Assuming a parent plant--from which cuttings are taken--is allowed to recover and regrow, can that plant be used again and again--almost indefinitely--for propagating new material? All cuttings would be clones, replicas, of the parent?
So presumably there'd never be a reason to throw out parent stock, as the 100th cutting will grow as well as, say, the 5th. Thanks LPN
Some nurseries here do replace stock plants from time to time.........not sure if its true, but someone once said if you take enough cuttings from a ribes..erm...king Edward the second (i think thats its name) and it stops flowering, none of the rooted cuttings will ever flower, the same with kolkwitzia amabilis.....wether there is any truth in that i couldn't tell you.......an elderly gardener/nurseryman told me.
oscar ... that entirely concievable since the cuttings are not much more than the orginal. Humm ... I wonder. Does anyone have a difinative answer? Cheers, LPN.
Cuttings usually root more easily when taken from juvenile growth, than from old wood. Thus e.g. a cutting taken from a young cypress will give a more vigorous, stronger-growing plant than a cutting taken from a slow-growing minor branch of an old cypress. Also, for difficult-to-root plants, a cutting taken from e.g. a seedling pine can be rooted with some difficulty, whereas a cutting from a mature pine can't be rooted at all. However, the continual cropping of cuttings off a stock plant also tends to keep the stock plant in a semi-permanent juvenile state, so generally, good strong cuttings can go on being obtained more or less indefinitely, if the stock plant is not allowed to 'mature'. This applies particularly to species which readily regenerate from stem / stump sprouts; Wollemia falls into this class, which I guess (from the other Wollemia thread!) is the main source of your query. I'd be inclined to be rather dubious about this story of disposing of 'overmature' stock plants in this instance.
My goodness, Michael, you are astute! That's why I asked. Even with my lack of nursery knowledge, a little bell had rung. Bell = horsefeathers. And of course the answers from experienced folks here prove it. Soooo, sounds like you've got a theory. Care to share...there?
Logee's Greenhouse, a commercial grower in Connecticut, USA, claims all their Ponderosa lemon plants have come from the same tree which is over 100 years old. I saw the tree on TV a few years ago. It is planted in the ground and a greenhouse surrounds it. I do think you can take too many cuttings at one time but as long as you don't weaken the parent plant, you should be OK.
Thanks, Tsmith, you've confirmed what many knew--and some suspected--to be true. The Logee's site was interesting, read about Grandfather Logee waiting for the tree to arrive by train in 1900...lemons grown from this tree often weigh 5 pounds! Too bad they can't ship to Canada!
Since you're already on the topic... Does this also apply to Wandering Jews? I've recently trimmed mine and am trying to root the cuttings. Will the cuttings that have already flowered grow any longer? Will they ever flower again? When trimming this plant where should I be making the cuts?
Majentas, I've never had a problem rooting ot growing a wandering Jew of any type. It is like some of the creeping sedums; just throw them down to contact with soil and they will root.
Definately, mine was really east too root, too. I was just wondering where i should be making the cuts? Also, if I the flowered partd will flpwer again or grow longer?
