How to Plant an Ocotillo Plant From Stem Cuttings

Taking the Cutting

• 1

  Take a stem cutting from an actively growing ocotillo. Identify the area of new growth at the stem tips by the long-petioled leaves it bears, rather than the short stubby leaves that are on the lower stem; the petioles bear a terminal leaf that drops off, and the petiole then hardens to form the spine.

• 2

  Clean freshly sharpened pruning shears with rubbing alcohol. Prune off a 12- to 15-inch piece from the end of the stem, taking care to make a clean cut rather than bruising or tearing the tissue.

• 3

  Dip the end of the cutting into a rooting hormone that also contains a fungicide.

Putting the Cutting to Root

• 4

  Fill a clean 6-inch nursery pot that has drainage holes with a mixture of half peat and half perlite; add water so the mixture is moist.

• 5

  Make a 2- to 3-inch hole in the center of the rooting mix with a clean dowel or stick that is a little larger than the diameter of the ocotillo stem.

• 6

  Put the hormone-coated ocotillo stem into the hole, firming the potting mix around it. Don't push it farther down into the medium than the coated section of stem, because this would rub off the hormone and bury too much of the stem. Make sure the cutting can stand erect on its own in the rooting mix. Put some rocks on top of the potting mix to support the base, if necessary.

• 7

  Put the cutting in a warm area in bright indirect light or partial shade. Water the potting mix thoroughly about once a week during hot weather and every two weeks in cooler weather.

Check for Rooting

• 8

  Check every few weeks for roots by tugging gently on the stem. Unpot the cutting gently to check for roots if the cutting resists being pulled loose. Check occasionally to see whether the cutting is dead; live canes are pliable and gray-green, dead canes are brown and stiff. Discard any dead cuttings.

• 9

  Allow the developing roots to grow into the potting medium before transplanting the cutting. Water the rooting ocotillo thoroughly and then let the soil dry out before watering it again.

• 10

  Move the rooting ocotillo gradually into more sunlight. Fall or spring are the best times to make the transition.

• 11

  Transplant the rooted ocotillo into a bigger pot or into the garden when the root system fills out the pot.