Take grevillea cuttings
Grevilleas can be quite difficult to grow from cuttings. Here, PHIL DUDMAN demonstrates a few important steps that will greatly increase your strike rate.
1 CHOOSE the best propagating material. Avoid stems that have flowers growing on them. Vigorous new growth is ideal; ideally, it should be young but firm enough to snap if bent.
2 TRIM soft, floppy growth at tip. Prune the base of the cutting just below the third or fourth node (leaf joint) from the top. This is where the roots will form.
3 REMOVE any lower leaves, keeping one or two at the top. If the remaining leaves are big, cut in half. This helps to reduce moisture loss from the cutting.
4 SCRAPE OFF some of the bark at the base of the cutting, on both sides. Wounding the tissue of woody cuttings like this exposes more of the green sapwood that carries the cells that potentially divide and form roots.
5 DIP the base of the cutting into some rooting hormone gel or powder to encourage quicker root formation.
6 PLANT the cuttings into small pots or cell modules filled with moistened propagation mix. I used a 50:50 blend of perlite and coir peat. Make a hole in the mix with a pencil or stick before planting each cutting.
7 COVER cuttings to protect them and maintain humidity. I put the cell tray into a cheap plastic propagator box from the garden centre, or you could cover the pots with a plastic bag fitted over a simple wire frame. Keep the cuttings in a warm, shaded spot, and check them regularly to see if they need more water. Be patient, as it can take many months for the roots to form.