What is the best way to get a juniper cutting to root??

Ali_Bonsai

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Or does it matter for each kind of juniper?
I've tried with peat moss in a baggie and even perlite now. The perlite works for another cutting I did with another tree, but not too great with the juniper.

Also what should the maximum thickness of the cutting be to propagate a juniper?

Thank you.
 

Stan Kengai

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Here is an article on the subject by Jonas Dupuich. I, like him, have had the best luck with a mixture of sand and perlite and placing them under a bench where it stays damp.

I have seen others sucessfully root shimpaku with a 3/4" stem, but I've never had any luck with something that big. So I try to stay under 1/4".
 

Bill S

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I stick them in good ol dirt and have pretty good luck. Honestly when I try to do cuttings the way many do they croak soon after, when I stick em and forget em, it seems to work.
 

Ali_Bonsai

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Thanks for the advice guys...

I'll try the perlite and sand together. I also sprinkle some rooting hormone on the cuttings before sticking them in there.

Bill - I actually did place one in the ground too and it seems to be holding up. Not sure yet. It's been 4 weeks now.

I havent tried it with a shimpaku. Just with some local junipers around where I live.
How long would it take for it to root on average?
 

berobinson82

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Don't junipers, shimpaku more specifically, root from cutting about 9 out of 12 months of the year? I've heard of people taking them in February and in July...
 

Bill S

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By looking at them you would think after a few months, but I find they need to be given until the following year at least, not a quick one like elms or ficus.
 

evolve

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I find the the best way if one is trying make further plants, is to partially bury one of the branches in the ground...
then seperate it after it has grown roots.
Works every time...

Do you scar the trunk, apply rooting hormone, sphagnum moss or do anything special? Or just bury the branch? How long does it typically take to grow sufficient roots? I might have to try this. For whatever reason, I've never had much luck with cuttings, of any species.
 

IIIROYIII

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I've been having increasingly better luck at shimpaku cuttings since I started taking them three years ago. I will wait until the tree is completely dormant typically mid to late january here in atlanta. I will then take all the cuttings from the tree, then re-cut them on a cutting board using a very sharp razor blade, in theory to avoid crushing the cambium. Dip them in a powder rooting hormone, then place them in moistened superplugs. A seed type starter tray I picked up from the local hydroponics store. It also has a clear plastic dome with vents on the top, and place to slide a grow light.
The plugs seem to keep the right amount of moisture around the cutting, so I just keep a small amount of water on the bottom of the tray. I then keep the cuttings on my bathroom counter, figuring the extra humidity from hot showers would be good. I've also monitored the temperature in the dome, and it seems to hold around 77-80 degrees with the vents open and light on. At night I turn the light off and shut the vents. The first year I did this I didn't use the plugs or grow light and had only about 15-20% success. Last year around 50%. And this year probably closer to 75%. Now I have to figure out what to do with all these shimpakus.

An added bonus of using the superplugs is that you can lift the inner tray that holds the plugs from the outer shell which holds the water, and then see which plants are rooting, without really disturbing the plant. Then you can take the ones that have put out sufficient roots and pot them in whatever media you would like.
 
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Brian Van Fleet

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Sounds like a lot of work. I have an old case for grapes which is plastic, and perforated all around. It's on the ground in the shade under a bench, and been full of peat and perlite for years, and I just jam the cuttings in...usually in spring, or whenever I'm removing pencil-sized shoots, no hormones or extra care. I always end up with more than I want, and in a year, I move them to 1 gallon cans or to the ground.
 

Ali_Bonsai

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Tnx for the tip IIIROYIII
I'll be happy to take some of those cuttings from you if you dont know what to do with them! :p

Unfortunately I can't find and Shimpaku or good quality at least around where I live... :(
 

Bill S

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:p if you have a Home Depot around, they usually have a variety of Chinese Juniper, not shimps, but close, in thier parking lots, a few cuttings would probably be ok. I'd ask though.
 

Ali_Bonsai

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I actually found one at our home depot last month Bill, but it was a big and the only one they had. Been going back to check since, but nothing yet.
 

Daneb1

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Getting Shimpaku juniper cuttings to root

I realize this is an old thread but in reading all the info given no one has said how long it should take for cuttings to root when kept in a domed well misted growing container. Mine have been in there now for about a month and still look as green as the day I stuck them in. They were dipped in root hormone and have received gentle morning sunlight through a garage window. No cutting was more than 1/8" in diameter. Unfortunately the medium in which they sit does not allow me to see if roots have formed. Any one have a good guess as to when I can remove them?
 

Stan Kengai

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New growth is the best indicator of when your cuttings have rooted sufficiently. BTW, I've had shimpaku cuttings stay green for an entire year, with no winter protection, and still not be rooted.
 

Bill S

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I realize this is an old thread but in reading all the info given no one has said how long it should take for cuttings to root when kept in a domed well misted growing container. Mine have been in there now for about a month and still look as green as the day I stuck them in. They were dipped in root hormone and have received gentle morning sunlight through a garage window. No cutting was more than 1/8" in diameter. Unfortunately the medium in which they sit does not allow me to see if roots have formed. Any one have a good guess as to when I can remove them?

They can stay green for a month after cutting them off and tossing in a corner. As stated the best indicator as to when you can take them is when you see good new growth.

One other thing I have heard, but not intentionally practiced, is to actually let the cutting sit and dry for a bit before adding hormone and planting.
 
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