How to propagate Podocarpus

sowing

Planting season

The sowing of Podocarpus is carried out in August every year. It can be carried out after the seeds are harvested in August.

Sowing and maintenance

The seedlings grow slowly, so the soil in the pot needs to be kept moist and shaded in midsummer. Fertilization should be mainly with light fertilizer, as too high a concentration can easily burn the seedlings. When transplanting into pots, the seedlings need to be brought with them with soil.

Cuttings

Softwood cuttings

Softwood cuttings refer to the method of using semi-mature branches of the current year as cuttings during the growing season of seedlings. It is mainly suitable for evergreen and semi-evergreen woody flowers.

Softwood cuttings are generally carried out from mid-to-late May to early July in the first half of the year, and from mid-to-late August to mid-to-late September in the second half of the year. Care should be taken to prevent seedlings planted in the first half of the year from high temperature burns and diseases. For seedlings planted in the second half of the year, attention should be paid to keeping warm and preventing frost in the middle and late stages. The time to remove the shade net is late November. In drought years, the time to remove the shade net can be extended to late December.

Hardwood cuttings

Hardwood cuttings refer to a method of cutting thick branches that are completely lignified in the previous year during the dormant stage in early spring from February to March when the sap has not yet flowed.

Hard branch cuttings are not as easy to root as soft branch cuttings, so some measures need to be taken to promote rooting, such as applying some rooting powder on the cut and then inserting it into the pot.

What needs to be paid attention to when doing hardwood cuttings in early spring is to increase the soil temperature and control the temperature of the growth environment.

In short, whether it is softwood cuttings or hardwood cuttings, the cuttings and soil must be disinfected thoroughly, and the temperature, humidity, and light of the seedbed must be controlled.

I hope I can also grow the same majestic, vigorous, elegant and upright Podocarpus as the one in my friend’s home. I also hope that flower lovers can learn how to propagate Podocarpus to add more greenery and elegance to their homes.