In SW Florida we save our Cassava varieties from winter frost and freeze damage by taking cuttings. This allows us to overwinter our cassava until we plant them out again in the spring. It is about a 9 month crop here.
When we cut back the biomass we store the long sticks of cassava in bins, making sure to label the varieties and keep them separate. From now until the Spring they are kept in a covered, dry location so that they do not rot. Some of the smaller branches will dry up and some of the bigger ones will sprout, but this will keep our germplasm for us and our network. Cassava is very resilient and can survive months as a cutting as long as it stays dry.
When it is time to plant out our cassava we take cuttings that are 10-12 inches long and include 3-5 nodes. We usually use stems that are 1-2 inches thick. At ECHO North America we plant them both in ground and in pots for sale.
We plant the cuttings 1/3rd of the stem under the soil and at an angle. Planting the cuttings at an angle allows the sprouts to emerge with a stronger angle of connection to the stem.
Other ECHO Observations on Grafting and Cuttings
What is your favorite cassava variety? Has anyone every grafted cassava successfully?