Wrapping and Rolling!

Posted:29 November 2018

Now is the time to tackle those critical early winter tasks before the really cold weather comes in.  Firstly get more shrubs for free without the need for a glasshouse or heated propagators by taking your own hardwood cuttings (it’s so easy) and protect your most sensitive plants or risk losing them to the coming frosts

Take hardwood cuttings from deciduous shrubs such as Salix, Cornus, Buddleias and Philadelphus, and from fruit bushes such as gooseberries and black currants as well as rambling and climbing roses.

After leaf fall take pencil thick cuttings, about 25cm long of new growth – you can insert them directly into the soil or – our favourite method – use an empty compost sack or thick black polythene to make a roll as in the picture.  Add some perlite for drainage and make holes in the bottom of the roll to stop water from collecting there and causing them to rot.

Stand your cuttings in the corner of the garden and wait for them to root, check them every couple of weeks to make sure they are not drying out- Cornus and Buddleia will root quickly but other shrubs make take a few months.

If you can’t lift your tender plants and take them into a greenhouse there are many ways to protect them in situ.   Wrap with horticultural fleece, cover with cloches or bigger leaves, or making simple structures.  We took these photos, below, at Nymans Gardens at Handcross where the gardeners regularly employ all these methods to put their tender plants to bed before the winter rain, frost and snow.