Multi-Plants Look Good Right From The Off

Now is a good time to take cuttings of favourite plants, either as insurance against a bad winter, or perhaps just to increase stock. Take about six or seven shoot tip cuttings, a 3.5 inch potful of light soil or rooting compost (preferably the one we use on fuchsias), and insert five or six cuttings close to the edge, with one or two in the middle. No need to cover. These should root fairly quickly at this time of year.

Making multi-plants this way was very effective last year. This is a multi-plant, made of pinks last August, in early October. I made one from French lavender, as well. Both have flowered very well this year as part of mixed containers.

Multi-plants in small pots are easy to store over winter. And they look good right from the off because the plants don't need to build up a framework of stems before they can flower well. The structure is already there. Each stem will very quickly bear a flower. And, once mature, these plants can look fantastic!

Multi-Plant Breaking Unevenly

I wasn't going to remove the growing tips at the ends of the 'Annabel' multi-plant shoots. But after removing some of the larger leaves to see what was happening down under, it is clear the axillary buds in the leaf axils haven't broken evenly. In fact, only those marked in pink seem to have developed; the ones marked red have not moved. I hope removal of the apical bud (growing tip) at the end of each stem will now improve matters.

As you can see, I have also used wire to pull some of the branches closer together. This is a good time to do this before the wood becomes too hard and brittle.

Because each of the shoots now has about eight (most have, some haven't) axillary buds (4 nodes x2), there is great potential. Even without further stopping, there should be about sixty to seventy flowering shoots produced. But this won't be till the end of the year, unfortunately. I should have stopped it sooner and potted it up earlier instead of leaving it too long in a small pot. It might have been flowering now. Never mind. Live and learn.

Two's Company . . .

They say 'Two's company, three's a crowd'. I wonder if someone told my fuchsia multi-plants. For some reason, when produced from perlite-rooted cuttings, three plants will not grow together and produce even plants. Either one plant takes hold before the other two, or vise versa. As you can see, this affects both vegetative growth (left) and flowering (right).

This has happened each time I have placed three plants in a pot. Two have grown together. And they have ALWAYS grown together, whether larger or smaller than the third plant.

However, when I placed more than three rooted cuttings in a pot, multi-planting has worked, with all plants of similar size growing together. Strange.

The other strange thing is that, in the former case, although all three plants started at similar size, rooting occurred at differing times, thereby making the two groups uneven. i.e. for some reason one or two plants just would not root as quickly.

I suppose the obvious cause could be plants spaced too far apart. But I don't think it's as simple as this. Mysteries. Mysteries.

Still No Roots On Dahlia Cup Cutting

Still no roots showing in dahlia cup cutting taken six weeks ago. Not sure what this means. It has taken and is growing;it is also flowering. When cuttings are rooted in spring, roots are usually visible at the bottom of the pot within four weeks, often sooner. I know a 500ml (pint) beer pot is much deeper, but they should have got down there by now. What's the reason?

• dahlia roots are 'photophobic' (light-hating) and are keeping out of sight
• dahlias do not produce roots whilst flowering
• a pest is destroying the roots
  

Either or all - or even something completely different - could be the problem. Growing is a mysterious process.

Horizontal Dahlia Sport?

This is the dahlia I planted horizontally to get it deeper in the ground. I wanted to get some adventitious roots all at the same depth; plus some extra stems. It's still early days. But the results so far are somewhat strange, to say the least.

After laying the plant in the hole and completely burying it, it took some while to emerge. But when it did, three shoots broke through the surface at roughly the same time.

However, as you can see (I hope), only one of the three is really romping away. And when I say 'romping', I mean 'ROMPING'. Considering this plant is a short variety, and considering it is on the dry side of the bed and has received absolutely no water from me, it is doing very well indeed - certainly much better than the other two.

Not only is the stem thicker, and the leaf much larger, the leaf is also a slightly different colour (it's lighter and greener - the others are bronze), leading me to suspect the plant might have thrown a sport (an uncharacteristic shoot on the parent plant). I don't know yet. Will have to wait see. However, it's not the only plant which has produced large leaves and thicker stems - one of the 'wheels' has, as well.

Dahlia In A Cup

I know it's not very clear. But this is a dahlia cutting in a 500ml (pint) plastic cup filled with soil. Although the cutting was pushed down the side of the cup (its stem was visible until the green algae formed), there is still no visible sign of any root development 32 days after planting. I know I didn't use rooting powder. But I'm sure it HAS rooted, because it's held firmly and is growing. Hope roots appear soon.

