Getting cuttings to root

I have tried to get various cuttings and plant stock to root in water with little success. My father used to get anything to root by putting the end in a jar of water with eggshells. It would turn into a nasty green slimy concoction that smelled bad, but it worked for him. It never worked for me.
So hivemind, what can I do to get clippings of plants to root and transplant? Any suggestions or tries and true methods would be appreciated.

I don't recommend just water, but moist well-drained soil in a mini-greenhouse of some sort.  For lots of different kinds of landscape plant propagation, I've used a sandy-loam soil mix in the bottom half of a plastic milk jug that was cut in half on 3 sides (so the top opens like a hinge) with drainage holes poked in the bottom (cut a matching slit in top and bottom so you can twist-tie the top closed, fitting it slightly INSIDE the bottom so rain can soak in).  This protects from wind and keeps humidity higher, while allowing ventillation under bright shade.  White jugs can protect new cuttings in full spring sun (not directly overhead), and frosted/clear versions are better for shadier spots.  I've put these out with other mature potted plants that I keep sprinkler-watered outdoors, and grown up many small cuttings started this way.  Remember to put labels on the inside, because marks on the outside tend to be temporary.  

Always funny how some people can so easily root in water and some can't at all.
A couple of things that always help me:
One: after you cut the branches with a clean razor, take off all of the leaves on the branch except the growing tip on the end. Put the branches in a shady place for a day to let them skin over, and then put in water.
Two: never let the water sit in the sunlight, it should always be in shade. Sunlight causes bacteria to grow in the water and will end up rotting and killing your cuttings.
Three: try to change out the water at least every week, rainwater is preferred over tap water because chloramine in tap water does not evaporate so it ends up damaging the leaves when taken up into the stem. I use hydrogen peroxide every two or three days in the water to keep everything bacteria free. This seems to help a whole lot with rooting.
Four: although a lot of people have success with products that are gel, the one product that I have found that works the most is Vita grow or Vita root. This is a fast 3 second dip in an alcohol-based rooting solution, which sterilizes the stem from bacteria and get the rooting hormone into the stem or cutting very quickly with a water-based solution and not a gel. Dip and grow is another one that is almost the same formula and works very well. I used clonex for a long time as a gel and it just got worse and worse results over time. Especially with water-based rooting and not rapid rooter type plugs.
Five: I met an old farmer who uses a 5 gallon bucket in the corner of the garage and cuts branches off his fruit trees and shoves them into loose dirt that is barely moist at all. If the branch lives the first 24 hours he gets excellent rooting results in about 2 to 4 weeks. The key is not to stress the plant with sunlight but provide enough secondary light that it can still live. He said he can root just about anything that way.
Six: if you can't get anything to work after repeated attempts using these tricks, either build a hydroponic rooter or buy one for a few hundred dollars. The softer the stem of the cutting the harder it is to root. Hydroponic rooters use sprays to keep the stem moist, but they need to be kept sterile every few days with hydrogen peroxide or a rooting sterilizer like sm90, which is far as I know is no longer available but was an excellent product for not only causing roots to grow but stimulating them once they were growing into massive balls of root. I'm sure there are several other products like sm90 on the market now. It is best to either build or invest in two machines, same with standard hydroponics, that way one machine is sitting dry and sterile for a week while the other machine is in use. This helps a lot in keeping bacteria down because the bacteria can't live on plastic that is dry.
I just finished rooting a dozen Vine branches of giant granadilla, passiflora quadrangularis. Vines route much easier than stemmed branches do. But I still lost five or six out of two dozen cuttings. The key to my success is sterile water and taking way more branches than you need. That way if half of them die you still get the other half to survive the rooting process and thrive.

Good luck, once you figure out how to do it right, just replicate it for the rest of your life.

I've always been lucky when it comes to rooting plants. Over here we say that some people have "green thumbs". I suspect it is more about having a feeling for what will work, rather than pure luck.

I tend to take semi-hardwood cuttings for perennials, meaning growth from the most recent growing season. Whenever possible I take cuttings when the plant is dormant, in the autumn/fall or winter. I usually try rooting in regular tap water (which has a small amount of chlorine in, sadly, although this will evaporate off quite quickly). As mentioned above, shading the new roots is a good idea although not necessary for all plants - some hardy species such as willows (Salix sp.), poplars (Populus sp.) and many house plants will root readily regardless of light levels.

I've heard of people using "willow water" as a natural rooting hormone. This is prepared by either re-using water that willow has been rooted in or by smashing up young willow growth and steeping that in water overnight. The willow cuttings have salicylic acid (aspirin) in them which is used by many plants as a defense hormone. They also have lots of plant rooting hormones in them (which explains why they can root so easily), a substance known as indolebutyric acid.

