I propagate most of the plants we have for sale. The easiest method is to split up clumps of grasses and perennials but shrubby/woody plants need to be increased by taking cuttings. I have no special propagation equipment such as heated bench or a mist unit so my results are a bit hit and miss. Many cuttings are quite easy to root, ie. hebes, penstemons, salvia, euonymus, escallonia, rosemary. Some are a bit more difficult, such as Viburnum, Eleagnus and Choisya. Then there are those which I’ve tried and tried over the years and consistently failed to get results. I regularly take 10 or 20 cuttings of different Pittosporums and rarely get any to root, the most impossible one has been the sought after dwarf Tom Thumb variety. I must have tried (and failed) hundreds of times. Quite why I’ve carried on taking cuttings of this is not easy to explain, probably it’s the challenge. Imagine my delight when I found that 5 of the ten cuttings I’d taken last year sometime have decent roots. Success. Probably not cost effective but that’s not the issue. Maybe I should have another go at doing clematis cuttings, another one that has always failed. Watch this space.

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