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- Ideal time to take some cuttings now of that plant you’ve noticed on your morning
walk. I’m not suggesting you pinch it. Most gardeners are only too happy to share a
few cuttings, since the skill lies in turning them into plants.
- A wide range of cuttings can be taken this month, from conifers, herbaceous perennial
plants and shrubs. Generally take sturdy side shoots (not soft floppy cuttings) and keep
then as small as you can handle, say no longer than 10cm and with a heal if they present
one. That means when you pull the cutting off, it leaves a piece at the base.
- Either buy a sharp triple-washed sand and add one part of fine peat moss or shredded
copra to 10 parts of sand, or use a proprietary brand of striking mix. Prepare cuttings by
stripping off the lower half of leaves, then using a dibber insert your cuttings into the
striking mix half way.
- Then get a plastic bag that fits neatly over each pot and tether with a rubber band, so
you have created an airtight space over the cuttings. Water by immersing the pot into a
shallow tray of water. Humidity will build up in the pot and will not dry out.
- Hormone powders and gels are pretty expensive for the once-a-year propagator, so I
recommend that you just put a few more cuttings in. The striking hormones usually only
improve your strike rate by 25% anyhow, which is fine if you are a baseballer!
- Conifers prefer a shaded site to root and will take at least four months, while
Pelargoniums, Correas, Lantanas and the likes, prefer morning sun and generally root in
six weeks when they can be planted out or in the case of Lantana, held over till spring,
when they grow faster.
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