POT TUBERS
I thought it would be good to see how the roots and tubers develop (should they ever appear), just as we did with the potato. Incidentally, it's worth growing a few cuttings like this and keeping them in pots (3.5 inch). They over-winter very well, once dried, and take up little space.

Rooting Geraniums In Perlite And Water

ROOTING IN PERLITE
It took me years to get around to using perlite on a regular basis. But it really is an excellent product. Just look at the roots on this woody geranium cutting. Kind of speaks for itself, doesn't it?




Because it is inert, and therefore contains no nutrients:

• New roots quickly proliferate in an attempt to reach a food source. This also happens to some extent with potting compost, which only has restricted nutrients.
• Woody stems can be softened without rotting. So perlite is ideal for semi-ripe and ripe cuttings.

TECHNIQUE
Cut stem just below a leaf node, then remove bracts. Insert it about an inch (2.5cm) into perlite and water, so water is just touching its base. Leave until roots appear, ensuring container does not run dry.

After trimming an old plant, I place about 5 cuttings into a small cup of perlite, fill to top with water, then just leave until roots are visible.

ROOTING IN WATER
If you haven't got perlite, don't worry. Woody stems can also be rooted in plain water. But best to sterilize this in a microwave first (don't forget to let it cool before inserting cuttings). I haven't found this method as reliable as perlite, but it's still quite effective.

Shading Plastic Cups Seems To Improve Growth

It's been a poor year for fuchsias as far as I'm concerned. They just haven't grown. At least not for long periods. Then they have. Fits and starts the whole time. And the growth spurts seem to have coincided with warmer weather. This is strange, since fuchsias grow well in cool conditions (about 10 deg C (50 deg F)).

I had this great idea to grow cuttings in 200ml plastic cups because, being deep with low surface area, they seemed to offer great potential. But their greatest feature was that I could actually see the roots growing and how the plants were using water in the compost. It all seemed so ideal, just as lots of my ideas do at the time.

Alas, things did not turn out as planned. Whilst growing well in early spring, they suddenly stopped and hardly moved at all. After deducing this was because the compost was getting too warm in the strengthening sun, I popped the cup into a 3.5 inch plant pot to keep it cool. And guess what? They started growing.

Furthermore, I have also noticed that cuttings rooted in the centre of a perlite cup do so more quickly than those around the edge. This time I convinced myself it was somehow cooler in centre - another act of near lunacy when seen in the clear light of day.

Anyway, I read an article in the 'Science Daily Blog' last week (first published in December, 2008) which outlined that plant roots have a sensing mechanism to detect UV-B light levels. They then send signals which cause the plant to adjust its normal growth appropriately. I'm not sure exactly how this works, or in what way growth is adjusted. But it could nevertheless offer an explanation for fuchsia cutting growth: Perhaps it was the increased light intensity, not the temperature, which caused growth to slow down in both the compost and in the perlite. Still not sure, though. It could just as well be 'something in the air'.

Fuchsia Multi-Plant Now Doing Well

It's taken long enough, I know. But the fuchsia multi-plant started last autumn is now doing well in its four inch (10 cm) pot . . . well, apart from a couple of plants, that is.

Begun with 9 shoot tip cuttings in a 2 inch (5cm) pot last autumn, all 9 are still with us. However, whilst seven plants are now growing at the same pace, as if they are all part of one plant, two of the plants are not growing so well. These two are not weak plants; they are just shorter after having stopped growing for a while after being stopped. Now they are growing, but not very evenly; one side shoot is growing whilst the other is not. I think I must have damaged some of the buds whilst taking out the tips. Should have left it a bit longer and done them all together.

I haven't stopped the rest of the stems yet. They now have about five nodes. Multi-plants are supposed to be self-branching. I hope they are.

Preventing Tuberous Begonia Stems Breaking

Tuberous begonia stems can be extremely brittle and easily break off where they join the tubers, especially when knocked or rocked by high winds. Discreet staking gives support and helps prevent this.

Take care when inserting the cane that you do not damage the tuber. I usually insert them at an angle, so that the base is well clear of the side of the tuber. The stems can then be tied quite loosely (though with a slight tension on the stem), allowing room for stem thickening. As the plants grow, either insert more stakes as necessary, or replace with longer ones.

