Euonymus Fortunei: How to Grow, Propagate, and Pinch Back Purple Winter Creeper
Potting the Cutting
Professionals use the term "striking" to describe the action of pushing the cutting into a pot filled with potting soil. The pot should have drainage holes and the soil should be thoroughly moist, but not soaking.
While most cuttings should be spaced to ensure air circulation between them, this shrub does not care much. A 6" pot can hold 20-25 cuttings or more. The remaining leaves should not touch the soil. You can also use small celled flats, and the leaves can be cut in half to fit in more cuttings. A chinese take-out container with drainage holes cut in the bottom is just as effective.
If you are short on cutting material, it is sufficient to have one set of leaves and one leaf node (i.e. two nodes per cutting) only. Remove the bottom set of leaves and push the cutting into the soil so the top set of leaves is just barely touching the soil. If you are just starting out, use longer cuttings. You can add rooting hormone to encourage quicker rooting if you like. It may be marginally faster.
Rooting, First Growth, and Pinching Back the Cuttings
Mist the foliage every day for the first 14 days, or cover the pot with clear plastic to increase humidity (make sure the plastic is suspended above the foliage without touching. An ice-cream stick vertically in the middle of the pot will work). You can also use seed starting flats with humidity domes. Keep your cuttings under fluorescent lights suspended 6-8" above the top of the leaves, or in a window with indirect light. It is best if it is kept warm. Avoid hot direct sunlight.
After about 2-3 weeks the cutting will start to grow. The young growth will be light green and soft. This is a sign that rooting has begun, but it is still too early to remove the cutting. It is normal for the cutting to shed the old leaves. As the cutting becomes taller, you should cut it back to encourage branching. If not, the cutting will grow as a single long stem. By cutting the stem back, or "pinching," you end up with a fuller plant. When 3-4 sets of new leaves have grown, simply snip the cutting in two halves, leaving at least 2 sets of new
The copyright of the article Euonymus Fortunei: How to Grow, Propagate, and Pinch Back Purple Winter Creeper in Seeds & Plants is owned by Kenneth Joergensen. Permission to republish Euonymus Fortunei: How to Grow, Propagate, and Pinch Back Purple Winter Creeper in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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