Susie's Garden

Buy one plant, get potentially dozens free with our expert's guide to cuttings!

Early autumn is a great time for taking cuttings, seeing plants I've propagated myself growing and thriving.

If you've spent money buying pelargoniums, fuchsias or other tender plants it makes sense to produce your own young plants for next year.

My greenhouse is unheated, and tender plants that I overwinter in there may not survive. Small pots of cuttings take up less room on my house windowsills than the parent plants.

Plants are still growing strongly at this time of year and cuttings strike easily. They can make roots and be ready to pot on within a month.

I use either a very sharp knife or clean sharp secateurs and take lots of small cuttings of non-flowering shoots from the original plant. It's not worth taking long cuttings because the most vigorous part is near the growing tip - about 3 inches long is best.

Prepare pots filled with damp compost, mixed half and half with grit or perlite for good drainage. You need to work quickly or the cuttings will wilt; if there's any delay, keep them in a sealed plastic bag.

Cut off the lower leaves so that there are just a couple at the top to carry on feeding the cutting. Then make a clean cut just below a leaf joint.