Propagation of spirea by cuttings in the summer for beginners: rooting methods and further actions

Spiraea is an unpretentious and spectacular ornamental shrub. It is propagated both by seeds and vegetatively. Propagation by cuttings is the simplest method that even a novice gardener can successfully master. Let's look at how to properly propagate spirea from cuttings in the summer.

Is it possible to propagate spirea from cuttings in summer?

Vegetative propagation of spirea is the simplest and therefore most common method. Cuttings are carried out with equal success throughout the growing season: from spring to autumn.

Some gardeners perform the procedure in the summer, starting in July, citing the following benefits:

• the ability to immediately prepare planting material, since by this time the active growth of greenery on plants blooming in spring ends, and the cuttings remain green and semi-lignified;
• rooting before the onset of cold weather;
• plant survival rate - 70%.

Summer cuttings can be associated with certain difficulties caused by weather conditions. So, you often have to wait so that it is not too hot and dry. Otherwise, there is a risk that the cutting will not take root.

Deadlines

Some types of spirea, for example, Japanese, are taken from cuttings as early as June. Most others are from July. Regardless of the month and plant variety, cool, cloudy and even rainy days are most favorable for cuttings.

Selection and preparation of cuttings

To propagate spirea by cuttings in the summer, both annual, semi-lignified and young, green cuttings are prepared.

Planting material is cut from healthy bushes that do not have visual signs of pest or disease damage. The cuts are made with a sharp knife at an angle of 30°. The top of the selected shoot is cut at a right angle.

Important! Among the young shoots of the current year, those on which flowering has already stopped are selected.

Future cuttings are shoots 11–15 cm long, with 2 pairs of green leaves or buds. For rooting, cut branches are placed in a solution that stimulates root formation: “Kornevin”, “Epin” or “Heteroauxin”.

To make rooting faster, it is recommended to completely remove the 2 lower leaves on each cutting and shorten the remaining upper ones by half.

After the roots have formed, the cuttings are transferred to separate containers filled with a loose substrate consisting of a mixture of wet sand and peat. The shoots are planted to a depth of 3 cm at an angle of 45°, sprinkled with water and covered with plastic film, forming a mini-greenhouse. The seedlings are periodically ventilated and moistened by spraying, preventing the soil from drying out.

3 weeks after the start of rooting, the plants are released from the shelter and kept for another 14 days, watering regularly. When the seedlings are fully grown, they are transplanted to a permanent place in open ground.

Planting ready-made cuttings

Transplantation of finished cuttings, prepared and rooted in summer, is carried out in mid-autumn. To do this, choose a flat, well-lit area of ​​land, protected from drafts, with loose fertile soil.

Prepare planting holes, the width and depth of which are 3 and 1.5 times, respectively, the size of the root system of the seedling.

Reference. The distance between planting holes is 40–70 cm.

The plant is placed in the hole, the roots are carefully straightened and covered with a mixture of garden soil, peat and sand (1:1:1). The seedlings are watered and the soil around them is mulched.

Features of cuttings depending on the region and variety

The timing of cuttings and planting seedlings in open ground is determined by the climatic characteristics of the region. So, in the middle zone, work is carried out in early spring if the cuttings were prepared and rooted last fall, and also in the fall if rooting took place in the summer.

In colder regions, spring planting is preferable.

Reference. How to plant spirea by dividing the bush? To do this, choose cloudy weather, dig up a bush, wash away the soil from the roots and cut the plant into 2-3 parts. Each should have enough roots and several strong shoots. The roots are trimmed with pruning shears. The cuttings are transplanted into holes and watered regularly and abundantly so that the soil is not dry.

Some crop varieties have their own cutting characteristics. Thus, gray spirea, Japanese and Goldflame, which are early flowering, are propagated in the summer by green cuttings, when the shoots of the current year become semi-lignified.

Harvested cuttings take root by the onset of autumn and can be planted in open ground in the same year.

Further care

Subsequent care of planted young plants consists of watering, loosening and mulching the soil, fertilizing, pruning, and controlling diseases and pests.

Spiraea needs regular watering.So, during the dry period, up to 15 liters of water are required for each bush twice a month.

Attention! Japanese spirea is especially vulnerable to lack of moisture. During prolonged drought, the risk of plant death from lack of moisture increases.

It is recommended to loosen the soil after each watering to prevent the soil from compacting. Mulching the soil with organic materials will help to avoid this and retain moisture in the substrate: sawdust, peat, husks from seeds, nuts or buckwheat. The thickness of the mulch layer should be from 6 to 8 cm.

For full development and abundant flowering, spirea is fed in early spring with a complex preparation, for example, “Kemira Lux”. Varieties that bloom from July to August are additionally fertilized in June.

Plants that have reached the age of more than 7 years undergo spring formative pruning, removing weakened shoots and shortening shoots that have strongly begun to grow.

Advice from experienced gardeners

Growing spirea from cuttings does not cause any particular difficulties. However, there are some points, knowledge of which greatly facilitates the propagation and cultivation of shrubs:

1. Summer cuttings with semi-lignified shoots are carried out in the second half of summer.
2. Straight shoots from 10 to 15 cm long, which bear at least 4 buds, are suitable for cuttings.
3. When planting a cutting, be sure to take into account the angle of inclination of 45°. This way rooting goes better.
4. Dipping the lower cut of the shoot in dry “Kornevin” or “Heteroauxin” promotes rapid establishment.
5. Rooting takes at least a month, during which the cutting is provided with a warm, moist environment, covered with film or a cut plastic bottle.
6. It is better to plant spirea in a sunny area.Partial shade has a bad effect on the splendor of flowering.
7. Maintaining the required level of humidity in containers with cuttings is facilitated by regular spraying of the plants and the soil underneath them.

This is interesting:

How to care for a home rose in a pot - a guide for beginner gardeners

A guide to cutting roses in the fall at home for beginning gardeners

Simple ways to save rose cuttings until spring and plant them correctly

How to propagate a climbing rose by cuttings in the summer step by step

Why do you need to prune petunia in the middle of summer and how to do it correctly

Conclusion

Cuttings are the most productive way to propagate spirea. For this, both semi-lignified and young green shoots are used.

After rooting in separate containers in a mini-greenhouse, the plants are planted in open ground in mid-autumn or spring of next year. Caring for them includes a set of standard procedures: watering, loosening, fertilizing and pruning.