How to Do Softwood Cuttings on Maple Trees

There's nothing quite like the sight of a brilliantly colored maple tree in the fall, and if you want a bunch of them all around your house, it's time to make some softwood cuttings to propagate the tree. Softwood cutting involves slicing off young shoots on the tree in the late spring to early summer time frame and planting them so they grow into new trees. Successfully cutting and planting maple tree softwood takes proper technique and timing for the best results.

Knife
Rooting compound
Coarse sand

Instructions

- 1
  Clip a cutting that is about 4 inches long from the maple tree.
- 2
  Strip off all the leaves except for a few at the top of the cutting.
- 3
  Scrape the side of the stem with a knife to "wound" the cutting and improve the chances of a successful rooting.
- 4
  Dip the cutting in a rooting compound -- available at any gardening store -- and plant it in coarse sand that will not retain water easily, as water will quickly rot the cutting. Space the cuttings an inch or two apart. Keep them in the shade for the first 10 days before moving them into a sunlit area.
- 5
  Water the cuttings thoroughly as soon as you have planted them.
- 6
  Water the cuttings lightly and every couple of hours for the first few days by spraying them with water for a few seconds.

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