How to Propagate Blueberry Plants From Cuttings

Hardwood Cuttings

• 1

  Take cuttings in early spring while the plants are still dormant. Look for shoots that are the about the diameter of pencil. Cut the shoots in 4- to 6-inch lengths. Discard the growing tips of the shoots because they will not root very well. Make the lower cut at an angle just below the lowest bud with a sharp pair of pruning shears. Make the upper cut at a right angle just above a bud. Be careful not to crush the wood when making the cut.

• 2

  Fill a greenhouse growing flat or other container with peat moss or other rooting soil mix. Moisten it with plenty of water. One part each of sand, peat moss and perlite makes a good rooting mix. Never use garden soil to start cuttings; it contains fungi and other organisms that will cause your cuttings to rot.

• 3

  Dip the lower end of a cutting about 1/4 inch into the rooting hormone powder. Tap the cutting with your finger to knock off excess powder. Stick the cutting into the greenhouse flat at an angle so that one-half to two-thirds of the cutting is buried. Allow the top bud to remain exposed. Keep an inch or 2 of space between the cuttings. Continue adding as many cuttings you need.

• 4

  Place the container with the cuttings into a clear plastic dome or small tent made of plastic sheeting. This will help keep the cuttings from drying out. Keep the propagation mix moist but not waterlogged. Move the covered container into a shady spot and mist them several times a day with either a spray bottle or automatic misting system. Continue watering and misting for several weeks.

• 5

  Check the tray for moldy or dead cuttings and discard them immediately to reduce spread of disease to healthy cuttings. Test the cuttings for rooting after a couple of months by gently tugging on them. Rooted cuttings will tend to stay put while those without roots will slip out easily.

• 6

  Fill nursery pots, flower pots or other growing containers with fresh rooting mix. Transplant the newly rooted cuttings into the pots. Fertilize once a week with a soluble fertilizer formulated for acid loving plants. Dilute the fertilizer to half strength. Allow the plants to grow for one year in the pots.

• 7

  Transplant the blueberry plants into their permanent location the following year. Keep them free from weeds to help establish them.

Softwood Cuttings

• 8

  Take softwood cuttings early in the growing season while the plants are actively growing but before flower buds are formed. The shoots should still be green and about half grown. Cuttings taken too early will wilt quickly and may not survive. Make the cuttings about 6 to 8 inches long.

• 9

  Cut off the softest part of the shoot at the growing end so that the cutting is about 5 inches long. Remove the lowest two or three leaves.

• 10

  Use the same rooting mix and containers as for hardwood cuttings. Stick the cutting into the mix to about half its length.

• 11

  Use an automatic misting system to keep the cutting at the proper humidity. Mist the plant every two minutes to ten minutes for two to ten seconds of mist. Misting is much more critical for softwood cuttings than it is for hardwood cuttings.

• 12

  Softwood cuttings root quicker than hardwood cuttings. Follow the hardwood cutting procedures for softwood cuttings once they have rooted.