How to Propagate Rhododendrons with a Nearing Frame; Taking Cuttings in the Hoop House 

So glad you appreciate the videos, Jan! Your garden sounds wonderful.

You're welcome, Akili. Yeah, prices can be a barrier to entry but if you propagate them you can have many more plants!

So glad to hear that you enjoyed the video, Gisella! The rhododendrons in this video are all over the place by now. I sold a bunch and planted some out on my property. I have many videos of garden tours if you search the channel.

Yes, he seems very thorough...

Thanks Teri, glad I could help.

Hi Mike I turned your tips into action today, rhododendron cuttings, got root powder etc and cuttings from the middle of the plant, how often do you water the cuttings?

How often do you water the cuttings?

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Glad you enjoyed it, Amy. This was the first video I did like this and then went on to make many more with the start and finish with videos that span weeks to months of time. Hope you enjoy the channel!

@@MikeKincaid79 твой опыт пригодился, спасибо друг! Моим рододендронам уже 6 лет, это прекрасные растения. Желаю процветания твоему каналу и здоровья твоим рододендронам!

Peggy, Thanks so much for your site. My rhododendron were in bad shape , needed prune, I sorry I keep for getting what you put transplant everything. What kind of mixture.

Glad you enjoyed it! That last sentence you wrote is exactly what I'm about. Absolutely committed to making the best videos for you guys. I appreciate your support.

That's what I'm going to do to I'm moving from the homestead

Thanks, David! Glad you're learning from the videos. Enjoy building your nursery.

Thanks for subscribing, Jessica, and welcome to the family! I love all plants but rhododendrons are my absolute passion. Not trying to sell you on anything but if you're interested I have a website where I sell a 6 hour program that includes all the details of what I do here to be really successful with rhododendrons, including a detailed video of how to build the frame. Here's the link in case you want to check it out: propagateplantslikeapro.com

I love those hosta too! I need to get some videos up about them.

Mike Kincaid I’ll share my hostas. Would you share a few rhododendron cuttings with me?

Thanks, I appreciate the comment. Propagating is a lot of fun and I love learning all aspects of it. I never get tired of reading books and watching videos about the subject and then going out and giving all my new ideas a try.

I'm pretty sure this guy has it figured out already 😮‍💨

It's my claim to fame here, lol. I got tired of people telling me how to do something and not showing the results. It gets a little mind boggling trying to keep all the video clips of multiple videos straight for weeks or months but it's a lot of fun!

I think I finally got it! I took several cuttings last summer and they are looking promising. I'll keep you updated.

+Rasta novascotiarasta Hey, thanks a lot Rasta, and I hope you do find success! Any question, just ask.

Did you have any success?

Haha, I just tell myself that their fat fingers slipped and accidentally hit the dislike button!

+spiritisalive1 As long as you have the parent plant, you can make as many as you want! Glad I could help and thanks for watching.

+Mike Kincaid woukd you please expound on the parent plant thing? Mine is young.

+spiritisalive1 The parent plant is just the plant you take the cuttings from. The rhody you already have would be the parent plant. When you take cuttings, you get an exact clone of the plant you take them from.

+Mike Kincaid okay got it. Thank you so much!

Masterclass!!! Wow, thanks for the compliment. Really I'm just a guy who loves gardening like you guys. I have a video here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-A0iSGMVZ2VY.html in which I renovated one of my rhododendron beds and pruned them up. Hopefully it answers some questions for you.

Glad I could help!

Thanks, Aaron, I appreciate the offer. I love connecting with rhododendron people!

Glad it was helpful! Good luck, Mickey!

Definitely give it a go, and good luck to you Margaret!

Awe, thanks so much for your support! Good luck with the rhododendron cuttings and have fun.

You can do it, Marcia!

That's great, Barbara! Thanks for the nice comment and I'm really glad you got some good info here.

Just make sure to mulch well with a deep layer of mulch and water well through the first 2 or 3 summers. Rhododendrons have fine hair like roots that stay close to the surface and need attention in the beginning. Once they are well established, they grow well without any care.

+Ivy Siy Thanks Ivy, glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you!

Good luck and have fun with it!

I'd love to visit your county someday. I've seen lots of pictures and some video of the rhododendrons there and they are beautiful!

I'd love to make it over there eventually. Sounds awesome. If you are in that area, have you ever been to the species garden on Thorndike Rd, just over the Hood Canal bridge? It's a beautiful place and some of the rhododendrons are 20 feet or taller.

