CHEAP SHRUBS FROM HARDWOOD CUTTINGS

Press, Volume CI, Issue 29803, 21 April 1962, Page 19

CHEAP SHRUBS FROM HARDWOOD CUTTINGS

Everybody loves something for nothing. We don’t often get it. but there’s no harm in hoping. Not all shrubs can be raised from hardwood cuttings, but when they can, the plants you produce certainly are something for nothing. This is the time of year when you can set to work making hardwood cuttings, and it's the sort of job you can do when the weather forces you indoors, or when recent rains, like last weekend keep you off the soil and away from more active forms of gardening. Here is a list of plants which you can reasonably expect to strike without too much trouble: Gooseberries, currants, poplar, forsythia, mulberry, lonicera, escallonia privet. rosemary, lavender, olearia, philadelphus (or mock orange), nyperieum, kerria, laburnum, aucuba, . deutzia. diervilla. buddleia, willows, spirea, and roses. You should not expect to strike the more expensive shrubs, and you are just wasting your time to attempt rhododendrons, magnolias, lilacs, and such" plants, although they may certainly strike if they are layered instead.

The best cuttings are made from shoots which have been produced during the current season of growth. They vary in length according to the plant, but the average size is about nine or 10 inches long. Don’t be greedy and expect large cuttings to grow—this is the commonest mistake of the average home-gardener You can certainly strike large cuttings of some plants, but you have to know which plants! Willows and poplars are examples of plants which can be struck from large cuttings, if conditions for establishment are right. But even these plants will not succeed if planted in a dry spot and left to their own devices. The shoots should be "ripe”—that is hard and woody, not soft and sappy, and they are cut into appropriate lengths with a sharp knife. Some brands of secateurs can be used for the job, but others tend to crush the shoot, so that root production is much less certain then. In the case of evergreen cuttings, strip off the leaves which will be buried; cuttings of deciduous plants will probably have dropped their leaves by the time we take them, but they rub off easily anyway if still present. Plant the cuttings as soon as you can after preparation. If immediate planting is not possible, then store them, tied in bundles, in damp sawdust until you can get on with the job of planting out. Take out a small trench deep enough to bury two-thirds of the cutting, and stand the cuttings 3 to 6 inches apart against the "wall” of the side. Then place the soil back against the cutting base, and tread firm, adding soil until it is back to its original level. Don't be

afraid of that boot! Slack planting is the commonest cause of cuttings failing. to root. You should be able to give the cuttings a light tug after you’ve finished, and not move them!

Cuttings will start into growth next spring. Even those which won't develop commonly show some leaf growth, so don’t get too enthusiastic!

Leave your cuttings until next winter before you move them, to give ample opportunity for growth. Few of the plants I list appreciate being moved in their growing season, so be patient and reap the full reward for your enterprise—shrubs without paying for them!