Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2011 | Page 92
Gardening
with Tina Hughes
Tina trained as a professional gardener after leaving school and
spent a summer working in Tuscany as an English Gardener. She
has a National Diploma in Horticulture.
Cutting remarks
The last two winters came as rather
a shock to many of the tender shrubs
that normally flourish on the Isle of
Wight.
Many did not recover, and the cost of
replacing plants can be high. However,
many shrubs can be easily propagated
in early August from semi-ripe
cuttings which require minimal care
and can provide useful insurance
against more winter losses.
Choose cuttings from shoots that
have just started to become woody
but still remain slightly flexible.
Depending on the type of plant, cut
at a the node formed by a leaf or pull
them from the main stem of the plant.
Aim for a cutting roughly 6-10cms
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long.
Cuttings that are pulled will have a
‘heel’ of ripened woody material. This
needs to be trimmed off so there is a
neat little piece of exposed inner stem
that would have formed the junction
between the shoot and the main part
of the plant. Roots will develop from
just below the bark at this point.
As the cuttings are collected they
should not be allowed to dry out, and
it is best to put them into a plastic bag
or, even better a plastic pot with a lid.
Prepare them as soon as possible and
insert into a pot of suitable cutting
compost containing grit or perlite
to prevent the compost becoming
waterlogged.
They can then be well watered
and placed in a propagator, or the
flower-pot can be covered with a
polythene bag, held in place with an
elastic band. Put them in a shaded
spot, and they will almost take care
of themselves, as long as they are not
allowed to dry out.
Some plants will form roots in a
week or so, while others will take
longer. But resist the temptation to
pot them up if they are not well rooted
by early September as the disturbance
can be fatal. Instead, leave them as
they are until next spring when they
can be potted up just as they begin to
grow again.