How to Root Jasmine

Tip Layering

• 1

  Select one or more long, low-growing and flexible stems in late spring; choose stems that are about pencil-size in thickness. Ensure the stem area just behind the tip section is long enough to easily reach the ground.

• 2

  Prepare the soil where the stem will root -- about 5 or 6 inches back from the growing tip -- by cultivating and loosening it.

• 3

  "Wound" the stem section that will root by making a long, upward slanting cut about one-fourth through the twig. Use a sharp knife; clean and sanitize the blade with rubbing alcohol before using it.

• 4

  Bury the wounded stem area about 2 to 3 inches in the prepared soil, firming the soil and watering thoroughly. The new plant -- the tip section now pointing upward from the buried stem section -- will develop roots while still attached to the parent plant and receiving water and nutrients.

• 5

  Allow roots to develop all summer. Check for adequate root development in fall. When new roots have formed sever the stem to the parent plant, dig up and then transplant the new jasmine plant into a pot or plant it in a permanent location elsewhere in the garden.

Stem Cuttings

• 6

  Take succulent softwood cuttings in late spring or early summer, or semi-hardwood cuttings from midsummer into fall. Succulent cuttings will root more quickly.

• 7

  Cut 4- to 6-inch growing tips with a very sharp knife; clean and sterilize the knife blade with rubbing alcohol between each use, to avoid transmitting disease. Immediately place cuttings in fresh water, to keep them firm and fresh.

• 8

  Prepare the rooting pots -- all with adequate drainage holes -- by filling them with a 50-50 mixture of fully moistened sphagnum moss and coarse perlite. Make 2-inch deep planting holes with the pencil.

• 9

  Remove all leaves from the bottom 2 inches of each stem. New roots will form at the nodes where leaves were attached.

• 10

  Dip each stem in rooting hormone. Sticking each stem into a premade hole helps retain rooting hormone. Gently firm potting soil around each stem. Water well.

• 11

  Place rooting pots in a bright, sunny window in a warm room. Make sure plants stay evenly moist but not soggy.

• 12

  Check after three or four weeks to see if stems have rooted by tugging gently. Cuttings that resist a gentle tug have probably rooted, and are ready to be transplanted into individual pots.