A Mist Unit Full Of Cuttings

Cuttings On The Staging

The overnight temperatures are slowly dropping but there have been no forecast of frosts just yet but, with the risk of frost in mind, cuttings have been taken from many of the tender plants that are used in the pot and border displays in the gardens. The task of taking hundreds of cutting started two weeks ago and is now complete.

A Full Mist Unit

Collecting suitable cutting material from the tender plants out in the gardens this is taken back to the potting shed for processing. Using a sharp, sterilised cuttings knife each stem is cut beneath a leaf joint/node (nodal cut) leaving the cutting about 2-3 inches long. The bottom leaves, just above the nodal cut, are cut off and the soft growing tip is then pinched off. Several cuttings are prepared of each plant before the base of each is dipped in to hormone rooting powder sufficient to cover the cuts. With the aid of a dipper they are placed around the inside of the rim of a small, shallow pot of seed compost, watered in and placed in the mist unit, apart from the pelargonium which are placed on the staging. Once rooted the cuttings will be potted in to individual pots and in June next year will be planted out in to the gardens and be part of 2018's summer display.

Cuttings September 2017