Propagation by Stem Cuttings (Rangoon Creeper)

In a previous article I described the propagation of the Rangoon Creeper vine by root division. I also mentioned in that article how difficult it is to propagate the Rangoon Creeper vine or Quisqualis indica by stem cuttings.

Well, I no longer think it's difficult. Apparently, you just need to know the right time and the correct techniques to successfully propagate it by cuttings.

Plant the Cuttings in the Rainy Season

No matter how I tried, I was not successful getting cuttings to root in the dry season which is around March to May. I even tried misting the leaves every fifteen minutes - a rather ardous task if you do it manually. All the stem cuttings I had would drop their leaves from three days up to one week. This, by the way, is a sure sign that the stem cutting failed.

I was, however, successful in getting the Rangoon Creeper cuttings to root in the rainy or wet season. Maybe it's because of the higher humidity in the rainy season. The first chart below shows the "rainiest" months showing the months with the number of rainy days.

The second chart below shows the average humidty for the year. You will notice that the humidity is near the peak at the months July and August which happen to be the rainiest months.

The Rangoon Creeper cutting was planted during the last week of July. After successfully rooting and growing new leaves, it was repotted in the last week of August.

How to Plant Rangoon Creeper Cuttings

1. Select a mature yet still greenish branch. The cutting's stem should be around 2 to 3 inches long. The top part should have a node and a pair of leaves like the one below.
   
   
   
   
   
2. Bury roughly 1 inch of the stem cutting in moist (not soggy) soil. The Rangoon Creeper has large leaves and so you may want to allot space for it. Cut the leaves in half to save space and avoid excessive water transpiration. I use seedling trays for cuttings.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Position the stem cutting in partial shade or filtered light. I have my stem cuttings in seedling trays placed in the wall-mounted nursery racks I built.
   
   
4. Mist the leaves of the Rangoon Creeper stem cutting around 2 to 3 times a day. Misting is spaced 4 to 6 hours apart. You could use a garden sprayer for misting. Sometimes, I just use my hand to sprinkle water around the leaves.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. It may take a while for the Rangoon Creeper stem cutting to root. If both leaves drop, then discard the stem cutting and plant another. There's virtually no chance for a leafless stem to root.
   
   
6. A successful cutting may root in a month or so. A new shoot would grow from the node and new leaves will sprout from the shoot.
   
   
   
   
   
7. If the old pair of leaves start to blacken, then cut the black parts with a pair of scissors. In the photo above, new shoots and leaves and sprouted while the old leaves have blackened. The old leaves were cut to remove the black parts.
   
   
8. After a month or so, you'll notice roots at the base of the stem cutting. After picking the seedling plug from the garden tray, you'll see a network of tiny roots.
   
   
   
   
   
9. Repot the seedling plug from the garden tray into a seedling bag or pot.
   
   
   
   
   Notice the two new pairs of leaves on the rooted stem cutting.