Herbaceous cuttings are made from succulent, non-woody plants like geranium, chrysanthemum, coleus, carnations, poinsettia and other greenhouse crops. Cuttings are usually 3 to 5 inches in length.
Although growers can maintain their own stock plants, cuttings for the major crops like chrysanthemum, poinsettia and geranium are bought from large specialty growers.
In many cases a patent fee must be paid for propagating selected cultivars.
Purchased cuttings are packaged to prevent drying out and may contain an ice pack to keep cuttings cool during transport. Cuttings may be purchased un-rooted, callused, or rooted depending on the crop.
The environmental conditions required to root herbaceous cuttings is similar to softwood cuttings. They require mist to reduce excessive water loss from the succulent leaves.
In general, these cuttings are easy to root. They usually do not require auxin to root, but benefit with faster rooting and more roots per cutting.
Rather than auxin, the temperature of the medium can be limiting for herbaceous cuttings and most benefit from bottom heating.
