Can Gorse be grown from cuttings?
Mountainranger
Posts: 37
in Plants
Hi
I'm wanting to create a Gorse hedge (Ulex europaeus). Is it possible to cultivate it with heel cuttings in winter from an existing gorse bush?
Do the cuttings need to be semi hardwood and propagated under cover or outdoors?
Has anyone cultivated gorse from cuttings before?
0
Posts
its a weed , scatter the seeds and stand back
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"Cait Faulkner asks...
How to I propagate gorse as I would like to intersperse a few into our hawthorn hedge. I did manage to propagate some from seed but they died at an inch high! Can I take cuttings, and if so, when is best?
Bill replies...
The common Gorse (Ulex Europeus) is a tough shrub Cait and will tolerate poor soil and also adverse weather conditions. The easiest method of propagation is by seed but, you can also propagate from cuttings. The cuttings of Gorse are quite difficult to root but I feel that it is well worth trying. The cuttings can be taken during the summer months and they need to be two to three inches long. I would use a rooting hormone and I would insert the cuttings in a fifty/fifty peat and grit mixture or peat and perlite. The cuttings can be inserted around the side of a five inch pot and will need to be kept moist and humid and to increase the humidity around the cuttings I would cover the cuttings with a clear polythene bag or place the cuttings in a propagating frame and keep outside in a sheltered position."
If you live in Derbyshire, as I do.
I seem to remember reading that you can get gorse seed to germinate more easily by creating a fire above the soil where they are sown, can't remember where I read it but it stuck in my head as a very strange concept.
Try collecting seeds by cutting the seed heads (which may not be ripe until later in the year) and putting them into a bag and shaking it. Collect the seeds that have fallen out into the bottom of the bag and if you have boggy/peaty soil just scatter them around and the bush should establish easily.