How to Propagate Myoporum

Mix together two parts coarse clean sand with one part each perlite and peat moss. Blend the mixture in a bucket and add water until it is damp and crumbly.

Fill a 2- to 4-inch pot with the mix and smooth it off on top. If you are reusing a pot from last year, wash it with soap and water to remove any plant pathogens.

Take a 2- to 4-inch long cutting from a stem of a Myoporum plant. Pinch off the leaves at the bottom of the cutting with your finger nails or a small pair of clippers. Leave two to four leaf sets on the top of the cutting.

Slip the myoporum cutting into the center of the pot with the bottom one-third to one-half of the cutting below the soil line.

Cut the bottom out of a clear plastic bottle. Use one with a diameter slightly larger than the propagation pot you chose.

Place the potted cutting indoors on a windowsill where it gets bright indirect light or on a covered porch or greenhouse. Myoporum cuttings root well in a temperature range between 75 and 85 F. Place the plastic bottle over the cutting to keep humidity in.

Pull the plastic bottle off and water whenever the top of the soil feels dry under your fingertips.

Give the myoporum cutting a very gentle tug after four to six weeks under the plastic bottle. If it feels firm, roots are developing successfully. Remove the plastic bottle to begin the hardening off period.

Move the cutting outdoors into a protected area that gets dappled shade and leave it for one week. Keep the soil damp by soaking the pot when it starts to dry out.

Plant the myoporum cutting out into the landscape in late summer or fall. If you got a late start on propagating the cuttings and winter has already come before the cutting is ready, keep it in a greenhouse and plant it outdoors in the following spring.