Cloning Plants: Cuttings for Cloning a Plant

Plants can reproduce both sexually and asexually. While sexual reproduction involves pollination and development of seeds, which in turn produces new plants, asexual reproduction is the development of a new plant from the cells of a single parent plant. Asexual reproduction does not involve pollination or seed formation, but a growing part (usually the stem) of the parent plant is used to develop a new plant by random mutation. Natural asexual reproduction is of many types. While some plants, like strawberries, develop new plants from its arching roots, which develop roots, others use the rhizomes, bulbs and tubers (like, in lilies and irises). In case of bryophyllum, an ornamental plant, new plantlets are developed throughout the margins of its leaves. These tiny plants fall off and develop as new plants. Some plants reproduce by budding whereas others reproduce by fragmentation. All these are nature's techniques of asexual reproduction. Even humans have been using various methods of cloning plants, like developing new plants from stem cuttings. Plant tissue culture is one of the advanced techniques invented by humans for cloning plants from cuttings. Here's more on What is Plant Tissue Culture.

What is Plant Cloning

In case of sexual reproduction, merging of two sets of DNA are involved and the resultant offspring is genetically different from the parents, wheres the offspring produced by asexual reproduction is genetically identical to the single parent. Cloning is a type of asexual reproduction which ensures that the offspring is genetically identical to the parent plant. You may wonder what is the benefit of a plant being genetically identical to its parent and how is it different from a plant developed from a seed? As the clones are taken from the strongest, healthiest and productive plants, there is a guarantee of the offspring being a genetic replica of the same characteristics. You can have a garden full of such strong and healthy plants. In case of seeds, there is no guarantee to this effect and the plants developed from the seeds of a single parent may show different characteristics. Cloning process is much faster than the natural sexual reproduction in plants. In case of grafting, a cloning technique, clones of two genetically different parents can be combined to form a new superior plant. Cloning plants for food is also beneficial, as it aids commercial farming and ensures good results. Read more on grafting fruit trees.

Cuttings for Cloning a Plant

Plant cutting is a method adopted for propagating plants through asexual reproduction. It involves using any part of the plant's vegetation which contains at least one stem cell. Such parts are placed in a suitable medium and proper growth conditions are provided. These cuttings develop roots, stems, etc. and grow into new plants which are genetically identical to the parent plants. The term 'plant cutting' is often misunderstood for stem cuttings but it also includes any of the vegetative parts, like, roots, scion, eyes, leaves, leaf-bud and many other difficult cuttings. The type of cutting which is best suited for a particular plant is determined according to the plant species. Following are the different types of cuttings for cloning a plant:

• In case of stem cuttings, a piece of stem with at least a single leaf node and a few leaves is used. This is the most popular type of plant cutting.
• Even though the success rate is high in root cutting, it is not popular, as most people don't want to harm the roots. In this method, a part of root is used to develop a new plant. It is better to take a healthy and thick root with a length of two to three inches, to be planted right side up in the growing medium.
• A scion cutting is a shoot or sprout of a plant, used for vegetative propagation.
• Eye cuttings denote pieces of plant stalk which are foliated or defoliated and are used to develop new plants by planting the cuttings in a growing medium.
• Leaf cuttings are small parts of leaves which are used to produce new plants. Such cuttings are taken from thick leaves with veins. Take care to cut open the veins and plant it flat in the growing medium with the cut leaf exposed to light.
• In case of leaf-bud cutting, you need that part of the plant which has a leaf blade, petiole and stem attached to it with a bud. This type of cutting is best suited for those healthy plants which have very few cloning material.

There are many other types of plant cuttings for cloning plants which are very complicated and are usually done by experts. Apart from cuttings, the most important factor for cloning plants is the proper conditions that can stimulate the growth of roots, shoots or both. Read more on plants.

Cloning Plants from Cuttings

Now you know some of the common types of plant cuttings which are used for cloning. The following are some guidelines and tips about how to clone plants from stem cuttings:

• You can start by selecting the right parent plant which has the desired characteristics. The plant should be healthy and at least two months old.
• Next you have to collect the materials needed for cloning plant cuttings, like, sharp and sterile scissors for cutting the clone (i.e. plant cutting) and clipping excess leaves, a glass of fresh and tepid water, a container filler with the growing medium of your choice, rooting hormone, spray bottle with water, etc. It is very important to sterilize the tools and cutting blocks to prevent attacks of fungus, viruses and diseases in the cuttings.
• You have to select the right rooting hormone and growing medium. Liquid rooting hormones are preferred to the powder ones as the former can easily penetrate the stem and are better for good results. You can also select from the different types of growing medium, like, rapid rooters, rock wool or oasis cubes, pro-mix, coconut fiber and many other materials. Among these, rapid rooters are very popular for being organic and are made of composted bark and latex. You must have heard of cloning plants in water and this means that the growing medium is nothing but water. It can be soil or sand too.
• The next step is to remove the nitrogen from the parent plant by heavily watering these plants for three to four days prior to the date of cutting. The water should be pH adjusted, without any fertilizer content. This is done to minimize the amount of nitrogen stored in the plant, as it can retard the rooting process.
• Now, you must select the plant cutting, usually a growing tip of a stem. The stem should have two to three sets of leaves and some leaf nodes. The large leaves must be cut off with scissors, leaving two to three small leaves. Now, cut the stem with scissors and the removed stem must contain at least two to three leaf nodes.
• Place the stem on the sterile cutting block and slice it at an angle of 45°, around ¼ inch below the leaf nodes. Take care not to bruise or crush the stem while handling. The plant cutting for cloning must contain one or two leaf nodes and leaves and must be around two to four inches in length.
• As soon as you prepare the plant cutting, dip the cut part of the stem in a good rooting hormone (for 30 to 60 seconds), to prevent the air from entering through the cut.
• Take out the stem and wipe off the excess hormone, before planting it, at least ½ inch deep into the growing medium. Now place the container with the growing medium and cutting in a tray. Mist them with fresh water and cover with a dome. The inside of the tray should be misted with water and it must have some holes for ventilation.
• The cuttings and the dome must be misted with water around three to four times a day. 72° and 80° Fahrenheit is the ideal temperature settings for these cuttings as too much cold or hot conditions curb root growth. For lighting, dappled sunlight is good and t5 fluorescent can be used indoors.
• Now, you may use mild fertilizer, to be applied with water. Plain distilled water is good for the cuttings. Reduce the frequency of misting to once in every two days. The medium should not be allowed to dry out, but at the same time, excess watering should not be done.

After one week, remove the dome for about two hours, if the cutting has not wilted, and you can make sure that roots have developed to support the cutting. In case of wilting, place the dome back and continue the misting process. Don't use the domes for those cuttings which have developed roots. The lower leaves may wilt, but don't remove these yellow leaves as it may cause death of the plant. Once established, these plants can be removed from the growing medium and planted in soil or any other medium of your choice. Read more on hydroponic gardening, which means soil-less gardening.

Now, you know the basics of cloning plant cuttings. Cloning plants at home is not very difficult, once you become comfortable in this task. The above mentioned is one of the methods of cloning plants. Tissue culture is one popular practice of plant propagation, which uses various methods for cloning plants from cuttings. You can try this method and clone your favorite plant, so that you get an exact replica, which has the same desired characteristics of the parent plant.