- 1). Water your bonsai plant thoroughly two days before you intend to take the cutting so the cutting will be moist. Take cuttings only from healthy bonsai trees; any problems with the mother tree will be passed to the cutting.
- 2). Remove a 3-to-4-inch piece of branch from the end of the bonsai in spring or early summer, early in the morning, in the cool part of the day. Use a sharp knife or hand shears to make the cut from a branch about 1-inch thick. Cut just below a leaf node so the cutting will create leaves and the bonsai tree can grow this shoot back.
- 3). Remove all leaves from the lower one-third of the cutting. Remove all but six to 10 leaves from the top of the cutting so the cutting will focus on growing roots.
- 4). Fill a seed tray or planting pot with equal parts peat moss and perlite for a well-draining, fertile planting soil. Moisten the soil thoroughly.
- 5). Dip the bottom one-third of the cutting in rooting hormone and insert the cutting into planting soil. Make sure no leaves are touching the soil. Keep the soil consistently moist --- but not soaked --- while the plant forms roots.
- 6). Store the cutting in a room with a constant day and nighttime temperature between 65 and 75 degrees Fahrenheit. The cutting should receive bright light but no direct sunlight or it may burn.
- 7). Mist the cutting twice a day to ensure it maintains a healthy water level. Until it forms roots, the cutting will draw moisture through the leaves and stem.
- 8). Maintain the cutting until you can see roots through the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot or drainage tray; this can take as long as a year, depending on the tree. Once you can see the roots, re-pot in the planting pot of your choice and maintain the tree just as you do other bonsais.
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