Re: blackeye susan trimming?

Tyra, sorry I took so long to respond ..I forgot that I had posted the thread until just now

thanks for your response and the details you mentioned ... I had presumed pinching was equivalent to snipping with hand tool or scissors

when "rooting", is it better to stand in mixture of leave mulch + soil rather than just placing in water?

OT ..Endicott is mid state NY ...original home of IBM

Stew Corman

One way to do this (not the only way):

When the garden mum plants are about 8 inches tall (give or take), cut them back to four inches, and use the 4-inch cuttings to root for new plants. Strip off the bottom sets of leaves and set the stems (one or two leaf nodes down) in pots of rooting mix (usually a mix of moist peat and perlite/sand, but there are alternatives). Rooting hormone can be used but it's not essential. You can usually try 4-5 stems in a 4-inch pot......just don't jam the stems close enough to touch each other. Make sure the medium is kept damp but not wet. Put the whole pot in a baggie held over the cuttings with a couple of sticks so that the plastic doesn't touch the leaves, and close the baggie loosely.

Keep the pot in a warmish place, out of direct sun. I usually keep pots of cuttings outdoors in a shady, sheltered area. The cuttings may look wilted the first day, but they should spring back up. Garden mum cuttings root fairly quickly, you'll be amazed....in a few days (if the weather is reasonably mild) you can pull one out and probably see roots forming. In general, though, let them take their time. You'll see new growth at the tips, a good indication that the cuttings have rooted and are making good growth. When they're strong and actively growing, you'll want to repot them in individual pots to grow on until they're large enough to plant out in the ground (or in larger pots for container growing or gifts).

I've rooted mum cuttings in water, but have found that long-term, the ones started in a rooting medium do better.

Warning: Many plants can be easily propagated by stem cuttings; it's a whole world of addiction just waiting to getcha.

Best, Tyra nNJ usa z7

Tyra, Thanks again for your detailed recommendations.

BTW, your point about using a baggy over the cuttings is like a terrarium ...aren't you concerned about fungus/mold forming in a sealed damp environment?

Stew

OT, never heard the name Tyra before ..is there a story attached?

does anyone have a list of what deer DON'T eat? or links about it?