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Plant cutting, also known as striking or cloning, is a technique for vegetatively (asexually) propagating plants in which a piece of the stem or root of the source plant is placed in a suitable medium such as moist soil, potting mix, coir or rock wool. The cutting produces new roots, stems, or both, and thus becomes a new plant independent of the parent. == Technique == Typically, ''striking'' is a simple process in which a small amount of the parent plant is removed. This removed piece, called the ''cutting'', is then encouraged to grow as an independent plant. Since most plant cuttings will have no root system of their own, they are likely to die from dehydration if the proper conditions are not met. They require a moist medium, which, however, cannot be too wet lest the cutting rot. A number of media are used in this process, including but not limited to soil, perlite, vermiculite, coir, rock wool, expanded clay pellets, and even water given the right conditions. Some plants form roots much more easily. Soft wood cuttings are planted above ground and hard wood cuttings are totally submerged with soil. With hard wood cuttings, several cuttings are also bound together (to a bushel). Most succulent cuttings can be left on a table and small roots will form, and some other plants can form roots from having their cuttings placed in a cup of water. In temperate countries, stem cuttings may be taken of soft (green or semi-ripe) wood and hard wood which has specific differences in practice. Certain conditions lead to more favorable outcomes for cuttings; timing, size, location on the plant, and amount of foliage are all important. In temperate countries, stem cuttings of young wood need to be taken in spring from the upper branches, while of hardened wood need to be taken in winter from the lower branches. Common bounds on the length of stem cuttings are between for soft wood and between for hard wood. Soft wood cuttings do best when about two thirds of the foliage removed, while hard wood stem cuttings need complete foliage removal. The environment for cuttings is generally kept humid—often attained by placing the cuttings under a plastic sheet or in another confined space where the air can be kept moist—and partial shade to prevent the cutting from drying out. Cuttings in the medium are typically watered with a fine mist to avoid disturbing plants. Following the initial watering, the aim to keep the soil moist but not wet and waterlogged; the medium is allowed to almost dry out before misting again. A rooting hormone may be administered to "encourage" growth and maturity in plants determined to be unlikely to grow. Though not essential, several compounds may be used to promote the formation of roots through the signaling activity of plant hormone auxins, and is helpful with especially hard plant species. Among the commonly used chemicals is indole-3-butyric acid (IBA) used as a powder, liquid solution or gel. This compound is applied either to the cut tip of the cutting or as a foliar spray. Rooting hormone can be manufactured naturally, such as soaking the yellow-tipped shoots of a weeping willow tree in water or to preparing a tea from the bark of a willow tree. Shoots or bark do better when soaked for 24 hours prior to using. Honey, though it does not contain any plant hormones, can also aid in rooting success through its antiseptic quality. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Cutting (plant)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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