Vegetative Stem Cutting Propagation of Idesia polycarpa
Idesia polycarpa, Igiri tree, is a deciduous ornamental tree with 10 to 20 cm (4 to 8 in) long panicles of yellow-green flowers in spring and summer, maturing to ornamental orange-red berries in fall and winter. There are limited vegetative propagation protocols established for I. polycarpa. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of different timing and auxin concentration combinations on rooting success of shoot tip cuttings. In 2009, there were nine collection dates of softwood cuttings during the summer and three indole-3-butyric acid (K-IBA) concentrations of 0, 5,000, and 10,000 mg·L−1 (PPM). Increasing the K-IBA rate to 10,000 mg·L−1 resulted in higher rooting percentages for most collection dates, though rooting percentage did not exceed 32% for any given treatment combination. The date cuttings were taken did not affect rooting percentage. Cuttings that did not receive K-IBA did not root. In 2010, the impact of cutting harvest date (softwood in June and semi-hardwood in September) and the effect of K-IBA rate (0, 10,000, and 20,000 mg·L−1) on rooting was determined. There was no statistical difference between the two higher concentrations, but both improved rooting versus the nontreated control, which did not root. Softwood cuttings showed a higher rooting percentage and greater root length compared to semi-hardwood cuttings.