Can tree cuttings root in just water?

Question

I have rooting powder already, so this is more of a curiosity question. Can tree cuttings root in just water? Or, has it ever been accomplished?

Answer 1

There are two ways of propagating trees through cuttings: (1) with softwood or (2) with hardwood. Both methods are difficult, and depend on the tree species if it will be successful or not (some trees are easier than other, think of e.g., willow which is easy).

Soft cuttings are used in summertime, and are usually small cuttings (2-3 leaf nodes) of new grown (green) parts of the tree. You'll have to put them in soil and pack them with transparent plastic so that the air surrounding the cuttings will be saturated with water. This will prevent too much evaporation.

The hardwood method is done in autumn or winter, when leaves have fallen off already. Here you take woody branches of the tree, and cuttings can be a little bit bigger. Then also put it in soil, and a plastic cover is not necessary. In springtime, if still alive, new shoots and roots will grow from the cuttings.

Both methods are sometimes difficult (depending on species), on internet there are many instructions of how to propagate through cuttings. For some species it will work to just put them in water, but most have more success with directly putting them in soil.