Gardening Blog - Hints, Tips and Reminders

Mud Patch

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Am trying to fill a few gaps which are starting to appear in one of the garden hedges so I thought I would see if I could taking cuttings from some of those plants, that I can see thrive in our ground, to get them to root and grow on. I’m trying a variety of plants including pyracantha, berberis, prunus (sloes) and crataegus (hawthorn) and have taken semi-ripe cuttings.

What are semi-ripe cuttings

These are cuttings take in the late-summer/early-Autumn. They are this summer’s new growth shoots which have a soft tip (non-flowering) but the base of the shoot has hardened. Note: cuttings can also be taken in the early summer (softwood cuttings) or in the winter (hardwood cuttings).

The shoots can be ‘cut’ in a variety of ways, depending on the plant. I have mostly tried taking ‘heel’ cuttings – this is where you pull down on the shoot to take a bit of the main stem as well as the shoot. (For more information on the types of cuttings see the RHS site; semi-ripe cuttings).

Which Plants

Various plants can be propagated this way – I have included a list of some of them (based on various sites) but suggest, if you have a plant you’re wanting to try, just check out the RHS plant finder pages as they often given propagation details in their notes.

Examples:

  1. Climbers: ivy, passion flower, jasmine.
  2. Shrubs and Hedging: aucuba, berberis, bougainvillea, box, buddleja, callicarpa, camellia, campsis, ceanothus, cherry laurel, choisya, cistus, clematis, daphne, escallonia, euonymus, forsythia, hardy fuchsia, heathers, hebe, honeysuckle, hydrangea, holly, fatsia, mahonia, philadelphus, privet, senecio, syringa, viburnum.
  3. Herbs: bay, hyssop, lavender, rosemary, rue, sage and thyme.
  4. Trees: arbutus, cercis, conifers, hazel, holly, elm, larch, magnolia.

I have successfully propagated most of the herbs listed but can’t vouch for anything else (yet).

Basic Methodology

  1. Take the cutting in the morning if possible and irrespective of how you take the cutting place the shoot in a plastic bag that is a little damp inside. Aim to pot your cuttings on within 12 hours and keep the shoots in the fridge in the mean time.
  2. Remove the lower leaves and cut the soft tip off. There should be about 4 leaves left on the shoot and the shoot should be about 10-15cm (4-6in) in length. Note: if the leaves are large you may want to cut them in half to stop excess evaporation.
  3. Dip the ‘heel’ in hormone rooting powder, ensuring it is well covered, but tap off any excess.
  4. Fill a flower pot (about 6 inch pot – depending in the number of cuttings you have) with a mix of multipurpose compost and perlite (or similar) to give it good drainage. Water well.
  5. Poke the cuttings in to the compost so that about half of the cutting is covered. You can probably 4 – 6 cuttings in the pot, but make sure their leaves aren’t touching.
  6. Place the pot of cuttings in a greenhouse or cover pots with a plastic bag and put in a warm, light position, out of direct sunlight. Note if the cuttings are in plastic bags remember to keep the bag away from the cuttings (it may cause the leaves to rot) and remove any excess moisture, but keep the compost damp.
  7. Check the cuttings for roots after a couple of months. Pot on in to individual containers if they have rooted. You may need to keep a bag over the cuttings for a little while longer to stop them drying out. Gradually acclimatise them.
  8. The cuttings should be ready to plant out after the second growing season.

Success Rate

You always need to take more cuttings than you want plants – previously I’ve had about a 50% success rate for herb cuttings.

This year, as always, some things have worked better than others:

  • the lavender, sage and rosemary plants have worked well (90% success rate). The late summer cuttings (and some April ones – the result of unplanned lavender damage by the builders!) have taken and grown well without much need for care and attention. I didn’t cover them with a plastic bag and the after care has been simple; don’t over-water and keep frost free (for the first year or two, for lavender).
  • the Pyracantha and berberis cuttings (5 little plants of each!) seem to have taken although there is currently no new growth to validate that.
  • whereas the Prunus spinosa (sloe) and Hawthorn were a disaster. Only one cutting made it past 2 months and he has since turned up his toes!

Given that I wasn’t looking to plant the herbs in the hedge it looks as if I shall being trying some hardwood cuttings – am off to find some Rosa rugosa or Ilex (holly)!