cuttings...

Janie B

So, I woke up with all good intentions this morning of having a go at taking my first cuttings (salvia, penstemon, maybe sedum...), and have just been out to look for 'non flowering stems' on my lovely healthy Salvia Amsted. However, they all seem to have flowers on them! Is it ok to just take one of the flowering stems, and remove the flowers (think I may have read that on here somewhere)?

Fairygirl

Yes 

Janie B

Thanks for speedy response, FG! I'll crack on...!

Fairygirl

  

Janie B

Soooooooo ... they're in! 9 mini Amistads ... what do I do now???

Obelixx

Water the pots and let them drain so the compost is moist but not sopping then put them in a cool, shady place that is frost free.  Should have roots by spring.

I would pinch off those large, lower leaves so the cuttings don't lose all their moisture reserves thru transpiration.

Janie B

Thanks, I will follow your advice, and pinch them out a little more. As a first-time cuttings-person, I didn't want to go too far!

Also, would they be better off then in my small summerhouse-I-use-as-a-shed (i.e. it has a couple of windows, no heating, looks prettier than a conventional shed) than in my Mum's unheated conservatory? 

Obelixx

I'd say the conservatory as long as they're out of direct sun.

Janie B

Just thought I'd see how the cuttings I sowed last Autumn were doing, and if they needed potting up... 2/9 Amistad have rooted nicely, and are now out of their plastic bags, and into bigger pots, the other 7 have no roots at all! They look deceptively green and healthy, but not the slightest sign of a root! ... the penstemon Raven all seem to be doing well (have replanted 6/12), as do the S Love and Wishes (replanted 3/9). Just a bit of a shame about the Amistad...

JennyJ

If they're still green and not wilted, there's still a chance that they might root. Otherwise, when the rooted ones have grown on some more they'll need the growing tips nipped out to make them grow bushy, so you can use those bits as more cuttings.