Make more plants for free

Young shoots are excellent cuttings material,

- Ruth

THERE are cuttings you can take in every season but spring and early summer is when gardeners are spoilt for choice.

I know people who, at this time of year, never venture out without a garden knife and plastic bag – just in case they stumble across a shrub or perennial they fancy adding to their garden.

I’ve never done that (yet) but one of the main reasons I love this time of year is that it provides easy pickings on the propagation front.

Plants, trees, shrubs and climbers all sending out new growth is an invitation to get in there and harvest a few shoots to use as cuttings.

Don’t be too greedy, because if you take too many cuttings from one plant you may check its growth – and you can take more throughout the year should the first batch fail to thrive.

Cuttings are an excellent way of propagation if you love certain varieties because the plants they produce will be identical to the parent, whereas those grown from harvested seeds may result in flowers in a different colour.