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Moving house - cuttings etc

Good Morning :) 

I'm expecting to be moving before the end of August (fingers and toes crossed etc). I don't want to dig up half the garden as quite a few of the plants are still fairly young and not that well established and the ones which are growing here are quite happy where they are. Also i have been keeping new plants in decent sized containers on the patio as rather than planting them out. I'm also expecting to be moving to a different type of garden with plenty of it's own mature trees and shrubs and much less sun.

I would like to take plenty of cuttings though and maybe see if I can divide anything, pot it up and still leave a decent plant behind. There are also a few plants which happily self seed so I think I could dig up and pot some of those.

Last year I tried taking some cuttings from a sage plant and some roses. They all quite spectacularly died without exception....

Any advice or thoughts on what to do, or tips for a high success rate would be welcome!

Thanks.
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Posts

  • BrexiteerBrexiteer Posts: 955
    People can't give advice unless you name the plants involved mate
  • HelixHelix Posts: 631
    Roses are hard.  I’ve never had any success with them.  

    Generally tips for success are to select good non-flowering growing tips.  Sounds easy but sometime hard to find ones that are not too big or too small, look vigorous and in growth.

    Never let the cutting sit uncovered in the sun/light.  I put them immediately on damp newpaper and cover up with more, until I get into house to actually plant them.

    Use the sharpest knife you can.  I don’t use secateurs because it can bruise the delicate stems.  Don’t leave too many leaves. 

    Use gritty soil and firm the cuttings in well. 
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    I find roses take best from hardwood cuttings in a gritty slit trench in the soil, but that takes 12 months or so and it’s the wrong time of year so ... 😞 

    I regularly take sage cuttings successfully... I use heeled cuttings around the edge of a terra-cotta pot of damp gritty compost.

    Pop a plastic bag over them and keep indoors on a shady windowsill for a few weeks. Keep an eye on them and don’t let the compost dry out but don’t soak them either.

    Remove the bag when you see new green growth at the tip and separate and pot on when you see white roots at the bottom of the pot (drainage hole).  

    Good luck with the move 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Hi, thanks everyone, I think I'm not sure what I want to have a go with, hence the vague post - I think I'm just going to see what works. After all the new garden is going to have it's own surprises. Maybe I will go with that and not worry too much.

    There's a blue hardy geranium that I love because it is a perfect blue - I might dig that up, but it is very happy where it is and its a perfect blue for that spot.... maybe I will leave it.

    The roses - well I don't know where I would put them yet, may as well wait until I've really seen what's already there - some of them are possibly from the local supermarket and I still have the label of the one I really love, so can always buy a new one.

    Yep - I'll have a go with a few things and not stress too much, the above suggestions are good tips and now I think back, I was probably a bit rubbish with watering and didn't pick a shady enough windowsill, plus I don't think I added grit - just cut a bit off and stuck in pot of compost... 

    Thanks :) Pastures new etc!
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    You don't say if you were the owner of and sold the house you live in at the moment. If that is the case, the buyers of your house have also bought the plants existing on your property when the deal was done. You are not allowed to move them, unless in agreement with the new owners, of course.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited June 2019
    Dig up the geranium with a big rootball ... cut the rootball in half down the middle with an old bread knife or similar ... pot one half up and cut the foliage hard back and replace the other half in the ground straight away, firm in and water well. 
    That way you and the new folk will have one each ... by the time they move in the original plant will
    have regrown and it’ll all look just fine. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • Hi Papi Jo, yes I'm aware of this - though it seems common for people to remove plants before they go. Though you can actually specify on a good fixtures and fittings form what you will leave and what you will take from the garden and agree with new owners as you say. I wonder if this means they own the runner beans that aren't ready yet and I will have eaten I should think, before move day?! 

    However - now I've thought about it - my view is that the plants are fine where they are and I don't want to move them for that reason! Even the geranium - and I'm sure I can find similar if I need it.
  • Dovefromabove - yes it's a big plant now - I'll do that!

    I reckon its 2 months until we go anywhere. Shall I do it now or wait a bit longer?
  • chickychicky Posts: 10,410
    Like you, I always failed with cuttings until I covered them with a propagator lid and left them in a shady spot for about the first six weeks (bit like the plastic bag that Dove suggests, but easier to ensure it doesn’t touch any of the leaves).  My success rate then dramatically improved 😁.  It stops the cutting drying out until its created roots of its own 🌱
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    Dovefromabove - yes it's a big plant now - I'll do that!

    I reckon its 2 months until we go anywhere. Shall I do it now or wait a bit longer?
    I’d do it now ... warm damp weather ... it’ll grow away beautifully and hardly notice it’s been interfered with. 

    Its part of normal gardening practise, dividing plants ... don’t think anyone reasonable would object. 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





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