Chinese Privet – Rooting

Q: While attending a UGA football game, a groundskeeper gave my grandson parts of the hedge that grows around the field. I have it in water now. What is the best way to root this?

A: The Sanford Stadium hedge is Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense. It is easy to propagate in a greenhouse but winter propagation at home is more problematic. Make several 6″ clippings of the limb, noting which end of each clipping was toward the trunk and which end was growing outward. Fill a plastic shoebox three inches deep with damp (not soggy) potting soil. Dip the “trunk end” of each cutting in Rootone powder and stick it two inches into the soil in the shoebox. It will hold several cuttings. Cover the box with clear kitchen plastic to prevent evaporation. Place in a sunny window in a warm room. It will be slow process to form roots but you can give the clippings a gentle tug in January to see if roots are growing.

GO DAWGS!