Magnolia from cuttings

Magnolia from cuttings should not be a headache. I heard many complaining about managing roots from maganolias. However simple the procedure that I tasted may be, it requires some vermiculite and rooting hormone, which maybe Clonex or other liquid hormones.

Size of the cuttings. 30 - 60 cm, about the thickness of a pen or a little less thick.

Take some cuttings of fresh wood when they do not have leaves, that's in autumn and winter.

Magnolia is a type that takes a while to make roots and very often the cutting dries out before making any roots.

Removing 5 to 10 cm of the bark will stimulate root growth in most of the stubborn cuttings

To remove the bark use a very sharp clean knife and then gently cut into the bark and peel it off. Do not go to deep for it may only compromise the cutting.

Regular liquid hormone treatment.
Then they will need to take a bath in one liter of water to which is added a liquid rooting hormone. About 10 ml of 0,4 % 3-indolebutyric (that is the usual liquid rooting hormon) acid to each liter of water. One litter should be enough...

Then you need to soak the basis of those cuttings in that solution for one night - up to one day.

These cuttings spent one night in that solution. 10 ml 0,4 %   3-indolebutyric acid  to 1 l of water.

If you have Clonex istead of  3-indolebutyric acid,  then the only thing is to dip the basis of the cuts into clonex gel and keep them there for a couple of minutes. You do not have to soak them over night, but you do have to remove the bark as I showed above. The rest you can do as follows below.

Then take a transparent jar of 1 liter an fill it with with vermiculite and then add water and some of the solution left from cuttings. About 30-50 % of solution and the rest water. The vermiculite has to become swamp wet.That's very wet. Do not make a soup of it by adding to much water!

I always choose a transparent jar because you can see through and check whether the plants shoot roots or not. I add some of the leftover of the solution prepared before, or about 10 ml Clonex.

Then I gently push the cuttings inside the rooting medium. If I use Clonex I simply leave a thick layer of Clonex gel on the basis.

Magnolia are stubborn to root and I am adding so much hormone because this will decay in time and lose its proprieties. This way the cuttings will receive for a longer time the impetus to root.

Cover the cuttings with a plastic bag with a few holes. The bag will maintain moisture and impede quick dry-out

Then place the cuttings in a light position on a window sill but not in full sun. 15-18 degrees Celsius should be enough. They wont like the heat at this period for it will make them dry out quicker. Because these are deciduous trees the heat will stir them to shoot new leaves. The energy and water for these leafs will be taken from the cutting itself  and since the plants won't have roots for absorption they risk dying-out.

Therefore it is indicated to pulverize from time to time with some foliar feeding in 1/2 concentration than the one recommended.

After more than one month less than two they should have some roots.

These roots are quite fleshy and fragile so do not be tempted to get the cuttings out as I did. I am to be excused of didactic drive to do so.  These will need to be a little bit bigger in order to be reported in a normal potting soil.

As soon as the roots would become a bit bigger you may replant the cutting. Continue to grow it inside to the same position. You do not need keep the bag overhead. Just continue growing in a pot until well established and then after all risk of frost start hardening-off the plant. Continue growing throught the summer and then in the autumn plant out.