Propagating Heel Cuttings
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Overview:
Select side shoot with a swollen base (Pic 1) as this contains a concentration of growth hormones that assists rooting.
In the case of flowering types, select a non-flowering shoot.
Pull off the shoot from the parent plant (Pic 2) by pulling outwards and downwards so that you fetch away a small heel of bark (Pic 3).
Tug sharply rather than peeling off the cutting.
Take care not to strip away bark from the parent plant, as this could encourage infection.
Trim away any excess, damaged plant tissue and long tails of bark (Pic 4).
Using a clean sharp knife, carefully cut off the leaves from the lower half of the cutting's stem (Pic 5).
- Dip the bottom 25mm (1") of the cutting into hormone rooting powder/fluid to help to prevent fungicidal attack and assist rooting.
- Make a planting hole in a suitable sized pot of cuttings compost, and gently push the cutting into the compost.
- Water the cutting in then cover the pot with a clear plastic bag.
- To prevent the plastic bag touching the foliage form a rib cage with wire or split cane around the cutting.
- Place the cutting in a propagator or warm area where it gets bright light, but not direct sunlight.