It’s autumn, the season of crisp evenings, falling leaves and gardening journalists reusing their favourite autumnal phrase: “putting the garden to bed”. Seriously, I’ve been reading that since I was a kid in the 1990s and still have no idea what it means.
To me, autumn shouldn’t be a time to resign yourself to outdoor tidying up and throwing in the trowel, for horticulturally this is also a time of new beginnings. Nowhere is this more the case than the miracle of home cloning that is taking hardwood cuttings. Giving you plants for free in exchange for very little time and effort, these are probably the easiest of all cuttings to take, yet (rather conveniently) they also work well on some of the more expensive species. If you have never done it before, this weekend is your chance.
My favourite candidates for this treatment are roses, grapes, blackcurrants and gooseberries. These come in such a massive diversity of varieties, which can be hard to tell apart, so cuttings are a brilliant way to make sure you get what you are hoping for. Figs and mulberries respond equally well, and as all of these plants are often pruned over the autumn and winter anyway, you’ll probably have plenty of cut stems to experiment with.
The best time to do this is just after leaf fall (or if you miss this, just before their buds burst open next spring). Pick out some of the plump, bright green stems from this year’s growth and snip into 1ft (30cm) sections. Dipping the lower cut end in hormone rooting powder will improve your success rate by stimulating root formation and suppressing fungal infection in your nascent cuttings, but it’s not absolutely essential. Simply taking a few more than you need should cover you.
Dig out a little hole in a sheltered patch of your plot and bury the bottom two-thirds of each cutting, setting them about 10cm apart, keeping a few buds on the section poking above the surface. Firm the soil around the cuttings by compressing it lightly with your hands or heel to remove air pockets – this allows greatest contact between the plant and growing media. Then water in well. For best results sprinkling a little horticultural sand or grit at the bottom of the hole will help ensure good drainage and prevent the risk of rotting, especially if you (like me) are gardening on heavy clay soils. In fact, this whole process can also be done in a large pot filled with a crumbly mix of equal parts compost and grit if you don’t have much, or any, soil space.
By this time next autumn at least 50% of these cuttings should have rooted away nicely, giving you loads of plants for your own patch and even Christmas gifts for your horticultural mates. From your garden to theirs.
Email James at james.wong@observer.co.uk or follow him on Twitter @Botanygeek
