Growing shrubs from Summer cuttings
(July-August)
There are plenty of shrubs that are easily propagated from summer cuttings. The following shrubs are all easy to propagaye from nodal cuttings and are a good starting point for the novice:
- Buddlela
- Cistus
- Cytisus
- Escallonia
- Hebe
- Helianthemum
- Hydrangea
- Lavatera
- Philadelphus
- Spiraea
- Choose a healthy, fairly young, parent plant with plenty of new growth.
- Using a sharp knife or secateurs, cut off a few big bits of new growth that are just starting to turn woody at the base.
- On the potting bench (or odd piece of board), trim each cutting to the required length (7.5cm to 15 cm), make the lower cut in new wood just below a leaf.
- Remove all leaves from the lower half of the cutting and, if the upper leaves are large, cut these in half to reduce waterless. Remove flower buds.
- Dip the cut base in hormone rooting powder as this speeds the rooting of almost all cuttings and, with the addition of a fungicide, reduces the chances of rotting.
- Insert 6 to 8 cuttings into a 7.5 cm pot filled with free-draining compost. A 50:50 mix of potting compost and sharp sand is fine for most situations, Perlite or vermiculite can also be added.
- Semi-mature cuttings need some protection from water loss while they root and should be kept in a humid atmosphere. Commercially, this is provided by misting, but on a small scale, a polythene bag placed over the pot and secured with a rubber band makes a suitable mini-propagator. Use wire hoops inside the bag to hold the bag away from the foliage to improve air circulation.
- Additional heating is not usually required at this time of year. Just place the cuttings in a sheltered bright spot in the garden out of direct sunlight.
- Check every few days and remove any rotting material. Resist the temptation to keep tugging on the cuttings to see if they have rooted. Most cuttings will root in 2 to 8 weeks. Look for new growth or roots appearing out of the bottom of the pot.
- Harden off the cuttings into a less protected environment over a few days before you pot them on into small pots of potting compost.
- Leave the cuttings in pots over winter, and plant them out in the following spring.
The end result will be new shrubs FREE !!