When planting laurel hedging can i take a cutting off an existing hedge ?

Question

Also do the cuttings need to have roots and shoots or can a cut twig simply be planted.

Advice please .

Answer 1

Yes, yes and no.
lol
You CAN take a cutting off an existing hedge, and yes, they DO need to have roots in order to be established, and although there are many shrubs that can be established simply by putting a cutting into the ground, Laurel (among others) wants a little more attention.

Try this site: http://www.matagorda-bay.com/homelife/cuttings.html for an article by Mike McGroarty. He's an expert at growing shrubs and trees from cuttings, and his article is easy to read and quite understandable.

Happy Gardening!

Answer 2

Creating a laurel hedge from cuttings is a long term process. You would need to root the cuttings before planting the hedge and this is not practical for most people. Willows are one of the few plants that you can actually plant unrooted cuttings and expect decent results.

The best results for a hedge would be to buy plants. However, if you do not want to buy plants and are willing wait longer for the end result, propagation new plats by layering is an option. Layering involves taking a low branch, bending it down to the soil and burying the base or middle section of the stem under the soil. You then secure the branch with a wire or rock to keep it from pulling up. These stems will root and can then be cut off to create new plants. Wounding the stem with a shallow cut, and treating it with a rooting hormone will speed the rootng process. Try to keep the soil moist. If you start in the process in the spring you should have roots by the next year. If you search the term "propagation layering" on the internet you can see diagrams on the layering process. Often, plants will natuarally layer themselves. Check the base of your existing hedge, and if you are lucky you can find some lower stems that have layered and have roots. If so, you can did these up, cut them off and use them for your hedge.



This is slow and takes some effort so I highly recommend buying the plants. If cost is a consideration, visit your garden center or home center late in the season and often you will fine the plants discounted.

Answer 3

Laurel Cuttings

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
When planting laurel hedging can i take a cutting off an existing hedge ?
Also do the cuttings need to have roots and shoots or can a cut twig simply be planted.

Advice please .

Answer 5

Laurels are fairly easy to root from cuttings, as well as easy to grow from seeds, which mature hedges will usually produce in abundance. Remove growths around 6-8 inches long, remove the lower leaves, and insert several around the edges of a plant pot, filled with half sharp sand and half potting mix: this free draining open mix will have plenty of air around the roots, and will encourage rooting, even better if you insert the cutting bases into hormone rooting powder or liquid. For best results, cover the pots in clear plastic, held off the tops of the leaves with some bent wire, which will increase humidity around your cuttings, and thus have them less stressed with water loss, until they build up their own root network. They could also be planted directly into free draining soil, but you should get much faster rooting done this way, as well as a higher success rate, Any low hanging stems can also be pegged down into the soil, with a piece of bent metal too, and they can root whilst still attached to the parent plant. For seeds, Laurels produce purple berries late in the year - if you remove the flesh of these, you can plant the seeds at this point, over-wintering them, when they should then start to germinate in spring time. A plant can be 2-3 tall at the end of its second year. Laurels are a good starting plant for budding gardeners to experiment with, as they're fairly easy from cuttings or seeds, and you should get great results. Hope this helps. Good luck! Rob

Answer 6

You can take a soft cutting and root it. It is just time consuming. A cut twig dipped in a rooting hormone and planted in the ground and kept watered would probably grow, it would just take a lot more time and effort than planting some one gallon pots that are already established.

Answer 7

Possibly in time why not try it and see?