Abstract
A modification of the traditional technique of etiolation and blanching, using Velcro adhesive fabric strips as the blanching material, was used with success in improving cutting propagation of a wide range of difficult-to-root woody species. Stockplants were etiolated under black cloth at budbreak, followed by banding for a period of 4 weeks, to produce a cutting with an etiolated base. Rooting of softwood cuttings from 18 of 21 species tested was improved significantly by these stockplant pretreatments. The use of Velcro as the banding material facilitated blanching, permitted the application of rooting hormone as a part of the blanching procedure, wounded underlying stem tissues, and resulted occasionally in the formation of adventitious roots on intact shoots.