Cloning Creosote Bush

[Jaaaaaa]

Looking for advice:

Trying to clone creosote with trimmings, I have been told there is a method. However, the actual method has not been presented and the attempts have been anything other than a success. If someone is willing, or wanting to share, I am all ears on how to do this properly.

 

[Tetters]

Welcome to the forums @Jaaaaaa. As propagation was my job, and main business for many years, I was very interested in your inquiry, although I have never come across this plant before. I did however have a look for it and have found it's name to be Larrea tridentata.
There is one plant in the UK I have tried to grow from many methods without success, which is common Gorse, and I thought from the look of this one you want to grow we may have found a few similar difficulties.
I understand from my investigation, that although Larrea is very tough and tolerant of drought, it grows very well from seed (after soaking these is warm water), if grown during wet cool periods. Germination however is only the first obstacle, and the trick is to keep your little plants alive in their first few years by maintaining the watering and reasonably cool conditions as many small plants are lost during their early life.
I imagine growing these from cuttings would be very difficult, and I would first try the seed sowing route using a LOT of patience for a considerable time. I wish you the very best of luck, and would love to know how you get on.

 

[cpp gardener]

You might try root cuttings. Dig around the base of a plant and locate a root about half the diameter of a pencil and make a cutting about an inch or two long. Dip it in rooting hormone, either liquid or powder, and lay it horizontally on a gritty cactus-type soil and barely cover it. Water it lightly and make a “greenhouse“ with a ziplock bag. Place in a bright window with no direct sun. It may take a month before you see new growth.
You could also make stem cuttings using a liquid hormone at high strength. Make 2-3” cuttings, dip them for 10 seconds and then stick them in the cactus soil. Use the same bag technique in a bright window.

 

[Jaaaaaa]

Thank you for your replies. I will try both suggestions to learn how to get this going. I have successfully grown from seeds, but I do not have any success from trimmings at this time. Thank you!