How to Make Cuttings From Loropetalum

Loropetalum shrubs are hardy in southern zones and are appropriate as specimen or foundation plants in the landscape. The attractive, fringelike blooms go by the common name of Chinese fringe flower. Some cultivars have reddish, burgundy-colored leaves. The shrub has a rounded, open form with whiplike extensions and is an evergreen in areas where it is hardy (zones 7b to 9). For more of these decorative shrubs in your landscape, propagate from stem cuttings in late fall or winter, when the shrub is dormant.

Pruners
Hardwood rooting compound
Pots or trays
Cold frame

Instructions

- 1
  Take woody cuttings from the past year's growth. Cut below a node, from an upward-pointing stem; taking at least five nodes. Take cuttings early in the morning, when possible, as this is when the plant is full of water. Cuttings should be as big around as a pencil. Remove any soft or ripe wood from the top of cuttings. Make straight cuts on the bottom of cuttings and slanted cuts on the top to keep orientation right. Keep cuttings moist until planting.
- 2
  Treat the bottom of cuttings with a hardwood rooting compound.
- 3
  Stick cuttings into a pot or tray filled with premoistened potting medium. The medium can be a mixture of sand and perlite or a soil-less mix you purchase. Bury two thirds of the cutting in the medium.
- 4
  Store potted cuttings in an outdoor cold frame or unheated basement over the winter. Cuttings should be cool, but not allowed to freeze. Maintain humidity around the cuttings by misting or covering with plastic. Hardwood cuttings can also be bundled and overwintered in a sandy, moist, covered bed
- 5
  Plant cuttings into a sand-filled bed in spring, about 3 inches apart. Provide afternoon shade on hot summer days.
- 6
  Keep cuttings moist. By July you can tell which cuttings have rooted well and which to discard. Upper growth will show on those with good root systems.
- 7
  Transplant cuttings into their permanent location in fall, or overwinter and plant in spring.

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