Frangipanis have been putting on a real show this year.
It’s the best time to check out the gardens of friends and relatives to see if you can take cuttings to grow in your garden.
Striking a frangipani from a cutting is very simple.
Step 1: wait until April. Step 2: cut off a branch. Step 3: put it under the house or in a shady place for a month. Step 4: plant it at least 30cm into potting mix. Step 5: wait until next spring. Step 6: plant it into the garden. That’s all it takes.
Growing your own plants from cuttings can be a very satisfying way to boost your garden stocks without breaking the bank.
It can also be a rather sociable way to meet the neighbours – “Nice hydrangea, do you mind if I take a cutting”.
But best of all is that you end up with exactly the same plant that you took the cutting from. Same flower colour, same growth habit, same leaf shape, same genetics.
So, what are some of the basics about taking and striking cuttings.
Some plants strike better from softwood cuttings, some from hardwood cuttings, some from semi-hardwood cuttings. Each different plant will have different requirements.
Ask another gardener or one of our local nursery or garden centre staff if you’re not sure.
Cuttings must be as fresh as can be. Don’t take cuttings and leave them in a hot car for a few hours. Try to keep them cool and in a plastic bag.
It is debatable whether the end of the cutting needs to be directly below a leaf node, but it’s probably safer to use this approach, as this is where the plant is most likely to produce roots.
Again, it is debatable whether it’s beneficial to use a rooting compound or not – but it doesn’t hurt, so use one. Some people prefer to use organic honey.
The potting mixture needs to allow for free drainage and lots of oxygen around the stem.
After a couple of days, the cuttings stop taking in moisture through their stem, so it’s important to keep up the relative humidity around the cutting, so that it doesn’t lose water and it allows the biological processes to keep active.
Most people tend to strip back the leaves to a couple and then cut them in half to reduce moisture loss. Modern research tends to suggest this may not make too much difference, but like the rooting compound, it doesn’t hurt.
The easiest way to do this is to use bent wire and a plastic bag pulled over and tied at the top.
Keep the pots in the shade and keep the mixture moist but not saturated as this will rot the cuttings.
Only fertilise the cuttings once they have formed roots. Look at the base of the pot – if you can see roots through the drain holes, then it’s time to fertilise with a half strength soluble fertiliser.
After about eight weeks (longer in cooler weather), the cuttings should have taken root and they can be taken out of their protective bag. The next important step is to harden them off.
You can do this by keeping them under shade cloth in a semi-shade location but protect them from drying winds. It’s best to separate cuttings into different pots at this stage.
After two weeks, take them out from the shade cloth. Then after another two weeks, you can put them into a more open spot to finish hardening off.
After another eight weeks, they are ready to be planted out or potted up into larger pots.
Whilst most gardeners propagate cuttings with some success, it tends to be a hit and miss affair. The best way to improve your success rate is to give it a go and learn from your mistakes.