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• Message 1.Ìý

  Posted by punpun (U14553477) on Friday, 4th March 2011

  We're in march now and all the verious trees and bushes are starting to get the sap etc moving from the roots up to the top growing areas of these trees etc,
  
  So this is your last chance to start sorting out the likes of hardy fuchsias / Buddliea
  "if you have a buddliea and you've not cut it down to just above the ground ?
  Now is the time to do it if you want a really good show of flowers this summer.
  The same for fuchsias
  
  This is also a good time to take cutting and the one i was thinking of talking about is the geranium,
  
  The garden centre will sell you a large plant for what may seem costly
  But if you take 6-10 cuttings off this plant and then when the weathers warmer plant that same plant outside in the garden it will soon recover and you'll be back to even more cutting off this plant if needed.
  
  Geranium cuttings,
  Now you can use plastic or clay pots,
  I like and use clay because i find clay pots tobe warmer for the cuttings but plastic will work so you decide what you like to use.
  
  Clay pot, ensure the pot has drainage( ie if the pot has a hole in the bottom? Then use a bit of broken clay pot to sit just over the hole, the idea being so that the water cant escape to quickly and also so the compost cant block the hole)
  
  Plastic pots will as a norm have 5 or 6 holes around the bottom of the pot and you dont have to put anyform of drainage as the water will just drain through these holes,
  Hence thats why when you buy potted plants fully grown in plastic pots you'll not find any form of drainage material in the bottom of the plastic plot.
  
  Clay pot,
  fill your pot with a good compost (john inners 2 or any good general potting compost ) to just under the bottom of the watering rim mark of your pot,
  
  This water mark is we're at the top of the pot you'll find a rim, depending on the size of the pot will depend how wide this rim is "norm about 1/2 inch"
  
  this rim should be left clear of any compost as it denotes how much water that pot should have when watering the plant inside it & hence stops you over watering the plant;
  
  If you have a pot that has'nt any water rim mark on it ?
  Thats because that pot should be watered by standing the pot on the saucer and the saucer filled with water, (some plant are better fed from under the pot and some are better watered or fed from the top of the pot) & by using the correct pot you'll know what way that plant should be watered.
  
  Once you have filled your pot to the correct amount now give the compost a really good watering and let it drain-away.
  
  Take a round dipper or pencil and make 4 holes around the inside "near as possible to the edge of the clay pot" this is we're the 4 geranium cuttings will be planted,
  The reason your planting as near as possible to the edge of the pot is that this is the warmer part of the pot and it helps the rooting system to grow.
  
  Take your cutting off the mother plant using a razor blade or something very sharp that will cut and not squeeze the new cuttings,
  The cutting should be taken from just below a leaf joint, remove all the leaves except the top two, dip the bottom of the stem into warm (not cold)water and then
  dip this damp stem into rooting compond and gently tap off any excess rooting powder (if you've not got rooting powder, icing sugar can be used.
  
  By now your compost should have drained and you can plant your cutting into the holes made ealier, gently move the compost around the cutting to help the cutting have a firm stand.
  Continue to plant all 4 geraniums as above;
  
  If you have a propagator fine just put the pot inside the propargator and keep at 65/70 until the plants show signs of growing, (keep moist but not soaking wet)
  
  If you dont have any means of covering the plants via set heating? Then use a plastic bag & sticks to keep the bag off the leaves plus an elastic band to help keep the heat in.
  Place the pot on a well lit window sill and again plenty of natural light.
  
  Once you've cracked the art of taking cuttings you'll save a small fortune on buying plants plus you'll tend to look at any plants you do buy in a different way
  ie you'll be trying to see how many cuttings you can get.
  
  Regards PUNPUN

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• Message 2

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by ali-kat54 (U14134518) on Saturday, 5th March 2011

  Good advice punpun, but in this area (south Cheshire) I'd leave the fuchsias and buddleias for a few weeks yet as we quite often get late frosts and I've found that my hardies are better left until it's a bit warmer - when I cut them back too early the shoots got badly frosted. When I leave them I can choose which shoots to prune to. I've got lots of hardy fuchsias, and it's better for me too as it takes quite some time to sort them all out and I don't like being cold either!!!!

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• Message 3

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by punpun (U14553477) on Saturday, 5th March 2011

  Good reply and im glad you've taken into account your area and the weather there.
  
  Here today it's like a summers day, ive taken my own advice and ive been doing a bit of path making and when this got tiring i went on to the more enjoying jobs like edging and tidying up the verious plants that need a prune.
  
  Hope you have a really nice summer this year.
  Rgards punpun.

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• Message 4

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by Joe_the_Gardener (U3478064) on Saturday, 5th March 2011

  Well, you're a lucky bunny, punny. Which part of France are you in? It all sounds very serene.
  

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• Message 5

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  Posted by punpun (U14553477) on Sunday, 6th March 2011

  Well, you're a lucky bunny, punny. Which part of France are you in? It all sounds very serene.
  Ìý Hi Joe,
  Limousin dept 23.

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• Message 6

  , in reply to message 3.

  Posted by ali-kat54 (U14134518) on Monday, 7th March 2011

  Lucky you punpun, a lovely area to live in. It's actually been glorious here for the past two days but I've had to work - hoping it stays the same tomorrow and Wednesday as I'm off in the afternoons and really looking forward to spending time outside - keeping my fingers crossed.

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• Message 7

  , in reply to message 1.

  Posted by madeleineR (U14451255) on Monday, 7th March 2011

  Hi pun pun
  
  Thanks for the hints on taking cuttings. Interesting to hear the reasons for different shaped pot tops. I hadn't guessed that there might me a good reason for the shapes and nice to know that clay pots have their advantages in this plastic era! I shall have a go at buying some different coloured geraniums with the idea of "breeding" a few more!
  
  I do love clay pots - in fact I bought a few small ones today to re-pot some cacti and succulents which have sat very very neglected in my conservatory the last couple of years. Hopefully some new bedding and general tlc will give them a facelift.
  
  Cheers pun pun and all the best for a speedy recovery after your forthcoming op!
  
  Madeleine
  

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• Message 8

  , in reply to message 2.

  Posted by tootsietim (U13997544) on Saturday, 12th March 2011

  I actually leave my buddleja until late March before cutting it back.
  The idea is to delay the flowering time so that it coincides beter with the main emergence of butterflies and moths.
  Sometimes it works.

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