Grow Healthy Rhododendrons With Our Propagation Services

Van Veen Nursery offers custom propagation to gardeners and growers to help them root their beloved plants. If you have a favorite or special rhododendron that you would like propagated, simply send us some cuttings. Whether it's maddenia, vireya, or evergreen azalea, we’ll gladly propagate them for you. We can also propagate non-rhododendron plants.

About Our Propagation Fee

We only charge for the successfully rooted cuttings and return all plants to the sender. None are retained for sale or added to our stock plants. You can also browse our stock plant list and choose from over 2,000 unique varieties that we have available.

vireya 3
2 gallon pots

A Little Reminder For Plant Growers

Before sending your cuttings, please inquire first about the specific plant since some require a formal inspection. You can ask local extension offices since they have information on quarantined plants and inspection processes.

Taking Cuttings

Your cuttings should be taken from healthy plants on the current years' growth from September through November. They should be long enough to enable us to trim back the leaves to one or two whorls. For larger varieties, leave three inches of new growth to insert into the media. As for smaller leaved varieties and azaleas, you should leave as much new growth as possible.

Note: Please do not trim the leaves as this may allow bacteria to damage the plant during shipping.

rooted cutting 2
packing for shipping

Packing And Shipping Instructions

  • Use zip-seal bags when sending cuttings, one variety per bag.

  • Split large groups of the same variety into several smaller bags to prevent contamination.

  • Make sure to label each bag. This is how they will be planted and returned to you.

  • Put a small amount of water in the bag and then pour all the water out, leaving only drops stuck to the sides of the bag. The objective is to keep the air moist, but too much water can damage the cuttings.

  • Be sure to leave some air inside the sealed bag for cushioning and for the plants to breathe.

Receiving Your Cuttings Back

Rooted cuttings are typically shipped out around the first of spring after their arrival. However, especially dark and cold winters can prolong the rooting process, and cuttings are shipped in the following fall or spring. If some cuttings remain unrooted, we ship back what has rooted. We also provide an option to 'reset' the partially unrooted cuttings for shipping at a later date.

cuttings ready to ship
ENTRANCE SIGN

Shipping Information

Priority Mail via USPS:

Van Veen Nursery
PO BOX 86424
Portland, Oregon 97286

UPS or FedEx 3-day:

Van Veen Nursery
4201 SE Franklin Street
Portland, Oregon 97206

Important Notice

Regrettably, import restrictions mean that this service is currently only available to customers in the US and Canada in areas certified P. ramorum-free unless accompanied by an inspection certificate. If you have questions, please call us at (503) 777-1734.