Leaf midrib cuttings can be used for any leaves that have a - BIO - 112
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Leaf midrib cuttings can be used for any leaves that have a single central vein, and it is a particularly successful technique with Streptocarpus. Before taking cuttings, ensure all tools and equipment are scrupulously clean. Disease can be a major problem if care is not taken when propagating. Leaf midrib cuttings can be taken at any time of the year provided the plant has a suitable leaf, that is one that is undamaged and has recently expanded fully. Fill a plastic container with cuttings com- post. Water thoroughly and allow to drain. Cut a suitable undamaged leaf cleanly from the parent plant and place it upside down on a clean sheet of glass. Cut off a strip that is not more than 2 in wide, using a single- edged razor blade at right angles to the mid- rib. Cut further strips in the same way, each strip having a central rib and two wings. Make a shallow trench in the compost and insert the bottom of a cutting just deep enough to hold it erect. Firm gently. Plant the remaining cuttings about 1 in apart. Spray the completed container with a fungicide such as Captan or Benlate to protect the cuttings against fungal rots. Label the container and place it in a warm (21°C/70°F), humid environment to encourage the cuttings to root. However, ensure there is sufficient light for the leaves to manufacture food. Avoid direct sunlight, which may scorch the cuttings. A propagator or a closed case with bottom heat is ideal, although a poly- ethylene tent supported with a cane or loop of wire is quite adequate protection. Stand the container in a water bath to rewet compost that is beginning to dry out. Young plantlets should appear in five to eight weeks, but they will not be big enough for transplanting for several more weeks. LEAF CUTTINGS ON LATERAL VEINS Lay a leaf upside down on a clean sheet of glass. Remove the midrib with a razor blade so that the two halves of the leaf- blade are isolated and all the lateral veins have an exposed cut surface. Make a shallow trench in a container filled with moist cuttings compost. Plant the leaf cuttings vertically in the trench with the cut surfaces of the lateral veins just in the compost. Firm gently; label and place in a propagator or closed case. Plantlets will develop on the cut sur- faces of the lateral veins within five to eight weeks. Separate, pot on and label when they are large enough to handle.
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Plants that do not have a leaf with a central midrib and lateral veins but possess a more netted veining are not easy to propagate from leaf cuttings. Certain plants, however, have leaf veins that are capable of generating a new plant, and these can be propagated by cutting through the veins of the leaf so that plantlet development is induced but the leaf itself remains entire. Because of the size of their leaves this technique is particularly suitable for varieties of Begonia rex.
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TERM
Washington University in St. Louis
BIO 112                                         -                                         Spring 2008
TRAINING & PRUNING Your Home Orchard A Pacific Northwest Extension Publication Oregon
Pruning & Training  the Orchard