A Cut In Time: Build a fabulous garden with cuttings

摘要

Most gardeners enjoy window-shopping for those great new plants on display every spring. But if your garden vision is bigger than your budget, cuttings may be the answer. Cuttings of plantsmore challenging than coleus or airplane plant intimidate many of us, but they shouldn't. The process is pretty straightforward.Cuttings fall into three basic types: softwood (mostly herbaceous plant material), greenwood (new growth on woody plants) andhardwood (mature wood taken in a leafless or dormant state). Most share some common steps: First, select your cuttings. Look for well-hydrated, healthy stems. It's best to take cuttings in the cool of the morning from well-watered plants. Avoid plants that have been water stressed or recently fertilized with lots of nitrogen, both will inhibit successful rooting. While minor insect or mechanical damage to leaves isn't much of a concern, the stems should be as pristine as possible. Any nick, wound, biteor lesion on the stem means you need to move on.