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Taking cuttings

JaidensfieldJaidensfield Posts: 10
in Plants
I want to start taking some cuttings.Am I best to mix my compost with sharp sand or grit? Mainly dianthus and lavender.
I am on a budget  I'm afraid.
Many Thanks
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Posts

  • wild edgeswild edges Posts: 10,497
    What compost are you using? I just shove cuttings around the edge of the pot where the drainage is best and that works for most things.
    If you can keep your head, while those around you are losing theirs, you may not have grasped the seriousness of the situation.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Yes - round pot edges helps enormously as they don't get wet and stay wet.  :)
    I usually mix some grit or Perlite with compost to get a good sharp mix. I never use sand.
    If you have a B&Q near you - they sell grit quite cheaply. Not as fine as the 'posh' stuff, but does the job well. I rinse mine in a bucket with plenty of holes in the base to make sure there's nothing dodgy left in it. 

    I often use old compost, or sieved soil too instead of new compost. Like seed, most cuttings don't need anything too rich.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • JaidensfieldJaidensfield Posts: 10
    Just multipurpose.
    I tried last year but mould grew and cuttings wilted.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Too wet then. How are you doing the cuttings?
    Timing is also a factor. It's too early here for cuttings of that kind of plant, so it depends where you are.  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Not really the time to be taking lavender cuttings, you need to wait until there is plenty of new growth.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • JaidensfieldJaidensfield Posts: 10
    Thank you for that,Is it ok for dianthus and lupins?
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    edited April 2023
    I don't grow lupins - but it would be as @punkdoc says - is there a lot of growth on them?
    I do dianthus in early summer - sometimes later.

    Just a thought - do you do cuttings of lupins? I thought division was the norm for those.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited April 2023
    Heat is important for rooting.  Can you wait until the season is a bit warmer?

    And regarding edge-of-the-pot, a clay pot is best for oxygen availability. 
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • JaidensfieldJaidensfield Posts: 10
    Yes I am going to,just wanted to know what I had to buy before I started.
    I'm trying lupins for the first time and thought taking basal cuttings.
  • JaidensfieldJaidensfield Posts: 10
    Thank you I have some clay pots.
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