Buxus Hardwood Cuttings

Hardwood cuttings provide an easy and reliable method of propagating a range of deciduous climbers trees and shrubs and as bonus they are taken from mid autumn until late winter when more time is usually available to the gardener.

Buxus hardwood cuttings.

Crape myrtles grapes and pomegranates all root well with this technique. Buxus sempervirens blauer heinz a slow growing box variety with blueish green foliage. The process to take hardwood cuttings begins in the fall right after the leaves drop. Buxus shrubs are also called boxwood shrubs.

Buxus sempervirens suffruticosa this dwarf form is a slow growing denser shrub than common box. Department of agriculture plant hardiness zones 5 through 8 growing to heights of 15 feet. Hardwood cuttings are used most often for deciduous shrubs but can be used for many evergreens. This plant is used for hedging and topiary.

You can cut the expense of adding more buxus shrubs to the landscape by using hardwood or semi hardwood stem cutting propagation methods. Pruning shears or scissors pinch the stems and make it hard for them to take up water later on. It s a good choice for low hedging and is commonly used for parterres and knot gardens. Boxwood shrubs belong to the genus buxus which includes commonly cultivated species such as the common boxwood buxus sempervirens and littleleaf boxwood buxus.

Semi hardwood cuttings are taken when the plant. Hardwood cuttings are made from mature dormant stems that do not bend easily. At that time use sharp clean pruners to take six inch long pencil diameter cuttings from vigorous. The buxus shrub grows slowly and can be expensive.

Taking boxwood cuttings in midsummer catches the stems at just the right stage to give you the best chance of success. Examples of plants propagated at the hardwood stage include forsythia privet fig grape and spirea. The three types of hardwood cuttings are straight mallet and heel figure 3. Some evergreen plants hollies for example can also be taken at the same time of year as other hardwood cuttings.

One of the easiest propagation techniques is propagating using hardwood cuttings. Cut 3 to 4 inch 7 5 to 10 cm tips of new growth with a sharp knife. Common boxwood buxus sempervirens is hardy in u s. Since these cuttings don t have leaves there isn t the initial requirement to provide a high humidity environment to stop the cuttings drying out before they root.