I have a VERY happy & vigorous Red Flowering Currant (Ribes sanguineum) that doubled in height & width in its 1st year & has been growing like gangbusters ever since. I forgot to prune it last year an so it's now much too tall (& sprawling/wide) for the spot where I planted it. I *have* to prune it asap but I'd like to save & grow the clipped branches into new shrubs if I can. I've had no problem rooting smaller cuttings (~1/2cm wide hardwood branches) but many of the branches I need to remove now are >3cm wide. Seems like a waste to put them in the compost when each would make such a nice (& fairly large) bush, if I can get'em to root & form new bushes. So here are my questions: 1) Apart from using a hardwood rooting hormone, what can I do to maximise my chances of success? Strip the bottom 2-3" of bark? Crush that part of the stem? Leave it in a bucket of water? Plant it in sand, pure compost, or some other mix? 2) The bush is already covered in tight/unopened clusters of flower buds. Will that have any effect on the health of my original bush or on the viability of my (small & large) cuttings? 3) Should I have pruned my currant at a different time of year altogether?? I hope you guys can give me some suggestions b/c I need to prune that bush in the next couple of days. Thanks!!
According to the Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propogation, yes it is possible to propogate by larger hardwood cuttings. To quote: Hardwood, late December,8000 ppm IBA-talc + thiram, openbench (warm bottom/cool top) rooted 100% Unless you have the equipment and materials to follow the recommendations, I would just dip the ends in honey (similar to blueberry propogation), and plant in sand or peat moss. You won't be able to plant the whole length of the cutting. They have to be short and only have 1 or two buds to reduce the demand for moisture from the non-existant roots
Honey? Cool. Thanks! I'm headed into the garden right away -before the sky clouds over- and will give it the honey thing a try :) The worst that'll happen is I prune an absurdly vigorous bush back to a more manageable size. Propagation would just be icing on the cake!
