How to Propagate Daphne by Cuttings? A Step-by-Step Illustrated Guide to the Whole Cutting Propagation Process

  Daphne is mostly propagated by two methods: cuttings and air layering, among which cuttings are the main propagation method, and it can usually be done in spring, summer and autumn. Spring cuttings are best done in February-March; summer cuttings are best done in June-July; autumn cuttings are best done in August-September. But no matter which season you take cuttings in, you must choose one-year-old, robustly growing branches as the cuttings.

  Taking daphne cuttings is a skilled job, and it also tests your patience quite a bit. So how do you take daphne cuttings? To help everyone improve the survival rate of cuttings and shorten the rooting time, today I will show you, with an illustrated guide, my own experience of propagating young daphne plants from cuttings, and share with you the fun that the cutting process brings.

  1. Cut some branches from a mature daphne tree to use as cuttings, then trim the branches to a suitable length and lay them out together.

  2. Soak the bases of the trimmed branches in rooting water, for about one day.

  3. Prepare several disposable cups, and poke some small holes in the bottom of the cups to allow drainage.

  4. Take the prepared vermiculite cutting medium and fill each disposable cup with it.

  5. Prepare a large basin, fill it with some water; the water should not be too deep, just enough to reach the bottom of the disposable cups.

  6. Place the cups filled with vermiculite medium in the water basin; the vermiculite will gradually be moistened by the water in the basin through the small holes in the bottom of the cups.

  7. Insert the daphne cuttings that have been soaked in rooting water into each cup; insert at most 4 branches per cup, and for longer ones you can insert 1-2 branches.

  After completing the above steps, we need to place these cups with the inserted branches, together with the large water basin, in a cool, ventilated place for care, avoiding direct sunlight, but when the temperature is high you need to spray water to cool down and keep moist.