Chinese elm propagation

[shibui]

I've had trouble with hardwood cuttings planted normally during winter. I think they dry out without roots to nourish them for so long. An old trick with hardwood cuttings that has worked well for me is to tie the cuttings in a bundle and bury them horizontally UNDER the soil. Dig them up when that species shoots in spring and plant out the ones that have developed callus at the base as for normal cuttings. Great success rate with this method.
Only very easy to strike species will strike in the open ground. Better success in cutting mix in a controlled environment.
As I have said in other threads, from my controlled experiments, rooting substance really does improve both strike rate and subsequent growth rate.
Root cuttings from elms give better strike rate for me than hardwood cuttings however large root cuttings have rarely produced good bonsai. Smaller roots up to finger thickness with plenty of movement produce excellent starters with lots of trunk character.

Also my chooks seem addicted to polystyrene boxes too.