Propagating for the future
This June marks our 18 th season of shrub propagation in Garden Prairie, but it is also the first year of a new chapter for us, with Joel Davidson now leading our propagation team. June is one of the busiest times of the year for our shrub production crew. They transplant up to 50,000 cuttings per week in order to take advantage of the limited window of time that viable cuttings can be successfully taken and rooted. We will take 250,000 total cuttings in June, another 20,000 in July, and 30,000 evergreen cuttings in November.
This week, we are taking cuttings on Spiraea, Physocarpus, and Hydrangeas. June is the ideal time to take softwood cuttings from most of our shrubs because there is enough succulent new spring growth to take a sizeable cutting from before the wood has hardened off. The cuttings are treated with varying concentrations of rooting hormone and stuck either into the sand or in propagation trays with soil media. We stick our Spiraea, Physocarpus, Hydrangeas, Roses, and Dogwoods into propagation trays, and then transplant them into the field in July after they have rooted in. These varieties are left to grow on for over a year in the field. We will harvest them in fall of 2022 and pack them in the cooler until the following spring, except for the roses, which we leave in the beds and dig immediately before potting.
Most varieties that are stuck into the sand, like Viburnums, Syringa, and Rhus ‘Gro-Low’, will be lifted in December and packed in the freezer until spring, and then transplanted into the field to put on growth for one or more seasons until they are large enough to pot.
Cuttings are very vulnerable in the weeks before they develop roots, and we monitor them constantly throughout the day, 7 days a week, to make sure they have enough moisture. If there was ever an issue with our irrigation system that allowed the cuttings to dry out for even a short amount of time, we would have major losses.
Many of our propagation techniques haven’t changed much over the past 18 years, but many of them have. Some members of our propagation team have been with us since our Garden Prairie nursery opened, and they have gained an invaluable amount of experience that can only come with years of observation and trial and error. They have determined over the years which varieties do well in the sand versus the soil, and have adjusted the levels of rooting hormone to suit each variety, along with countless other pieces of knowledge they have acquired over the years. As we continue to grow and learn, we are excited to continue our propagation program here at Mariani Plants, and we know that our processes will continue to evolve over time. We will continue to increase our propagation of varieties that we are successful with, and determine which varieties require too much time and resources to propagate efficiently.
A few weeks ago, Mike shared with us the Audrey Hepburn quote: “To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow”. This optimism is inherent in the process of propagation. When we see a greenhouse filled with tiny cuttings, or walk the propagation beds, we understand that we are preparing for a future that is still two or more years away. Regardless of what obstacles we face in the coming years, we continue to propagate for our future production, and have confidence in a future that is even better than our past.
