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Dicentra cutting

LewisiumLewisium Posts: 122
in Problem solving
New to Dicentra cuttings, there's a big Bush of it and I kind of used the same cutting strategy as I do with Sylvia's, but will this actually do anything, it's wilted since this morning, probably due to transplant shock, is the cutting too big (theres a smaller cutting on the left) 

Posts

  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    I just divide my dicentras. Much easier  :)
    There's a lot of foliage on that though - you can cut the leaves back by about half. They're always best put round the edges of a pot too. All cuttings are as it helps with drainage. 
    How have you done the bit that's below the soil? Did you cut below a leaf node?
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LewisiumLewisium Posts: 122
    Fairygirl said:
    I just divide my dicentras. Much easier  :)
    There's a lot of foliage on that though - you can cut the leaves back by about half. They're always best put round the edges of a pot too. All cuttings are as it helps with drainage. 
    How have you done the bit that's below the soil? Did you cut below a leaf node?
    The big cutting was off the side of the main dicentra stem,  should I just keep the main stem of the big 1 and take the 2 side ones off? 

    I'd like to learn to propagate from cuttings as opposed to dividing if possible first.
  • PosyPosy Posts: 3,601
    I heard Carol Klein say you can do root cuttings, but I'm  not sure about stems.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    You can just cut the leaves in half. That lessens the amount of transpiration from them.  :)
    The important bit is the base though. It has to be cut at a node [ a leaf joint]  - just below it, as that's where the roots will come from. If you don't have that, it's unlikely anything will happen.
    If I remember correctly, they're best done after flowering, or before there are flowers. It's a case of capturing them when they're most viable. 
    You can put them in a cold frame or similar, and with a poly bag over them if necessary, to help retain that moisture.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    It has far too many leaves to root. Not enough water can be transported to those leaves, so it will just wilt.
    Agree with @Fairygirl, best way to propagate is to divide.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    I’m not so sure of leaf cuttings,  they are easiest from bits of roots. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

  • Busy-LizzieBusy-Lizzie Posts: 24,043
    I ordered a dicentra (now Lamprocapnos) online during the first lockdown 2020. It had been badly packed and a stem had broken off it. I trimmed off all the leaves except the top ones and cut off the lower stem just below where the bottom leaves had been. Then I put it in a glass of water to see if it would perk up - which it did. So I put it in a pot of compost and it started to grow after a while. I've planted it and now I have a plant that has just produced its first flowers.

    Your cutting needs most of the side leaves cut off. Then cut off the stem to just below where the bottom leaves are and give it a drink.
    Dordogne and Norfolk. Clay in Dordogne, sandy in Norfolk.
  • LewisiumLewisium Posts: 122
    I've binned the dicentra I have, I looked and no Leaf node below the soil line, I'll get another and do it properly. 
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