Another method that I use is to place large numbers of cuttings around the edge of a plastic pot filled with good-quality compost. The compost drains fairly well but stays moist (without being waterlogged). The cuttings are placed right up to the plastic pot so they are protected from drying out. I usually get good success rates this way and have used it for apples (Malus), cherries (Prunus), holly (Ilex), rose (Rosa) and many semi-hardy plants too.

Lots of great advice here. Thanks to everyone who responded.
I'm slightly amazed at the variety of methods presented.

RooTone dip powder.

Rooting hormone works really well for me; depending on the plant, you can dip the plant into water and then dip it in the hormone, or you can mix a pinch or so in water and put the cutting in the water. May I know what plant you are trying to root? Because I might be able to help; I root lot of plants.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Garden-Safe-Take-Root-Rooting-Hormone-Promotes-Rooting-Grow-New-Plants-from-Cuttings-2-Ounce/23591259?wmlspartner=wlpa&selectedSellerId=0&selectedOfferId=9B153F59223448D0B3C85050E5E55200&conditionGroupCode=1&gQT=1

Tommy Bolin wrote:RooTone dip powder.

This made me ask the oracle of the Internet about "rooting powders".
I found this video that may be of some interest.

I've had some success with more woody subjects - trim prospective root end and slit down the centre for 1.5 - 2.0 cm with a sharp knife;  remove most of the leaves until there is just the top few.  Insert a grain of rice into the opened up slit, and plant in damp potting soil (or what you normally use for cuttings)  Keep damp, cover with a jam jar "greenhouse" if you are somewhere hot, but keep in the shade.
(sort of rice doesn't matter - I used Jasmine though).

Luke Mitchell wrote:I tend to take semi-hardwood cuttings for perennials, meaning growth from the most recent growing season. Whenever possible I take cuttings when the plant is dormant, in the autumn/fall or winter.

I am planning to propagate a bush cherry via rooted cuttings.  I had read that the best time to take the cuttings was in the mid-to-late summer...?

I am planning to propagate a bush cherry via rooted cuttings.  I had read that the best time to take the cuttings was in the mid-to-late summer...?

I suggest earlier than late summer, because it'll need time to root before going dormant.  You can take semi-soft cuttings as soon as the new growth has hardened off to something stiff enough to hold its shape; I think the rule of thumb is 6 weeks after the leaves come out.  I don't know if those would work as hardwood cuttings; if they will, the best time is probably right now (in my climate) just before the buds burst open.    But maybe just after it flowers, because you don't need that energy drain on a cutting.  

Cut a piece of aloe up and use as a natural rooting hormone. Cut the end at an angle, dip in aloe. Place pre moistened potting soil in a pot. Place cuttings along edge of pot - tight against the side which prevents moisture loss.

I get pretty good results via the old farmer and his 5 gallon bucket full of dirt method.
I use potting soil that's 50/50 pine bark fines and awesome local compost instead of dirt.
As mentioned above, quality compost is good as a medium to start almost anything and for potting up from there.
The compost has to have the texture of peat moss, which helped wean me off of peat moss and that's a good thing if for no other reason than a bale of peat moss here is $30...not so long ago it was $7.

Weird trivia - there used to be a peat mine near me here in Florida. When the owner died the family didn't want the biz so it went away.  I was surprised to find peat in FL when I first found out.

Now, with a tip of the hat to Rick Perez from the Facebook mulberry growing page, is a very nearly bulletproof way.

lay them on damp sand in a small tupperware or fast food container, put the lid on the container and put the container(s) in a cardboard box to keep them dark.
Put the box on a heat mat, or, in my case, putting the box up over the grow lights for the indoor lettuce to keep the box warm.

Look for the ends of the cuttings to start callousing in about a week to 10 days. I usually just leave them for 10 days then check.

Quite often there will be callouses and roots by the 10 day point.

No callous, no roots . A few will fail this way.

This will start some very tiny cuttings that would never go via the bucket method and has rooted dormant stuff as well as green/hard wood cuttings.

Some growers have  used coco coir instead of sand.

Joshua States wrote:I have tried to get various cuttings and plant stock to root in water with little success. My father used to get anything to root by putting the end in a jar of water with eggshells. It would turn into a nasty green slimy concoction that smelled bad, but it worked for him. It never worked for me.
So hivemind, what can I do to get clippings of plants to root and transplant? Any suggestions or tries and true methods would be appreciated.

