Because plants are growing vigorously at this time of the year, they are ripe for cultivation by means of cuttings. You could take cutting from your own existing plants, or maybe your friend has a plant that you have had your eye on for a while. However, I recently took a couple of cuttings from a beautiful shrub that was grown in a car park on a business park.
It’s a good idea to keep some small scissors, and a few food bags in your handbag or glove box, and when you see a plant that you particularly like, take s few cuttings.
Take cuttings on a cool day or in the morning, this is just to prevent your cutting from wilting. Choose healthy, pest-free and non-flowering shoots of new growth. Cut about a 4 or 5 inch length and pop it into a plastic bag. For each plant you want to cultivate, take a minimum of 5 cuttings. Not all the cuttings may take, and if they do you can always give surplus plants to your friends as gifts.
Fill a clean plant pot with cutting compost. And then prepare the cuttings that you collected earlier. With a sharp knife, cut the stem just below a leaf. The cut needs to be clean and straight.
Remove a couple of leaves above this cut and that’s your cutting ready. Now use a pencil to make a hole in the compost around the edge of the pot. Don’t simple put the cutting into the compost because it might damage the cutting. Firm the cutting in by pressing the compost around it.
You should be able to fit a few cuttings all around the edge of the plant pot. When the plant pot is full, water it well and leave it on a sunny window sill and leave the cuttings to do their thing.
Just make sure that the compost doesn’t dry out completely. Your cutting may wilt in the early days, make sure that they are not getting too hot, and use a mister to spray water on them from time to time and they should revive. One last tip, don’t try to re-pot or plant out too soon. Let the cuttings root system get well established before you take the cutting out from the plant pot.