@@MikeKincaid79 I have not, but I work on sites on that road quite often. I'll have to swing by sometime.

Good luck!

Thanks, Ann, glad you found the channel last year and I wish you luck in all your propagation endeavors!

They're the king of landscape plants, thanks Joe!

You're in a beautiful climate zone for propagation!

+Mike Kincaid ..i will keep u updated on the growth of my cuttings..thank you so much...

Thanks

Mike Kincaid I was reading the comments @ the last three min. of the video sort of waiting for the sales pitch for the two hour video . I must of missed it. No mention of it in the video description

+Rocky 石针养花 It's my pleasure. Thanks for watching!

Thanks, Joanne! My channel is filled with plant propagation information. If you really want to get more in depth or learn about rhododendrons in particular, I have a website where you can purchase a video series on the subject: propagateplantslikeapro.com

This works great and you can do thousands of cuttings this way!

I think I’m going to try it, I want to build a box like you have. I can’t wait to try all sorts of plants.

If you're interested, I have a website where I sell videos of building the frame with all the details. propagateplantslikeapro.com

Oh sweet, thanks!

Thanks, I enjoy making the videos for you.

Glad you like it! have fun propagating and if you have any questions, just ask.

Sure, you can take cuttings anytime of year provided you have the right propagation environment. The environment (such as tempurature, moisture, humidity, ect.) will need to be adjusted based on plant variety, type of cutting, and time of year. Your success rate will also vary depending on the variety of plant and condition of wood. I've done a lot of experimenting with this and I think people get too locked into "what the books tell you to do". I have taken rhododendron cuttings as early as July and as late as February the following year. I knew a rhody propagator that took all his cuttings in June and used intermittent mist and had great success. With my system: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uv1WbD0esjI.html I've found it's best to take cuttings around September if you're in the Northern hemisphere but even this can vary depending on how early or late Spring came that year and how quickly the wood hardened off. So.......My official answer is, yes, it's ok to take cuttings through the Summer months. The condition of the wood and the method of propagation is more important than dates on the calendar. Thanks for watching!

Hey Angela, thanks for the positive comment, I'm glad I was able to help you!

Thanks for the vote of confidence. I keep showing up to the party and slowly the word gets out. Just happy to help the gardening world and keep it interesting.

@@MikeKincaid79 is there any way of buying any of your beautiful Rhodie's and having them shipped? Here in NE TN we don't have many of the beautiful color Rhodie's you all grow in Washington state.

I plan to ship them eventually but just not set up for it at this time.

@@MikeKincaid79 do you have any remote idea when that might be? Months , Years?

You are so welcome!

You don't need a hoop house or green house for cuttings as long as you're working with plants that are cold hardy to your climate. I like to grow them in pots for the first year or 2 until they get a good solid root system. Best time of year: There are different techniques at different times of the year for different plants. It's a great big subject. I recommend continuing to read and watch videos and learn all you can. If there is a specific plant you're interested in, then read up on that plant. If it's rhododendrons that you're curious about then the best time of year is in the late summer as semi-hardwood cuttings.

Thanks for watching!

Late August/early September is the best time in my experience.

Gracias. Felices vacaciones para usted y su familia también.

Hey John, glad to hear from you. It's not every day that I meet someone with the same interest in rhododendrons. We're definitely in an odd club that you either have a massive passion for or don't care about at all, LOL. I've done cuttings both ways and have success with both.

You should do it. Check out my most recent video for an example of what you could put together: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1grtMNJawNI.html

No problem, glad you liked it! Indian videos? Where do you live?

Mike I'm Australian. Cheers and blessings.

Awesome! I'm seeing more and more people from Australia on here. You guys must be pretty cool if ya like gardening. Been to Perth once when I was in the US Navy back in 1997-2001. We then went to Hobart Tazmania and what a beautiful place that was.

Glad you went to Perth and Hobart. I hope you received a nice welcome, but we missed out in Sydney.

Would love to see Sydney someday. The welcome was better than any other received while in the Navy.

Glad it was helpful!

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks Bill, I appreciate the sub.

Have fun and good luck!

Thanks, Dan

Thanks, Kaitlyn, glad you enjoyed it!

Thanks!

So glad to hear that you're enjoying the videos, Maria. Rhododendron cuttings are best taken in the middle to end of August as semi-hardwood cuttings.

