If you’ve been outside lately, I’m sure you’ve felt it. The weather has turned. The crawl into the slumber of winter has begun and there are many fine days just ahead in Putnam County.
We are blessed to have two distinct growing seasons—the first, spring into summer, verdant, humming with insect and vegetative life, all reaching for the sun while you scramble to get the fruit before bird or bug.
And now, golden late summer into fall. Pests die down, deer run from the hunter and cuttings take willingly. In The Complete Book of Garden Magic (c. 1956), author Roy E. Biles reassures us, “… in most instances a larger plant can be produced in a shorter time from a cutting or division, and the process can be a source of fascinating enjoyment for those interested in plant experimentation. It is comparatively simple and not the mysterious process generally supposed.”
I generally take cuttings from healthy branch tips when I do my late summer/ early fall pruning. This practice will restrict the size of bushy plants in the next growing season. Generally, my goal is to grow enough of the same thing to fill a space in our garden with identical plants that have been all cloned from a parent plant.
Every year, I use cuttings to expand our orchard for just the cost of a little time and know-how. I also take cuttings, and save many seeds, to share prized varieties with friends and family. Get on YouTube and watch a few videos on taking cuttings. You can often find one specific to the plant you are trying to multiply. Or go more in-depth and find a book with good advice. The aforementioned publication by Mr. Biles is a resource that any serious gardener should have.
Top tips for successful cuttings
Keep it clean - Always use a sharp pair of secateurs or very sharp knife. Clean equipment with isopropyl alcohol before trimming your cuttings.
Soil mix - Use a low nutrient sterile medium like a coconut coir-based seed starting mix blended 1:1 with perlite or coarse vermiculite.
Pencil Dibble – a sharpened #2 pencil is the tool of choice to make holes in the soil for your cuttings.
Fill that container – the more cuttings you can reasonably fit into a pot, the more chances for success you have.
Keep them happy, keep them dry – Cool or warm, cuttings do not want to be soggy. They will deal better with being a little on the dry side.
Watch for roots – When you see roots poking out from the drainage holes of your little pots, gently separate all your new, little baby plants and pot them up individually with a good compost-based potting mix.
Until next time, Your Eatonton Gardenerd This week’s jobs: Take cuttings! – Sow more carrots and brassicas – Gather your garden waste.
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