Cuttings vs. Seeds

Test cutting.

I was at our local garden centre a while ago (shout out to Maple Leaf Garden Centre), talking with one of their knowledgeable staff. I briefly explained my interest in propagating old-growth trees from cuttings. I must not have explained it clearly, because he asked me, “Why don’t you just collect cones and start new trees from the seeds?”

I could do that — and I might. In fact, I think it would be interesting to experiment with what conditions encourage Western Red Cedar (Thuja plicata) seeds to germinate. But that would be a side project. Germinating from seed doesn’t achieve my primary objective.

Here’s why: a seed is the genetic offspring of two parent trees — one that produced the cone (female) and one that provided the pollen (male). The resulting seedling is genetically unique. It may resemble its parents, but it’s not a match to either one. It’s a recombination — a roll of the genetic dice.

But when you grow a tree from a cutting, that’s different. A cutting is not the child of a tree — it is the tree. It’s a genetic clone: same DNA, same age (biologically), same traits. The new tree is an extension of the old one. No shuffling, no recombination, no guesswork.

That’s why I focus on cuttings. If I find a Western Red Cedar that has defied wind, rot, fire, flood, disease, and time itself — and has lived for more than a thousand years — I want to work with that exact genetic blueprint. Not a relative. Not a seedling with similar traits. That tree.

And if I can help it continue forward, rooted in new soil...how cool is that?