Date/Time
Date(s) - 12/01/2024
7:30 pm
Location
Kilmington Village Hall
Categories
Every year, as one of the benefits of the Castle Gardens Group Gold Club, one of the staff comes to Kilmington to give us a talk which is always interesting, informative and entertaining. Adam explained that his background in horticulture was both personal and professional, having been brought up in a specialist nursery run by his parents. First, he explained the different methods of propagation used by professional nurseries. As propagation is all about increasing the stock of known plants, cuttings are preferred to seedlings as the former can be relied upon to be exactly the same as the parent. To demonstrate, he chose the hebe, one of the specialities of his parents’ business.
On the table in front of him were tools of the trade, plants at all stages of maturity, compost, additives and containers. As preparation is all important, tools came first. Secateurs and cuttings knife must be clean, sharp and used only for the purpose; labels with not only the full name but also the date; pen; and a pencil for use as a dibber – just the right size, he said. Compost – half potting compost, half perlite – is specially produced for seeds and cuttings, fine texture without lumps and no added fertiliser. Root hormone is used only rarely in the nursery, just for plants known to be difficult. A well-ventilated humid environment is prepared in polythene tunnels, with heated sand-filled trays and misting equipment. All was now ready to start the business of taking cuttings.
Hebe cuttings are taken from semi-ripe growth – Adam demonstrated precisely how to choose good material. Stock plants, grown specifically for propagation, are trimmed all round to produce stems of about 10 cm. Each one is trimmed of any hard wood at the bottom and bent over to make sure it will not snap. Most of the lower leaves and the growing tip are removed, an angled cut is made across a node on the stem and hey presto a perfect cutting, about 7 cm tall, is ready to be inserted at the side (not the centre) of a 3 cm square growing cell. Protected with polythene, opaque in summer and clear in winter, and misted to prevent drying out, these little cuttings root quickly. When rooted, liquid feeding is introduced, and when tight to the cell it is time for hardening off and repotting into a 9 cm pot. Adam took up a sample of one he had prepared earlier and sheared it all round with secateurs. There were gasps from the audience – amateur growers are very shy of using secateurs on young plants!
Softwood cuttings are taken in late spring from fast growing tips – a process that is suitable for hardy and tender perennials and a wide range of deciduous shrubs – Fuchsias, Geraniums, Hydrangeas, Perovskia, Magnolia, to name but a few.
Take hardwood cuttings late autumn/later winter when the plant is dormant. Cut from half year old wood, 8” long and pencil thickness. Plant in a big pot along with other cuttings.
Dividing plants by splitting at the roots is beneficial to many perennials as it helps them to maintain health and vigour. Splitting normally takes place in the autumn months but can also be done in the early spring months if the conditions have been wet. Adam used a bread knife to cut a root in half but some require back-to-back forks, or in some cases an axe!
The layering propagation technique takes advantage of some plants’ natural tendency to root where their shoots touch the ground – blackberry bushes and ivy are prime examples.
Adam gave us all the information we needed to attempt propagation for ourselves – whether we have the confidence to do so will be seen at the Plant Market in May!
Jean Falconer