ABSTRACT
Plant propagation can be divided into the following two primary categories based on reproduction: sexual and asexual. Any method of multiplying plants other than by seed, or sexual reproduction, is considered asexual reproduction and is generally referred to as “vegetative propagation.” Where sexual reproduction results in unique, individual plants from two parents, vegetative propagation results in replicated plants (or clones) from one parent. Some common methods of vegetative propagation include layering (Chapter 24), grafting (Chapters 25-27), budding (Chapters 25-27), division and separation of storage organs or geophytes, (Chapters 28 and 29), micropropagation, (Chapters 30-34), and cuttings. Propagation of plants by rooted cuttings is the most widely used method for producing clones of many herbaceous plants and most woody ornamentals and fruit and nut crops. Whether a plant is propagated by cuttings is usually determined by the ease of which they root or if other propagation methods are not as successful. Cuttings can be taken from roots (Chapters 21 and 23), leaves (Chapters 21 and 22), or stems (Chapters 17 and 19), but because cutting propagation is such a broad topic, and propagation using roots and leaves has its own inherent matters, this chapter will focus on the use of stem cuttings to propagate woody and herbaceous plants.