Feeds too high in nitrogen gives long growth, making the foliage top-heavy. Using high potash feed will both harden the tissues and produce shorter growth. It will also help flower colour and numbers. You don't need much - just one or two feeds will do. Tomato feed is high potash. But I always use 'Phostrogen' with every feed. However, although this produces wonderful plants, they still need staking, but not so much.

MAKE A SHOOT TIP CUTTING FROM THE OLD STEM
Provided you get to the broken stem in time, you can make a shoot tip cutting as shown in earlier posts, either using compost or perlite and water. Cut stem under water (to prevent air bubbles) about 6mm (1/4 inch) beneath a node. Then leave in water for about 4 hours. Some growers actually root in water, though I have never tried this - except for perlite and water, which seems to work well and was outlined recently.

The problem with begonias is that they only grow very slowly. So best to remove all flower buds on new plant, to give the new tuber as much chance as possible to develop before winter. I would again use 'Phostrogen' to produce good growth of both leaf and tuber.

Insects Help Coriander Pollination

Not only bees are useful in gardens; smaller insects are especially useful in assisting pollination of coriander flowers (as with tomatoes, misting with water and tapping the stems also helps).

Apart from the fact it has toppled over (like trees), presumably because it is top-heavy due to too much feed in the new compost (too much for this stage of growth, that is), the recently-potted coriander is doing quite well . . . considering.

I have only tied up half of the stems and left the other half horizontal, resting off the floor. The plant is still indoors. See what happens . . ..

Minimizing Die-Back When Cutting Back Geranium (pelargonium) Stems

Cutting back geranium (pelargonium) stems is not so straightforward as it sounds. Firstly, not every node will produce side shoots unless an axillary bud is visible. But geranium stems are often devoid of axillary buds, and any dormant buds are invisible. So we cannot just cut back to any node and expect new shoots to appear where we want them. Quite often, unsightly die-back (pink) left protruding into nowhere is the result of our efforts, try as we might.

This is why I recommend waiting till a strong new shoot is growing before cutting back to it see 'Cutting Back Geranium Stems'.

And even then I leave a good margin of error (red). This can be carefully cut away once our new branches are growing (lime - best if they're growing stronger than this). New cuttings can be taken from the off-cuts.

WHAT IF NO SHOOTS ARE AVAILABLE?
If a stem needs to be shortened and there are not side shoots, cut back about half way and hope for the best. After a few weeks, new shoots might have developed lower down the stem; if not, let them die back, then remove. We can't win them all . . ..

Rooting Tuberous Begonia Cutting In Perlite

Perlite, an inert, porous, volcanic rock material, is excellent for rooting cuttings without a propagator. Its porosity and lack of nutrients keep cuttings damp and airy, and help them resist rotting.

TAKING THE CUTTING
Select a healthy young stem with one medium-sized leaf (about 4 to 5mm (2 inches)); also including a smaller, opening leaf bud.
Cut stem with clean sharp knife about 5mm (3/8inch) below base of small bud

Note: this photo taken after rooting; as you can see, small leaf has grown somewhat.

• Fill container with perlite and water so all perlite it wetted


• Trim loose bracts from base of cutting and insert into perlite* until base of lower leaf is below surface (be very careful not to damage base of stem). Base of lower leaf will be in contact with top of perlite.


• Pour out water until level is just beneath stem (ensures perlite damp but stem not actually immersed).


• Ensure damp perlite is contacting stem all way around.


• No need to cover.


• Place in a cool light spot, out of direct sunlight.


• Ensure container does not dry out too much.


• After 21 days check rooting by giving a gentle tug - if rooted, will be firmly set into perlite.


• Carefully remove. If perlite sticks to root hairs, leave it alone; it will give plant a better start.
  

This cutting rooted after 24 days. It would have been better left another week. But placed it in damp multi-purpose and kept light and cool.

* Rooting powder not necessary

See also: 'What Is A Semi-Ripe Cutting?'

Coriander Severed Roots After 11 Days

These brand new roots, complete with root caps, have appeared sooner than expected (see 'Coriander 'Multi-Plant' Matted Root Trim').

Plant has been kept un-watered, at about 17 deg C, indoors and in good light. Compost still quite moist, so should not need watering for perhaps another week (provided it remains indoors); it's just about at right stage for root and foliage growth right now.

Flowers seem to be developing quite well, for now. Newer growth looks fresh and healthy. Not sure if stems are becoming wavy (below)? Wait and see . . ..

