Gadenin日本語Get the appChoosing the method
Three methods work on this tree, and they suit different situations. Stem cuttings are the everyday choice and they cost you nothing, because the material comes off the plant during routine pruning. Seed gives you many plants at once if you can obtain fresh seed. Air layering is the answer when a plant has grown too tall and you want a well-furnished new plant from the top rather than a bare stub.
Whichever route you take, warmth is the deciding factor. This is a tropical tree and its roots and seedlings need consistent warmth. At around 75F to 85F (24C to 29C) cuttings root in a few weeks. Below about 65F (18C) they mostly sit and rot instead.
| Method | Best season | Time to a rooted plant | Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stem cuttings | Active growth, warm and bright | Four to eight weeks | Straightforward with warmth |
| Seed | Any time with bottom heat | Germination in one to three weeks | Easy if the seed is fresh |
| Air layering | Active growth only | Two to three months | Slow but very reliable |
Taking stem cuttings
Take cuttings on the same day you prune, from the shoots you were removing anyway. Choose material that is firm rather than soft and floppy, and avoid the very softest growing tips, which collapse before they root.
- Cut a shoot four to six inches (10 to 15 cm) long Choose a healthy shoot with at least three or four nodes. Cut just below the lowest node with clean, sharp blades, because that node is where most of the roots will form.
- Strip the lower leaves Remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting so that no foliage will sit below the surface of the mix. Leave two or three leaves at the top, and if they are large, shorten them to cut water loss while the cutting has no roots.
- Insert into a free-draining mix Use a gritty mix, or equal parts potting mix and perlite, in a small pot with drainage holes. Push the cutting in so at least one node is buried, firm it gently and water once so the mix settles around the stem.
- Keep it warm, humid and out of direct sun Cover the pot with a clear bag propped clear of the leaves, or use a propagator. Aim for 75F to 85F (24C to 29C), with bright indirect light. Bottom heat from a propagation mat roughly halves the rooting time.
- Air it and check for roots Open the cover for a few minutes every couple of days to let stale air out and to check for mold. After four weeks, tug the cutting very gently. Resistance means roots have formed. Then remove the cover over the course of a week.
- Pot up once roots fill the small pot Move to a pot one size larger with normal potting mix, keep it warm and bright, and pinch out the tip once it has put on a few inches (8 to 10 cm) of new growth so it branches from the start.
Take four or five cuttings rather than one. Losses are normal and cost you nothing, and a pot with several rooted cuttings grown together makes a fuller looking plant much faster than a single stem does.
Growing from seed
Seed of this tree germinates readily when it is fresh, and freshness matters far more than any treatment. Old, dry seed germinates patchily or not at all. Soaking the seed in room-temperature water overnight softens the coat and gets germination going a few days sooner.
Sow half an inch (about 1 cm) deep in a moist, free-draining seed mix, cover to hold humidity and keep the tray at 77F to 86F (25C to 30C). Seedlings usually appear within one to three weeks. Give them bright light immediately, or they stretch into weak stems within days, and pot them up individually once they have two or three true leaves.
| Stage | Conditions | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Before sowing | Room temperature water | Soak the seed overnight |
| Sowing | Moist free-draining seed mix | Sow half an inch (1 cm) deep, cover the tray |
| Germination | 77F to 86F (25C to 30C) | Keep evenly moist, never soaking |
| First two weeks after emergence | Bright indirect light, still warm | Remove the cover gradually, thin crowded seedlings |
| Two or three true leaves | Bright light, normal watering | Pot up individually into potting mix |
Seedlings from this tree fold their leaves at night from a very early stage. Do not read that as a problem in a young plant. Judge them by whether the leaves open again in daylight, exactly as you would judge an adult tree.
Air layering a tall plant
If a plant has become a bare pole with a tuft at the top, air layering turns that top into a new well-shaped plant instead of throwing it away. Choose a point on the stem just below the leafy section, remove a ring of bark about an inch (2.5 cm) wide, wrap the wound in a handful of damp moss, and enclose the moss in plastic tied firmly at both ends.
Keep the moss damp and wait. In warm conditions roots appear in the moss in two to three months and you can see them through the plastic. Once the moss is full of roots, cut the stem just below the layer, pot the new plant up and keep it warm and humid for the first fortnight. The old bare stem left in the original pot will resprout if you keep it warm and bright.