ISHS Acta Horticulturae 314: II International Symposium on Propagation of Ornamental Plants
SMALL STEM DIAMETER AS A MARKER FOR HIGH ROOTING POTENTIAL IN LEAFY AND LEAFLESS CUTTINGS |
| Author: | B.H. Howard |
| Keywords: | Softwood cuttings, hardwood cuttings, darkness, pruning, hedges |
| Abstract:
Softwood cuttings of Syringa vulgaris 'Madame Lemoine' had thinner stems than normal when grown on hedges which initially experienced a two week dark period, even though the part of the shoot subsequently used as the cutting developed in the light. The leaf areas of both the dark pre-treated and normal cuttings were similar, thus conferring on the former an increased leaf area:stem ratio. This morphological change was correlated with increased rooting, which is discussed in the context of diverting net photosynthates from stem maintenance to the rooting process. Leafless hardwood cuttings of Prunus insititia 'Pixy' prepared from the thin shoots within a bush rooted in greater numbers than those from thick shoots. To some extent, but not invariably, shoot thickness also described rooting potential between sources of hedge material, when taking into account also the length of shoot from which the cutting was derived. Cuttings from sources which produced relatively long thin shoots, such as those derived from the trunks of bushes, often rooted in higher percentages, with more and longer roots, than those cuttings prepared from relatively short thick shoots produced in the crowns of bushes. | |
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