not survive the winter.
Several cuttings may be placed together in one container. Be sure to add fresh water as needed until the cuttings are fully rooted. Rooting will generally occur in 3-4 weeks but some plants will take longer. When the roots are 1-2 inches long or longer the cutting is ready to be potted up.
Taking cuttings is a great way to propagate new plants. You can take cuttings at any time of year in a variety of ways, but the easiest (and most successful) method is by taking cuttings of plants' stems in summer.
A common rooting temperature target is 73 to 77° F. To accomplish this, propagators who grow on the floor use in-floor heating, which is usually installed when the greenhouse is built. This is usually an energy-efficient method to increase the root-zone temperature and second- arily, the air temperature.
Answer: Autumn is a good time to take cuttings of outdoor potted, tender, tropical plants such as coleus and Pelargoniums (tender, tropical geraniums). Using a clean, sharp knife, cut 3- to 5-inch lengths from your “mother” coleus and geranium plants. Remove about half of the leaves.