Effects of Wounding, IBA and Basal Trimming on Rooting of Boxwood Cuttings

Wounding, indole butyric acid (IBA) and trimming of cuttings to a basal node were evaluated for their effects on rooting of Buxus sempervirens L. (American boxwood), B. sempervirens L. ‘Suffruticosa’ (English boxwood), B. microphylla var. koreana Nakai. (Korean boxwood), and B. microphylla var. japonica (Müll. Agr.) Rehd. and Wils. (Japanese boxwood) cuttings. Rooting of all cultivars was improved by a 5 second dip in a 0.4% aqueous solution of the potassium salt of IBA. Wounding the basal end of the cuttings only improved rooting for Korean and Japanese boxwoods. However, the combination of wounding and IBA dip gave the best results for all cultivars. Trimming the cuttings to a basal node was beneficial only to Korean boxwoods.