You're welcome, Maddie!

Thanks, Robyn, I'll keep it in mind. Our seasons are flipped so if I mention a month, just count forward 6 months and you'll have it. I try to be mindful of the other hemisphere.

Yes, they would make great cuttings if you did the pruning in the fall but I do it in the spring so they can make new growth through the summer so the material all goes on the compost pile. The younger the plant is, the more undifferentiated cells they have and the higher rate of success for rooting. Glad you like the video and thanks for hanging out here on the channel!

Thanks for the sub and I'm glad you're getting some good info out of the videos! Have fun propagating, Shelley!

Really cool. Sounds perfect. I don’t try to keep my temps in the 80’s or even the 70’s all winter. I just keep the temps about 10 degrees warmer than ambient air and above freezing when it gets really cold. Sounds like you’re doing great! I’d just let it ride and see how things go.

@@MikeKincaid79 Thanks again, and always, Mike! 🙏🏻😁

Hey Jackie, thanks for asking! I've got multiple videos about "overwintering rooted cuttings". Just type that into RU-vid and they should come up. You and I live in very similar conditions so what's good for me here is good for you there.

These type of cuttings are taken as semi-hardwood cuttings in late summer/early fall. I've got an entire 6 hour series that answers all your questions on my website. There's a small fee but here's the site if you're interested: propagateplantslikeapro.com

Awesome! Thanks for the sub. Yes, rhododendron cuttings are best taken in the August/September time frame.

You're welcome!

Been a long time hasn't it? Can't hardly believe how far we've come.

We're thinking along the same lines. Tried the sand and no success. Tried air layering them last Spring so looking forward to seeing how the layers do this year. I might try bud grafting onto Anah Kruschke rootstock this year.

+林山 Thanks for the question! The best time to propagate rhododendrons is in the Fall as semi-hardwood cuttings. I usually do my propagating through the month of September but I've had success in August and October as well. Good luck and have fun!

The roots will be fine in 40 to 50 degree weather in pots. They can even handle freezing weather and some varieties can take all the way down to -20 F.

Mike Kincaid thank you for the response. I wasn’t willing to bow to the incredibly expensive local Long Island nurseries to decorate a rather barren house I’m moving into. I went the route of germinating and propagating plants on my own for the project and might throw up a hoop house , and your videos have been chock full of awesome advice and technique

Glad to heart it! Have fun with the hoop house build.

Best thing on Earth! Have fun!!!

Glad I could help

If this is your last shot then I'd try inside and outside. Ideally, I like to stick the cuttings outside in a covered frame with a clear lid. My frame has bottom heat that keeps the rooting medium above freezing all winter. I leave the cuttings in the frame for 1.5 years. If it doesn't die and starts growing next spring, I can root some cuttings for you in the late summer.

There are some specific requirements for rooting rhododendrons. They aren't an easy plant to figure out but once you get it, you can propagate thousands easily. It takes time and patience for these plants. I started out the same way over 15 years ago and my first cutting died as well. Keep at it and constantly learn. You'll get it.

@@MikeKincaid79 thnks a lot for the reply.i'll try again this year's autumn .they're in bloom now @ my Dad's ancestral house .so beautiful

Take the cuttings right now in the fall while they are semi-hardwood.

Yep, that's the best part.

You're welcome!

I've been using Hormodin 3 for semi-hardwood and hardwood cuttings for about 16 years and I love the results. There's a link to it in the description of all my videos. Good luck with your cuttings.

Sounds like that poor cutting has been through a lot. I'd get it stuck in medium and then put it in a spot where it can be left alone for a few months without disturbance. Whether or not it makes it, time will tell. Good luck.

A lot of people use it.

Hey Sheila, thanks for checking out the channel! September is the best time to take rhododendron cuttings but I'm always up for an experiment!

Cheers, Mike. I've done the cuttings and trying to get up the courage to do the air cuttings! I'll try it in September and see how it goes! Have a great day. :-)

You can do air layers right now in Spring. Good luck with them and keep us updated!

Thanks for such great videos (my fav was when you forgot the rooting powder - shows your human side!!) and hopefully I report back with success next year! :-)

I'm sure you'll be successful. You have a gardening spirit! I think showing the human side is what it's all about.

Would love to visit that part of the country someday. If I do, maybe we could meet up.

Glad to help!