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Has there been any research on the "take rate" of conifer cuttings?

markcalla96markcalla96 Posts: 6
in Problem solving

So I can see that a hardwood method can be done in autumn or winter. " 1: Here you take woody branches of the tree. 2: Then put it in soil. 3: In springtime, if still alive, new shoots and roots will grow from the cuttings."

My question is part 3. "if still alive"

Has there been any research on this "take rate"?

I.e. 100 cuttings were put in soil and 1 year later 10 cuttings had rooted and were in a good position to survive to year 2.

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  • LiriodendronLiriodendron Posts: 8,328
    I don't know of any research - but I do know that semi-ripe cuttings of conifers, taken in September, can take more than a year to root.  For instance, I took 5 cuttings of Taxus baccata 'Standishii', a golden-leaved upright yew, in September 2019, and brought them with me when we moved to Ireland in October '19.  Checking in autumn 2020, I found all but one cutting to be dead.  The 5th had just the suspicion of a root, so I replaced it in the gritty compost and tucked it away in the cold frame.  

    Last month I noticed there were roots growing out of the bottom of the pot, but no change in the top growth so far.

    Unscientific, I know, and semi-ripe rather than hardwood cuttings, but that's a 20% success rate after 2 years...  
    Since 2019 I've lived in east Clare, in the west of Ireland.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I remember chatting to a horticultural student some 40 years ago ... he told me he was trying to augment his income by taking cuttings of various conifer-type hedging plants to grow on and sell.  He said that the problem he was having was that many/most of the cuttings tended to callous over and fail to root ... he was getting quite despondant and said that his tutors at the college didn't have an answer.  

    Don't suppose that's of any help at all ... sorry. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • markcalla96markcalla96 Posts: 6
    Liriodendron said:
    I don't know of any research - but I do know that semi-ripe cuttings of conifers, taken in September, can take more than a year to root.  For instance, I took 5 cuttings of Taxus baccata 'Standishii', a golden-leaved upright yew, in September 2019, and brought them with me when we moved to Ireland in October '19.  Checking in autumn 2020, I found all but one cutting to be dead.  The 5th had just the suspicion of a root, so I replaced it in the gritty compost and tucked it away in the cold frame.  

    Last month I noticed there were roots growing out of the bottom of the pot, but no change in the top growth so far.

    Unscientific, I know, and semi-ripe rather than hardwood cuttings, but that's a 20% success rate after 2 years...  
    Thanks for that, that's really helpful for my query. I am running a crude experiment at the moment and wanted to see if others had done something before.

    As of now that 20% is the only number I have to work with.

    Any time I go for a walk, I've been taking snipping ~8-inch cuttings, splitting the ends into 4 with sterile scissors, dipping in water, dipping in rooting powder and placing in different areas to grow.

    Started this on 28.10.2021.
    As of 10.11.2021, these are:
    - 5 in potting soil in biodegradable coffee cups, with the cups in the group.
    - 6 stuck directly in the ground, clay earth with little to no vegetation, as I cut it down before starting.
    -11 stuck directly in the ground, clay earth in a field with long grass (6 inchs+). I cleared a 12-inch diameter circle around the planted area.

    I'll keep an eye on them over time to see how die and where.
    I'll keep adding more so we have a greater sample size.
  • markcalla96markcalla96 Posts: 6
    Dovefromabove said:
    I remember chatting to a horticultural student some 40 years ago ... he told me he was trying to augment his income by taking cuttings of various conifer-type hedging plants to grow on and sell.  He said that the problem he was having was that many/most of the cuttings tended to callous over and fail to root ... he was getting quite despondant and said that his tutors at the college didn't have an answer.  

    Don't suppose that's of any help at all ... sorry. 
    That is helpful.

    My theory is that if I can plant lots, in a swift and simple manner on any walk I do, on the larger scale, it would be successful at yielding new trees. Rather than taking strenuous care of a small number. Plant as many as possible with the knowledge that x% will take.

    Your story might hold more information, if he was trying to do it profitably, then any good business strategy would have had records of success rates so he could forecast into the future.

    Do you think he would be open to sharing his knowledge base?
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    He might be ... but as I said it was around 40 years ago ... he lived on a farm where we were camping when my children were small ... I can picture a young man of about 17 or 18 but I don't know his name and  I can't even remember the name of the farm ... I just know that it was somewhere in North Norfolk (we didn't live in Norfolk at the time). 

     Wracking my brains, if I remember correctly he did tell me that he had most success with 'heeled cuttings' ... I recall that because it is my favourite way of taking semi-ripe cuttings.  

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • markcalla96markcalla96 Posts: 6
    Dovefromabove said:
    He might be ... but as I said it was around 40 years ago ... he lived on a farm where we were camping when my children were small ... I can picture a young man of about 17 or 18 but I don't know his name and  I can't even remember the name of the farm ... I just know that it was somewhere in North Norfolk (we didn't live in Norfolk at the time). 

     Wracking my brains, if I remember correctly he did tell me that he had most success with 'heeled cuttings' ... I recall that because it is my favourite way of taking semi-ripe cuttings.  
    Ok, ill try this for the next set. so :)




  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I hope you own the ground you're planting these cuttings into?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • markcalla96markcalla96 Posts: 6
    Who really "owns ground" :expressionless: 
    I joke, it's my garden they end up in, yes.
    I don't plan on letting the 100 trees grow for more than a year really. I will cut them all down while they are less than 24-inches.

    I'm just theorizing for the future when/ if I own land, that I would know the easiest way to cover many acres with trees without buying them. Any suggestions?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    We have more than enough conifers up here without actively adding to them  ;)

    They seed around quite a bit. I'm always pulling out seedlings from the gravel. I've never tried taking cuttings. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    You want to know how to grow trees in the future? Plant acorns, chestnuts, beech nuts and hazelnuts. They’ll grow just as fast or even faster than cuttings  … and be much less hassle. 😊 


    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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