Potato Laterals Not Just At Surface

Just after stating that 'potato laterals are mostly at surface' of the half litre plastic cup (see 'Why Are Potato Lateral Roots Mostly At Surface?'), more have appeared further down. These new laterals also at 'crest' of 'root wave' with little in gullies either side (this photo actually shows two roots, but seems to illustrate the point). Only this time new lateral growth is mostly upward and is more extensive. It is also comprised of only the finer roots, at the moment, though these possess root hairs, so might thicken up to be like those described last week.

THESE LATERALS NOT ON ROOT AT SURFACE
Far from being just beneath the surface, this root is nearly two thirds way down the cup. And it is unlikely that this part of the cup has been watered in the same way as the surface. This might indicate:

• perhaps potato roots grow in a wave fashion wherever they are, independent of soil water levels
• perhaps laterals at crest of roots are not responding to being near soil surface

IMPLICATIONS FOR GROWERS
It seems amazing that roots actually grow so close to the soil surface. This means that any sort of mechanical weeding is certain to damage them and impair the plant's ability to take up water.

Do Dahlia Roots Come So Close?
Dahlia feeder roots also come up to the surface. I wonder if they also come so close?

NO RESPONSE TO SYRINGE WATER
Still early days, but water applied by syringe to gully of root at top of cup does not seem to have produced a response, perhaps indicating laterals are not produced in response to moisture levels. Seems unlikely.

Why Are There Two Types Of Potato 'Lateral Roots'?

TWO TYPES OF 'ROOTS'

Something else interesting about the new laterals developing from the potato root we saw last week are the two apparently different types of 'root': thick ones (pink) and thin ones. Are they both roots or just the thicker ones with the root hairs? Can't see how they could be tuber* rhizomes, since these arise from stems. I know adventitious roots also come from stems. But not from the same source, surely. But the two types seem to be attached to the parent at different angles.

Too soon to determine any of this. Not even clear whether each of these types of 'root' is attached to the main root. See what develops.

* A potato tuber is a bulky short terminal part of an underground stem (rhizome) whose 'eyes' are really buds at nodes. Shoots and roots grow from these eyes upon planting. We often see these on old potatoes in the cupboard which have started to grow. The main bud is at the end of the tuber and exerts dominance over the other lesser 'eyes' in the way expected in stem terminal buds.

Why Are Potato Lateral Roots Mostly At Surface?

This is the same root you saw last week, rising and falling beneath the soil surface. More interesting developments this week:

Secondary (lateral) roots have suddenly developed, but only where the original root is nearest to the surface. It's hard to get a photo because of the shape of the pot, but the root is almost devoid of laterals either side where it is lower in the soil, so farther away from the surface. Why?

• Perhaps laterals responding belatedly (it takes lateral roots some time to appear, because they have to grow from the 'pericycle', deep inside the root) to the water applied to the surface some time back.
• or Perhaps, being principally feeder roots, they just grow when roots come up near the surface (feeder roots do this to gather water from rain showers, among other things)

Just out of interest, I inserted some water around the lower root (where it is furthest from the surface) with a syringe, so that the soil is just moist. Will this water induce lateral roots to form?

Fixing A Broken Lupin Stem Complete With Basal Buds

USE A BASAL CUTTING

Stems can easily be broken off plants next to busy paths. Found a lupin branch on ground last week. Because it had several basal buds (see bottom left) and some base plate, I placed it in about an inch (2.5 cm) of perlite and water. Never done this before at this time of year (May); it's usually done in early spring; so may or may not work.

About a week later, new shoots coming up from basal buds. Wasn't sure if they would or not, as buds could have been dormant. Need keeping in good light now till roots are evident.

NOT ONLY LEAVES CONTAIN CHLOROPHYLL

Note there are no leaves (normal basal cuttings contain some basal plate complete with buds, stem and two or three leaves) to provide food by photosynthesis to support the growth process. However, there is about 15 cm (6 inches) of green stem - green because it contains the pigment chlorophyll - so this will supply the food. i.e. Green stems (or any green plant tissue) can photosynthesise, as well as leaves. Not everyone understands this.

I haven't got a photo of the original broken stem. And I don't want to disturb the cutting till it's rooted. So here is the base of another stem, complete with basal bud (marked red) and base plate material (marked pink). It does look rather like a heel cutting, produced when a woody shoot tears away from a shrub or tree.

