Boxwood Cuttings: [Concept, Period, Rooting and Planting]

What does it mean to plant by cuttings?

Carrying out the plantation by cuttings is a technique by which a mother plant is sown and reproduced, by means of a fragment of it.

Cuttings for planting are obtained from the leaves, rhizomes, stems and roots of a plant that is in good phytosanitary condition and well developed.

The fragments or cuttings can be: tender, juvenile, semi-mature, woody, bud, foliar and root.Horticulturists recommend this planting technique as it is very useful for plants that do not produce seeds or produce a limited number of them.

With this planting method, a good number of plants can be multiplied from a single specimen: homogeneous and of good commercial quality.Currently, planting by cuttings is a method widely used by gardening enthusiasts because it is simple and easy to carry out.

Boxwood is a species that can be reproduced by planting woody and semi-woody cuttings.

What is the best time to plant boxwood cuttings?

The best time for planting Boxwood cuttings would be in summer when the semi-woody branches are collected and placed in cold greenhouses.

Although the boxwood plant tolerates direct sun very well, while the cuttings are developing, it is preferable to place them in a semi-shaded place, with light but without sun.

How to get boxwood cuttings to root properly?

Boxwood cuttings from young plants, especially when they are in full growth stage, are more likely to root.

To ensure that boxwood plants root correctly, the cuttings must be treated with auxin-type growth regulators that accelerate their growth and increase the quality of the roots.

Boxwood cuttings, being a semi-woody plant difficult to root, should be treated with the most concentrated preparations of rooting hormones.For this, it is recommended to impregnate the boxwood cuttings with powdered hormones for woody plants.

How should we take the boxwood cuttings to plant them?

To prepare boxwood cuttings, it is necessary to cut a stem of 13 to 15 cm, coming from a healthy and robust plant.

Then the leaves are removed from the lower half of the branches and proceed to carry out a treatment with water (1lt) and chlorine (10ml) to disinfect them.

The best boxwood cuttings are semi- woody stems, i.e. branches that have grown in the same year but are at the end of the growing season.

Specialists recommend that in order to take boxwood cuttings, the garden utensils are well disinfected to prevent them from becoming contaminated with fungi or bacteria.

How long should we leave boxwood cuttings in water?

Once the boxwood cuttings are prepared, disinfected and treated for rooting, it is recommended to plant immediately so that they do not dehydrate.

The lower third of the cutting is introduced into the substrate and is pinched with the hands to prevent air from remaining.Horticulturists recommend maintaining the polarity of the cutting, that is, driving the stake into the substrate from the bottom end, not the top, for best results.

Is it convenient to use fertilizer or compost?

The boxwood plant requires the use of a fertilizer or compost for green plants or organic fertilizers such as guano, horse manure, earthworm humus, among others.

With the subscriber it is guaranteed that the boxwood cuttings can obtain the necessary nutrients to reproduce a new robust and healthy plant.

It is also recommended to hydrate the substrate with a mixture of peat and vermiculite so that once the cuttings are rooted, transplanting can be facilitated.

The boxwood cuttings should be placed in a greenhouse with a temperature around 20 to 24°C, approximately and that do not receive direct sunlight or drafts.Boxwood should be watered every three or four days, preferably by sprinkling.

The boxwood plant can adapt to all types of soil, but the ideal should be to locate the crop in a neutral or somewhat chalky soil.

How long does it usually take for a boxwood cutting to come out?

The time it takes for a boxwood cutting to root depends on the species, the type of cutting, the age of the stem, how it was prepared, and the humidity and temperature conditions.

In the case of semi-woody cuttings such as boxwood, roots begin to emerge in about 3 weeks and can take up to five months to produce a new plant.

For the boxwood plantation to be carried out successfully, it is recommended to transplant them into individual pots (14 cm in diameter approx.) in the morning and leave the irrigation for 15 minutes to prevent them from suffering water stress.

After a few days of acclimatization, the boxwood will be able to receive sunlight and a little liquid fertilizer.

Bibliography and references

Bent Ana. (2019). Great Book of Indoor Gardening. First edition. Servilibro Editions, SA Madrid-Spain. PP 43-47.
Manual of propagation of higher plants. Metropolitan Autonomous University. First Digital Edition 2017, Coyoacán. Mexico PDF.