Which plants can you take cuttings from in spring and early summer?
SHRUBS: Buddleja, cistus, daphne, fuchsia, hydrangea, hyssop, lavatera, lilac, marguerite, perovskia, phlomis, potentilla, and willow.
CLIMBERS: Hop, hydrangea, wisteria, grape vine, Clematis cirrhosa, and chocolate vine.
PERENNIALS: Softwood cuttings can be taken from a range of perennials by way of basal cuttings (BC) or stem cuttings (SC). Willing plants include artemisia (SC), aster (SC, BC), aubretia (SC), bee balm (BC), campanula (BC), chrysanthemum (BC, SC), cranesbill (BC), dahlia (BC), delphiniums (BC), dianthus (SC), euphorbia (BC), knautia (SC), lupins (BC), melianthus (SC), nepeta (BC, SC), origanum (SC), pelargonium (BC, SC), penstemon (BC, SC), phlox (BC, SC), salvia (BC, SC), and border stonecrop (BC, SC).
How to take softwood stem cuttings
This is the easy nodal technique carried out in spring or early summer.
Wilting can be an issue with softwood cuttings, so before you head out to gather your plant material, prepare your work surface and all the kit you’ll need: small pots (terracotta are ideal) filled with compost (general multi-purpose or cuttings compost), an implement to help plunge more delicate cuttings into the compost (for example, a chopstick), grit to dress with, a full watering can with a fine rose, and a spray bottle (such as you would mist houseplants with) filled with water.
Early morning is the best time to collect softwood cuttings because sap is plentiful. A sharp, clean pocket knife or pair of secateurs is the best weapon. You will also need a sealable plastic bag.
Cut as many stems as you want plants. Go for the leading (apical) shoots of the new, young growth. Take 10 to 12 centimetres, cutting just above a leaf node (join).Put them in the polythene bag immediately and seal it to preserve moisture.At your worktop, remove the lower leaves from the bottom half of each cutting and plunge them 5 centimetres deep around the edge of a pot of compost. Insert around four cuttings per 10 centimetre pot.Dress with grit, water, and mist, then place the pots on a warm windowsill in bright indirect light.When the plants start to grow after a few weeks, gently tip the pot out. If it has roots, carefully prize the cuttings apart and pot on into individual pots. These baby plants can be planted outside after a few more weeks. If your young plant has one tall stem, you could cut off the top to stimulate the plant to put out bushy growth and perhaps use the cut piece as a cutting to grow another plant.
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