Hi Everyone and welcome to the channel! In this video I'll be looking to see:
what is the best way to take cuttings from our plants? The most popular internet opinion is to
cut your stems on a 45 degree angle. I want to see if this is actually the best way to do it,
or if that is another internet myth, so let's get started! I've got a big
pile of fresh tomato cuttings here, ready to propagate. To prepare these cuttings, I'm removing
lower level branches and leaves, as well as any flower sites that are already on the plants.
Next, I'll be cutting the stems in a variety of ways so we can see what method grows the fastest.
First up we have a 45 degree angle cut. People say that this increases the surface area and helps the
plant to absorb water quicker. Next up we have a 90 degree straight angle cut. This should give us
a good indication if the surface area hypothesis is true. We also have a super angle cut-
this has even more surface area than the 45 degree cut and should further test that hypothesis.
Next we have the splitter- this one was cut on a 90 degree angle and then an incision was made up
along the stem, creating that split. We also have a four split version of the splitter technique.
And lastly, we have a variety of end techniques with scoring up along the bottom of the stem.
The bottom inch or so has had small cuts made into it,
just to see what happens. I have these in a 45 degree, 90 degree and splitter options.
For my smaller plants, I've got two cuttings with 45 degree angles and two cuttings with straight
90 degree angles for a good direct comparison as to what's better. We rejoin these plants on
day number five. They've started to root and we're going to see how they compare. First up,
we'll take a look at the 45 degree angle cuttings. Our first cutting here has no roots at all
and our second cutting you can see does have a number of small roots beginning to grow
from the bottom of the stem. In comparison to our 90 degree angled cuts, the 90 degree cuttings
are clearly outperforming the 45 degree cuttings roots on both of these cuttings, which are
more numerous and definitely longer than the 45 degree angle counterparts.
Moving on to our bigger cuttings, we'll start with the 45 degree angled cuts.
You can see rooting on both of these plants, beginning to work its way up to stem.
Not too long yet, but clear signs of rooting and this definitely works as a propagation method.
Our first competitor is again the 90 degree angle cut. You can see that this 90 degree cutting has
just as many roots as the other plants and they may be longer.
It's a very close comparison. Definitely no edge to the 45 degree angle cut in this case.
Next we'll look at our super angle cuts. If what we thought about the 45 degree
angle cuttings was true- that surface area helped the plant to grow roots-
these should have developed roots even faster than the 45 degree angle plants. You can see that they
have barely rooted at all. There's some very small hairs at the base of the stems, but these are
definitely falling behind in this race. Next up we have our split technique. These plants are looking
really well- definitely the longest roots we've seen so far and they're beginning to
work their way up the stem of the plant. You can see they've extended about an inch or so possibly.
Definitely further than the 45 degree angle cuts. I think these are a pretty clear favorite so far
Our four split technique hasn't done quite as well as the two split. You can
see a number of roots developing, but those splits have really curled back on the stem
and those roots are really going to be in a mess of a situation as they continue to develop.
Our next cutting is one that we scored. It had a 45 degree angle cut and then a number of small
cuts up along the stem. You can see that those small cuts have opened themselves up considerably
and a lot of the inner plant is exposed here. There's some very small rooting taking place,
up above all of the scores, but this doesn't look to be the best idea.
Our 90 degree scored plant is in a similar situation,
with a bit better rooting. You can see those roots only developing up above the scores.
Lastly we have a stem that was split and scored along the bottom. This one looks really good.
The split technique seems to really be doing something good for these plants!
You can see not a lot of rooting down along the bottom, where the stem was scored. I don't think
the scoring is having much benefit. It's time to pick a winner and I think it is clearly the
split technique! These plants have our longest roots and the most roots working their way up
the stem, with rooting action clearly outperforming the 45 degree angle cuts.
Seeing the comparisons between our 90 degree, 45 degree and super angled cuts,
I don't think there's any clear correlation here to the surface area helping the plant to grow
roots. I think we have once again been lied to by the internet. In our next propagation race, I'll
be moving our plants under lights and trying to see what is the optimal way to light our cuttings.
I would love to hear from all of you what you think of today's race and how you've been taking
your own cuttings. Have you also been doing 45 degree angle cuts? And will you be switching
to the split technique going forward? Thanks as always for watching and Happy Harvesting!