Plant Material And Planting Methods - No.2

Cuttings

Cuttings

A cutting is a medium sized piece removed from a plant which, with proper handling can be induced to establish roots and then grow into a specimen which is identical to your parent plant. You can't guess the perfect type of cutting to take nor the perfect time to propagate a specimen that is identical to the parent plant. There are, however, a number of general rules. Plant the cutting as soon as possible after cutting it from your parent plant and make sure that the compost is in close contact with the inserted part. Donot 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 and the base, and are taken from early spring to midsummer. Many hardy perennials and some small shrubs are propagated in this way. Basal cuttings are shoots formed at the base of the plant and pulled away (instead of cutting) for use as softwood cuttings in spring.

Semi-ripe cuttings:

They are green at the top and partly woody at the base, they are usually heel cuttings. Midsummer to early autumn is the usual time and most shrubs, climbers and conifers are propagated 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 never finish stocking your garden as long as you stay a gardener. There will always be more spaces to fill, old plants to replace and new varieties to try. The simplest way to achieve success at planting time is to use pot-grown specimens or container-grown plants so as to avoid root disturbance. There will be times, however, when we must rely on lifted plants, such as 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 scale back this shock to a minimum. The leaves will still lose water after planting and so 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 right time and in the correct way.

Bare-rooted plants:

They 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 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 cheaper 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 broken stems and damaged roots. If the stem is shrivelled plunge the roots into a bucket of water for two hours. Place packing material over the roots until youre ready to begin planting. If you can't plant right 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 couple of days, unpack and heel the plants in by digging a V-shaped trench in which the roots are placed and covered.

by: Johan Monarrez

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