As we reach the end of the autumn season, the evenings are closing in and we have been presented with several heavy downpours. For us in the propagation team, this is a great time to retreat inside and turn our attention to winter propagation and maintenance as we cease taking softwood cuttings.
Half-hardy plants
One of our first maintenance jobs is sorting the pelargoniums; these half-hardys make beautiful displays throughout the summer with bright vibrant blooms and scented lemony foliage. In winter, we tuck them away in our frost free greenhouse after they are cut back, tidied of any weeds and dressed with a fresh layer of bark.
Root cuttings
Looking at winter propagation, we begin focusing our attention on root cuttings- a simple method used to propagate several different genus of plants including acanthus, pelargonium, houttuynia and cichorium. This process involves digging up the plants from our stock bed, or turning out stock plants grown in pots, and cutting off approximately ⅓ of the root. During this time, it is also a great opportunity to check the general health and quality of the plants and also refresh their potting media.
We then proceed to cut each length of root into 4cm pieces (the approx depth of tray modules). As cuttings won't grow if they are upside down, it is important to keep track of the top and bottom of each cut piece. We do this by making a straight, flat cut to indicate the top, and a slanted cut for the bottom. Using plug trays, we insert each piece vertically into peatfree compost before covering with a thin layer of gravel (alternatively you can use sand or a thin layer of soil). Any thin pieces of root too small go into a plugt tray can be laid down horizontally in rows in a large shallow tray of compost before covering with gravel. The root cuttings will then sit in our propagation tunnel until spring next year when we can expect new shoots to appear.
Peat free
This year has been a big year in our propagation department as we have transitioned to peat free compost for all our seedlings, cuttings and other propagation material. By experimenting with different growing media, including coir, bark and even sphagnum moss based mixes, we have been able to better understand the plants we are growing by looking at how they respond to the different mixes. It has been really interesting looking deeper into how we propagate and experimenting to ensure we find the best outcome for the future production of our plants.
Written by Production Assistant Megan
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