Single-node cuttings constitute a highly efficient Pennisetum ‘Vertigo^®’ propagation material

Pennisetum ‘Vertigo^®’ (Poaceae) is a newly released tender perennial hybrid most often recommended for container display.
Because of pollen-and seed-sterility it is a vegetatively propagated ornamental grass with unique characteristics (burgundy-leaved, to 1.5 m tall). In present study the effect of four types of shoot single-node cuttings (with 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th node, respectively, counting from the base of the grass crown) and two rooting media (peat and perlite) on the rooting process were assessed.
After a month it was found that, depending on the combination, the cuttings were 48-98% rooted, producing 1.4-2.6 roots per cutting, each 7.3-11.6 cm long.
One shoot was formed on the rooted cutting, with 3.1-4.4 leaves on it, and the entire above-ground part of the rooted plant was 10.5-32.8 cm, depending on the combination.
Results showed that, sterile Pennisetum ‘Vertigo^®’ can be successfully propagated from shoot cuttings, but the rooting process depended on the type of cutting, with the benefit of those made from the nodes proximal to the grass crown.

XIV International Symposium on Flower Bulbs and Herbaceous Perennials

B. Prokopiuk, A. Kapczyńska, B. Pawłowska

grass nodes, ornamentals, Poaceae, rooting media, vegetative propagation

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2025.1435.11