Illustrated Guide to Root Cuttings for Propagating Buddhist Pine (Podocarpus macrophyllus)

  Dear gardening friends, following the previous article "Illustrated Guide to Softwood and Hardwood Cuttings of Buddhist Pine", today the editor will continue from that article to discuss with you the root cutting technique for propagating Buddhist Pine. Originally, the editor wanted to share this method together in the previous article, but because it was too long, and for beginner gardening friends it was not easy to “digest” so many technical key points. So today the editor is posting the illustrated guide to the root cutting technique of Buddhist Pine separately.

  Now let us get to the main topic:

  1. First, we need to cut a section of tree root with many fibrous roots as the basic material for Buddhist Pine root cuttings.

  2. Apply some sterilizing and disinfecting medicine, such as erythromycin ointment, to the wounded cut surface of the root, to prevent pathogens from invading through the wound.

  3. Comb the small fibrous roots of the tree root straight; you can use cotton thread to wrap around the outer perimeter, so that it neither damages the root system nor affects the root system's absorption, and more importantly, after a long time, the cotton thread will rot away by itself.

  4. Plant the bundled tree root into a flower pot. Because the root system is relatively long, you can use the middle part of a mineral water bottle to surround the root system, with leaf mold soil as the potting soil; fill the middle part of the mineral water bottle with river sand, and spread moss on top to retain moisture.

  5. Place the planted tree root in a large foam box; before this, it is recommended to spread about 5 cm thick soil on the bottom of the foam box. This can both achieve the effect of keeping warm and serve the purpose of retaining moisture.

  6. Next is watering the plant. Watering is divided into two steps: one step is watering the settling water, and you can pour the rooting water + carbendazim solution that previously soaked the cuttings into the pot; the other step is spraying water, and you can mix the rooting water and carbendazim solution with water and spray it into the foam pot.

  7. After watering, cover the foam pot with a piece of glass, but leave a few gaps around it to facilitate ventilation.

  8. What needs to be done next is the maintenance and management work. It is recommended to uncover the glass every morning after the temperature rises and spray once to replenish water; in summer high-temperature weather, in addition to uncovering the glass, appropriate shading is also needed.

  The above is the process of Buddhist Pine root cutting. Have you all learned it? I hope everyone can grasp the key points through the illustrations.