Vol. 79 No: 6

Title:
Overwinter mortality in stem cuttings

Authors:
P.J. WILSON and D.K. STRUVE

pp: 842-849

Abstract:
Overwinter mortality, in which leafy cuttings of some temperate deciduous taxa root, but die during the following winter or shortly after the onset of growth the following spring, is an important practical problem. It is generally attributed to poor cold hardiness or insufficient carbohydrate reserves to sustain the cutting in spring.Where winter cold is injurious, the roots, aerial shoot or subterranean stem may be most susceptible to injury.Warmth in winter can also be damaging by deacclimating the roots, or by consuming the cutting`s reserves through an increased respiration rate or new root growth. Susceptible taxa are prone to low reserves if root growth in the season of propagation is excessive, or if the anatomy of the cutting does not allow high carbohydrate storage capacity. Shoot extension growth in the season of propagation generally increases overwinter survival and, especially if accompanied by radial growth in the main stem, creates storage capacity in the cutting. Main stem radial growth also allows the development of vascular connections between the new roots and leaves, which are necessary before the form of the rooted cutting approximates to that of a whole plant, and may increase the resilience of the subterranean stem.

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