ROOTING MATERIAL
Although I have used perlite and water, moist soil or potting compost (either multi-purpose or special potting compost) can be used, especially if perlite or sand is added to aid aeration. I would insert the cutting near the edge (not too near or it will dry out) of the pot, with its bud(s) just beneath the surface; then carefully keep moist (I usually dribble water down the stem, so the base is kept damp after the excess is taken up by the rest of the compost (because it is drier)).

ROOTING STEMS IN WATER

Many stem bases will also root in water. After leaving base of stem above in a cup or beaker of water (level shown by green arrow) for fifteen days, new shoots (pink) and a new root (red) have developed. Water-rooted cuttings can be more brittle than perlite-rooted ones, but young plant can now be carefully transferred to moist soil or compost, so soil is at same level as water. Imperative to keep out of direct sunlight.

Fixing A Broken Branch Or Stem

Accidents happen all the time in the garden, nearly always to our favourite plants. Why this should be, I don't know. Another mystery. Anyway, enough said. How do we fix a stem if it breaks? It depends.

• woody perennials (trees, shrubs e.g. forsythia)
• tender perennials (will grow all year but frost-susceptible e.g. geraniums)
• herbaceous perennials (everything else which comes up from roots year after year e.g. lupins, delphiniums)

WOODY PERENNIALS

Branches rarely break away completely from the parent. They usually hang in limbo looking untidy, leaving the dilemma as to whether to bind it back in position or remove it completely and go from there. Some advice:
BIND IT BACK
Broken limbs, not completely severed, are rather like broken human limbs. Setting and binding them back into position early enough will usually work well. Of course, we don't use plaster of Paris on plant stems; we use garden twine, or wire - or even a pin or two - even splints, if necessary. The binding must be tight enough to bring the surfaces back into contact and to provide firm support. This is essential. Remember to remove binding once healing has occurred, or lateral secondary growth (stem thickening) will be impaired.

PROPAGATE NEW STOCK
Not so easy with woody tissue, but new plants can be propagated by layering (not covered yet) or by taking hard wood cuttings, or semi-ripe (even soft wood, in some cases) cuttings. It's a matter of using whatever method you are familiar with that works. These either are or will be dealt with elsewhere (use search box).

TENDER AND HERBACEOUS PERENNIALS

Because there is no secondary thickening (I'll be telling you about this later), these don't heal like woody plants. So they can't be bound and left. So must propagate new stock. Fortunately there are several options:

• shoot tip cuttings (used for tips of non-flowering stems (sometimes will work if flowering))
• basal cuttings (used if stem broken away from base (needs a bit of base plate with dormant buds)
• seeds (used when too late to propagate by other methods. problem that they might not come true, if from hybrid stock)

ROOTING MATERIAL

Garden Soil
Surprising how often pushing a shoot tip into garden soil produces results (e.g. geraniums, fuchsias, dahlias). It's always worth a try. Works very well on broken branches torn away from stem and containing a heel (base of stem includes a little bark from main stem where it was torn away).

Perlite and Water
Gives results for most occasions. Very useful for semi-ripe tissue (starting to turn brown). Seems to work with almost anything. This was described last autumn when used to propagate flowering fuchsias.

Water
Plain water often gives results, especially on woody tissue. It can give brittle roots which are slow to establish when later potted into soil or compost. We used this last year to propagate a triphylla fuchsia. It can even be used on geraniums.

Compost
Although potting compost might be best, just ordinary multi-purpose seems to work quite well, especially if some sand or perlite is added to give aeration. Though, until recently, I have always used plain compost. This method has been described several times, especially propagating dahlias and fuchsias.

MORE ADVICE

This post is very basic. Best to research propagation of your particular plant. However, for what it's worth:

• Always use as sharp a knife as possible (preferably a razor blade or craft knife) to cut a shoot tip cutting below a leaf node. A clean cut helps prevent cell damage, which induces rotting.
• Hormone rooting powder is often useful, though not usually necessary
• Keep cuttings in good light, out of sun and not too hot

Several Geotropic Shoots From Nodes Of Horizontal Dahlia Stem

This is the dahlia stem we planted horizontally three weeks ago to make it more drought-resistant. Shoots, being positively geotropic, grow upwards towards the light. Here we have several shoots, each springing from a node of the horizontal stem. Because these nodes are all at the same height, just below the soil surface, they have more equal access to its water reserves.