Get Cutting

One way and another, there are methods of propagating plants at most times of the year. I still find it one of the most satisfying activities in the garden. True, nature's bounty tends to provide a wealth of useful seedlings but there is a joy in sprouting seeds and putting roots on cuttings.

Just thinking about seedlings, I came across a nest of young plants the other day. From their leaves I take them to be buddleias. They had sprung up by the kerb at the side of a path, their roots running down into the pores of the tarmac. A gentle and steady pull slowly gave them to my care with roots in reasonable condition and I have lined them in a nursery row to see what they grow into. That is in some way irrelevant, for at this time a wide range of trees and shrubs can be increased by way of hardwood cuttings. Here, ripened wood of the current season's growth is prepared and inserted, either in open ground - where it may be given cloche protection - or within a frame. Not all species will respond to this treatment. Many and various are the techniques that have been developed to extend the range of plants that can be increased from such cuttings. These may involve bottom heat, the use of chemicals, wounding tissue opposite buds and so on. But for most of us there are a number of rewarding plants that can be increased by the simplest application to this technique.

As a rule, a warm sheltered site creates the best chance of success. Added to this, it is essential that drainage should be good. Where soil is on the heavy side it can be improved by adding sand or soil and organic matter. It is not uncommon to dribble sand along the bottom of the slit trenches into which cuttings are to be inserted. In difficult cases - where land is low-lying for example - an option is to create raised beds about 120cm (4ft) across.

Generally, the season for taking these cuttings starts towards the end of October, extending to December; but best results seem to come from cuttings made immediately after leaf fall.

"With softwood cuttings, taken in the summer, one of the biggest problems is to keep them from drying out until the roots can take in sufficient water."

The quality of the parent plant will affect the chances of rooting and the vigour and quality of new stock. The stems chosen should be healthy and vigorous and can be made into cuttings 15-22.5cm (6-9ins) long. Cuttings made from the base of the stems are best, although with long stems there is no reason why several cuttings cannot be made. Of course, it's the exception that proves the rule, and cuttings from Sambucus and Laburnum for instance, should be taken with a heel; so it's only one per stem in such cases. A cutting is taken with a heel by pulling it away from the older stem, so that a sliver of wood and bark comes with it. This has the effect of protecting the base of the stem from rotting. If this heel is large or ragged it can be trimmed with a knife. Where no heel is taken, the bottom cut can be made at an angle, just below a bud, while the top cut is made horizontal - an invaluable guide to ensuring the cutting is inserted the right way up.

We all know that with softwood cuttings, taken in the summer, and which have plenty of leaves, one of the biggest problems is to keep them from drying out until the roots can take in sufficient water to keep them turgid. With hardwood cuttings taken in the dormant season, the cooler temperatures, absence of foliage and setting them well into the ground, mean that they lose moisture only very slowly. Cuttings are inserted by taking out a V-trench with one side vertical and sufficiently deep to accommodate the cuttings to two-thirds their height. Dribble in sharp sand, stand the cuttings against the vertical face, push back the soil and firm in well. The cuttings will start to root in spring as the soil warms up, and are best left undisturbed until the following autumn when they can be lifted and lined out.