The best way to Root Honeysuckle
Honeysuckles (Lonicera spp.) Really are a smart choice when you need quick coverage from a highly perfumed, vigorous growing, scaling or shrubby plant. Honeysuckles make your landscape come alive with their vibrant color and ambrosial, mildly erotic scent which attracts hummingbirds, bees and butterflies throughout summer. You can begin your honeysuckles inside in early spring by spreading, or rooting them, by planting a wholesome stem by a sturdy, well-producing plant in a fertile growing medium.
Mix together 1 gallon of sphagnum peat moss, 1/2 gallon of coarse perlite, 1/2 gallon of coarse vermiculite and 1 tablespoon of dry, controlled-release 10-10-10 fertilizer at a bucket using a garden fork. Propagating mixes such as this function well for transplanting, germinating and rooting plants because they are sterile and the components have a comparatively uniform shape, weight and texture.
Pour 1/2 gallon of propagation mixture at a 1/2 gallon grass and water until it drains. The growing medium should be moist but not wet. Place the remaining mixture in a sealable container and store in a cool dry place until ready to work.
Wipe the blades of the garden shears using a lint-free cloth moistened with isopropyl alcohol.
Cut a hardy honeysuckle stem just above a pair of healthy leaves using the shears. Make another cut halfway between the next lower leaf joint onto the stem. The growing tip — which part of stem inserted in the spreading mix — should be between 2 inches and 6 inches long. This cut is referred to as a double-eye cutting, as the two opposing leaves resemble the ovoid shapes of a pair of eyes.
Lightly moisten the bottom 1/4 inch of the honeysuckle dip and cutting it from IBA rooting hormone powder. Shake the excess hormone powder in the cutting.
Dig a little hole at the propagation mix that has a little garden trowel deep enough so the cutting edge may support itself without falling over. A good step to go by is digging one-fourth as deep as the cutting edge is extended. For instance, if the cutting is 8 inches long, dig a 2-inch-deep hole at the mixture.
Insert the cutting at the grass and backfill the hole with the mixture, tamping it down quietly. Cover the honeysuckle and the grass using a plastic bag, then securing it with a rubber band near the bottom of the pot.
Place the plant in a space with a temperature between 75 and 85 degrees Fahrenheit. The honeysuckle will take root in about four to six weeks, and then you’ll be able to transplant it outside. Gently tug on the stem to sense for root resistance, ensuring the roots have begun to form.