make sure you understand the geographical life cycle of a particular plant. For example, apiaceae usually bloom and produce seeds at around April, and they will not live the Summer of Hong Kong, so there is no point in cuttage. Whereas most lamiaceae, such as basil, mint and rosemary withstand Hong Kong Summer relatively well.
To avoid rapid evaporation of water, which lead to withering of the cutting, make sure a relatively high humid environment is created for the cuttings. If you are working on a big amount of cutting, you may need a mist chamber like ours at The Clover Nursery. Otherwise, use a transparent plastic bag or cup to cover the cutting, so that the microclimate of the cutting will remain moist.
Mist chamber for cutting at The Clover Nursery
Place the finished cutting under indirect sunlight - AVOID DIRECT SUNLIGHT! Just as it is suggested above, we need to aim for slower water evaporation, but also make sure it is not too dark for photosythesis.
介質 Growing Media
Perlite is the best media for cutting because of its ability to retain water and drain excessive amount of water at the same time. It also allows areate, and it is a bacteria-free media produced under high temperature. You can use perlite alone, but you can also mix perlite with peat moss and potting mix, increase the ratio of perlite, and let the cutting to be grown in the mixture. Though you may not be able to observe rooting with this mixture. Rooting from soil requires approximately half a month.
Apart from rooting from soil, you can also perform cutting and allow rooting from water. Most lamiaceae herbs root well from water, and they do live after transplant. Mint is the fastest rooting herb with just 3-5 days, while rosemary is one of the slowest which may take up to 2-3 weeks.
Perlite is the best growing media for cutting
How to do cutting?
扦插時，摘除植株下部節位的所有葉片，只保留上半部分 ~ 3分之1 部分的頂端葉片。爲了減緩水分蒸發，上部葉片也可以修剪掉半片。扦插完成後，儘快澆水。如果以噴霧或噴水壺澆水，效果更佳。
Make sure you choose a parent plant that is growing well, and choose cuttings that are
- No pests and diseases
- Not flowering
- Containing both green and lignified parts in a single stem
- Length of approximately 10cm
- With 3 or more nodes, so they can develop into adventitious roots
Remove all leaves at the bottom half of the cutting. To avoid evaporation, you can also trim half of the remaining leaves. Water immediately with spray.
If you chose to root from water, make sure leaves do not touch the water to avoid rot. Change water daily to avoid bacteria.
When white roots are formed and new sprouts are discovered, it is time to transplant. If you chose to root from perlite, you can transplant with the perlite that the roots hold on to. After new shoots start to grow, pinch and let the plant to branch, which will lead to better shape and yield.
Rooting in water is fast and allows you to observe the process
Want to know more?
我們正在計劃一系列種植相關的季節專題工作坊。如果你希望知道更多工作坊的内容，或有意合作舉辦工作坊，可以電郵：email@example.com 或 WhatsApp：9818 8650與我們聯絡！
We are now planning a series of seasonal gardening workshop. If you would like to know more about the content of the workshop, or you are interested in co-hosting a workshop, email us at firstname.lastname@example.org or WhatsApp: 9818 8650!
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