Cutting

Cutting [ Horticulture ]	Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

Any part of a plant that can be removed and used to propagate a new clone of that plant through rooting.

A cutting is a piece of a plant (e.g. shoot, twig, leaf, root or other plant part) removed from a parent plant and capable of rooting, used to grow a whole new plant, a clone.
Both woody and herbaceous plants are asexually propagated by cuttings. There are many types of cuttings. Often, a plant can be propagated by more than one method of cutting. The cutting is then placed into rooting medium so that the base of the cutting is below the surface. Some plants will reproduce readily from cuttings while others take a considerable amount of time and care. Rooting condition may vary considerably in different species and type of cutting but in general the best conditions needed for most kind of cuttings to root comprises high humidity, indirect light and soil temperatures of 20°C to 25° C.
These conditions may be created by keeping cuttings enclosed under glass or in plastic bags in dappled shade. Cover container and cutting with a plastic bag tent to maintain high humidity. Cuttings must be shielded from direct sunlight, especially if they are under glass or plastic. Check the rooting medium every few days to make sure it remains moist. Rooting can take from a few days up to several months. After a few weeks, test for rooting by gently tugging at the cutting. If there is resistance, rooting has started and the plastic cover may be removed. Rooting hormones may be used with this method as they helps to stimulate rooting, but is optional.

The principal typology of cuttings are:

	STEM CUTTING: A cutting taken from a stems or stem piece (e.g. shoot, twig, sucker, etc) from both woody and herbaceous plants. Stem cuttings comprises:
	1)	Herbaceous cuttings: A stem cutting taken from nonwoody plants, such as perennials and houseplants
	2)	Softwood cuttings: A stem cutting taken from woody plants that have not yet become woody.
	3)	Hardwood cuttings: A stem cutting from woody plant taken from tissue which has become woody
	4)	Succulent and cacti cutting: A stem cutting from a branch or piece of a succulent plant stem.
	LEAF CUTTING: (Also known as "leaf propagation" or "mother leaf") A cutting taken from a leaf or leaf piece.
	BUD CUTTING & LEAF BUD CUTTING: A cutting taken from a small piece of stem with one or two buds or leaves.
	ROOT CUTTING: A cutting taken from a root or root piece.
	PEDUNCLE CUTTING: A cutting taken from a flower stalk.
	RHIZOME CUTTING: A cutting taken from a rhizome or rhizome piece.
	FRUIT CUTTING: A cutting taken from a fruit.

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Holdfast roots [ Botany ]
Dictionary of botanic terminology - index of names

Some species of climbing plants develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place.

Climbing plants, like the poison ivy (Toxicodendron radicans), Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata), and trumpet creeper (Campsis radicans), develop holdfast roots which help to support the vines on trees, walls, and rocks. By forcing their way into minute pores and crevices, they hold the plant firmly in place. Usually the Holdfast roots die at the end of the first season, but in some species they are perennial. In the tropics some of the large climbing plants have hold-fast roots by which they attach themselves, and long, cord-like roots that extend downward through the air and may lengthen and branch for several years until they strike the soil and become absorbent roots.

Major references and further lectures:
1) E. N. Transeau “General Botany” Discovery Publishing House, 1994