I can grow pretty much anything! It's just a knack I have... (except chive seeds 🫨) I have had the best luck rooting woody cuttings in vermiculite and filtered water. Keep it drippy wet. Recently I had two hoya cuttings. One rooted without issue and even has new leaves. The second one struggled for months with nary a burgeoning root bud. So I nicked the woody stem in a couple places with a sterile knife and within 2 wks I had a 1' root! Just put them both in a pot.

I have rooted lilacs, quince, and many house plants. Some will root in water but the woody stemmed cutting should be helped along by opening up areas on the stem. They may even benefit from being placed in a sealed (foodsafe bag- foodsafe because we don't want the plastic to kill the imprisoned plant with off gassing), as this holds in moisture, allowing the leaves to still receive moisture. Check often.

Even rooting hormone didn't work, but I don't see that it's too effective in general. Some cuttings need to lay out for the cut to callous over. It's best to Google some specific questions.

Right...time of year is critical! The plant must be in an active growth state. In other words don't expect a cutting to have the energy to put out new roots in fall when it's preparing to go dormant and definitely not in winter. Early spring to early summer is ideal.

I can get cuttings to root, I can't get them to survive! Over the last few years I have tried goosberry, elder and goji to name a few. I poke them in the bases of my fruit tree containers where I want them to grow and they take off like rockets. Until they dont. I don't move them, they just fail, generally dying back from the tips. I usually root them in the spring and by the end of summer they have died. Maybe too hot? I'm going to try Rick Perez's way this spring as soon as I get back home.....
Do grape vines grow from rooting propogation? A neighbour has a lovely variety I want. I was going to try grafting it onto a wild grape vine I have here but would like some more strings to my bow I fail.

I understand that a foot-long length of hardwood grape stem (with 2 nodes at least) can be planted straight into the ground much like willows are done, burying 2/3 of the cutting and it will root out and grow.  Can't say that I've done it yet (have to have the right place picked out), but I understand it to be that easy.  I suppose that spring before bud break would be the best time to do that.

Many mulberries will definitely take root and grow by just sticking a long cutting in the ground and being sure the soil is moist until it leafs out.  

I've used this little trick as a "gateway drug" to gardening.  Once someone sticks a stick in the ground and it grows they gain the confidence that they can do this.

This may be somewhat dependent on my soil (sand) and climate ( N. FL).  Many pro nurseries start their cuttings in sand with intermittent mist.

Dave Bross wrote:Many mulberries will definitely take root and grow by just sticking a long cutting in the ground and being sure the soil is moist until it leafs out.  

I've used this little trick as a "gateway drug" to gardening.  Once someone sticks a stick in the ground and it grows they gain the confidence that they can do this.

This may be somewhat dependent on my soil (sand) and climate ( N. FL).  Many pro nurseries start their cuttings in sand with intermittent mist.

The gateway drug! Yes! Growing pretty much anything keeps me entranced with it all. I'm currently reading To Speak For The Trees, and my passion for nature and trees specifically, has been ignited in a new and powerful way.

for tree cuttings, willow and aloe vera are natural rooting plants, can add willow to water for 24 hours and then soak cuttings in for 4 hours or use aloe vera gell or put cuttings in aloe leaf and get roots that way.

While in another feed I found a youtube channel all about plant propogation and care using things we all have on hand, not permies per se, but really helped me understand the needs of cuttings after rooting and getting them to establish properly. Lots of  knowledge there.
[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/@Miradasbiologicas[/youtube]

thanks for info, I used to work and grow vegetables on a farm in fortuna ca, we seeded white and pink clover to break up heavy clay and long time ago my parents home was heavy glacier til soil, with crimson clover was able to pull weeds with deep roots out. I don't watch a lot of youtube videos, I just know what to do without looking up info. thanks

My recommendations after lots of failing are this. Keep the soil loose and semi moist, well drained—a garden bed that is a bit shaded, not scorching, where you get some forest-edge weeds, is good. And I would also recommend trying with species who are well suited to cutting propagation—not the walnuts and oaks and apples, but the gooseberries, elders, grapes, honeysuckles, kiwis, currants, poplars, willows, cottonwoods, etc. The species makes so much of a difference when it comes to cuttings. A poplar you can leave alone and they just grow. A dogwood, you can stick a cutting into an established old field ecosystem and come back years later and there is a great thicket! But oaks, or apples, chestnuts, walnuts? Not nearly as likely… mostly better off growing from seed or finding plants. I have tried long enough to be cheap when trying to start plants and it doesn’t help in my experience—at all.