CUTTING PROPAGATION BHT211

Learn cutting propagation

Develop your ability to propagate a wide variety of different plants by cuttings. This is a particularly valued skill in today's nursery industry, and while no course alone is going to make you into an exceptional propagator, this training provides a necessary foundation needed to build these skills.

COURSE STRUCTURE

The course is divided into eight lessons as follows:

1. Introduction. The principles of propagating plants by cuttings.:Importance of cuttings, Phenotype vs genotype, why choose cutting propagation, where to get cuttings from, basic cutting technique.

2. Stem cuttings. Ease with which tissue forms roots, types of stem cuttings (softwood, hardwood, semi hardwood, herbaceous, tip, heel, nodal, cane etc.), treatments (eg. basal heat, mist, tent, etc), testing rooting, etc.

3. Non-stem cuttings. Leaf cuttings, root cuttings (natural suckering with or without division, Induced suckering, In situ whole root cuttings; ex situ detached root cuttings), bulb cuttings, scaling and twin scaling, sectioning, basal cuttage.

4. Materials and equipment. Selection and maintenance of stock plants; disinfecting cutting material;

5. Growing media. Propagation media; biological, chemical and physical characteristics of propagation and potting media, Testing for toxins, air filled porosity, potting up cuttings, soil-less mixes, rockwool, etc.

6. Factors affecting rooting. Juvenility, Cutting Treatments (hormones and their application, anti-transparents, acid/base treatments, disinfectants etc), Callusing, Mycorrhizae, Carbon Dioxide enrichment, etc.

7. Setting up a propagation area. Creating and managing an appropriate cutting environment in terms of: Water; Disease; Temperature; Light and Air Quality. Greenhouses and other structures, watering methods (mist, fog, capillary etc), heating, etc.

8. Management of cutting crops. Estimating cost of production; Keeping records, etc.

Duration: 100 hours

Aims

To familiarise the student with the principles of propagating plants by cuttings
To develop an understanding of how to propagate plants from stem cuttings
To develop an understanding of how to propagate plants from non-stem cuttings
To develop an understanding of the materials and equipment used for propagating plants from stems
To understand the principles of growing media in relation to cutting propagation
To understand how and why cuttings form roots. To learn how to manipulate the formation of roots on cuttings
To understand the principles for establishing successful plant propagation areas
To understand the principles of nursery crop scheduling

WHAT YOU WILL DO IN THIS COURSE

Establish an area near where you live that can be used for the raising of cuttings. It doesn't need to be a greenhouse, just a sheltered place where you can raise the cuttings you will be asked to grow for this course.
Select ten different plants that can be grown by stem cuttings. Practice preparing different types of cuttings until you feel you can do this well.
Place samples of your cuttings in a propagating mix and place in the propagation area. Keep the mix moist and observe the behaviour of the cuttings. (e.g. does it put on new leaves? Do changes in temperature effect growth? Do any cuttings die? etc. ) Make notes of your observations. You will be asked questions about your results later in the course.
Prepare leaf cuttings for five different plant species. Practice doing this until you feel you can do this well.
Prepare root cuttings for five different plant species. Practice doing this until you feel you can do this well.
Prepare bulb cuttings for five different plant species. Practice doing this until you feel you can do this well.
Place samples of cuttings in a propagating mix.
Visit three plant propagation nurseries and see if you can find out where they obtain their propagation material.
Test soil samples and name them.
Go to your local nursery and/or garden supply and find out what rooting hormones they sell. See if you can discover what chemicals the products contain.
Visit three different commercial greenhouses.
Prepare a pot of cuttings and estimate the cost of production for each cutting produced.

WOULD YOU LIKE TO LEARN MORE?

ENROL TODAY!

Just go to the top of this page for pricing and enrolment options. If you have any questions you can contact us now, by:
Phone (UK) 01384 44272, (International) +44 (0) 1384 442752, or

Email us at [email protected]