I have a beautiful royal poinciana tree that I would like to take a start from to plant at my daughters house. Can anyone tell me how that is done?
Take a very sharp, sterile knife or scissors, and cut a smaller branch close to the main trunk or the main branch - make sure you get wood that includes the tip of the branch. If your tree is more developed, take about 1' of branch from the tip. Dip this is hardwood rooting hormone, then plant it into moist peat and put a large plastic zip bag overtop (you might have to use skewers to keep the bag off of the plant. This will root in about a week, and you'll have a new start.
When you say "tip of the branch" do you mean other end of the small branch I cut from the main trunk--the tip away from the trunk? Meaning, I can not use a branch that is 4' long unless I can find a 5' plastic bag?
Well, at 5' you can probably do without the plastic bag - I use them to ensure that the moisture stays with the plant while it's generating new roots. However, Poinciana are pretty hardy trees and you'll probably be fine without, especially since you're in a pretty humid area as it is. I live in a desert, which makes my needs during propagation quite different. By "tip" I mean that you need to get the part of the branch that is actively growing and producing leaves - if you don't have this, you have to notch the stem, which is a pain in the neck.
