Plant Material And Planting Methods - No.2

Cuttings

A cutting is a medium sized piece taken from a plant which, with proper treatment may be induced to create roots and then grow into a specimen that is identical to the parent plant. You can't guess the perfect type of cutting to take nor the perfect time to propagate a specimen which is identical to your parent plant. There are, however, a number of general rules. Plant the cutting as quickly as possible after cutting it from your parent plant and ensure that your compost is in close contact with the inserted part. Do not keep pulling at your cutting to see if it has rooted - the appearance of new growth is the best guide.

Softwood cuttings:

They are green at the top as well as the base, and are taken from early spring to midsummer. Many hardy perennials and a few small shrubs are propagated in this way. Basal cuttings are shoots formed at the base of the plant and pulled away (instead of cutting) to be used as softwood cuttings in spring.

Semi-ripe cuttings:

These are green at the top and partly woody at the base, they are nomally heel cuttings. Midsummer to early autumn is the usual time and most shrubs, climbers and conifers are propagated by using this method.

Hardwood cuttings:

A huge variety of trees, shrubs, Roses and bush fruits can be propagated in this way. The usual time is late autumn. Choose a well ripened shoot from this years growth.

Roots with soil:

You will probably never finish stocking your garden as long as you remain a gardener. There will always be more spaces to fill, old plants to renew and new varieties to try. The easiest way to achieve success at planting time is to make use of pot-grown specimens or container-grown plants so as avoiding root disturbance. There are times, however, when we must rely on lifted plants, like hardy perennials dug up at the nursery, bedding plants taken out of plastic trays or rooted cuttings separated from others in a propagator. In these cases some root damage is inevitable, and the rules for planting are designed to reduce this shock to a minimum. The leaves will still lose water after planting therefore it is essential that new roots are produced as soon as possible to replace the damaged ones. This calls for thorough soil preparation, careful lifting and then planting at the correct time and in the right way.

Bare-rooted plants:

These are dug up at the nursery and transported without soil, at one time all of our Roses were bought this way. Damp material, such as peat, is packed all around the roots to avoid them from drying out and at no stage should the roots be allowed to become dry. Bare-rooted plants are less expensive than their container-grown counterparts and it is not true that they will always be tougher to establish - some shrubs take root more readily when planted as bare-rooted stock.

Planting time is the dormant season between autumn and spring - choose mid October to November if you can, but delay planting until March if the soil is heavy and cold. Cut off all leaves, dead flowers, thin or damaged stems and broken roots. If the stem is shrivelled plunge the roots into a bucket of water for two hours. Place packing material over the roots until you are ready to begin planting. If you can't plant straight away, leave the packing material intact and put in a cool but frost-free place. If the delay is likely to last more than a few days, unpack and heel the plants in by digging a V-shaped trench in which the roots are placed and covered.

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