Easy propagation GIVE LAYERING A TRY
Propagate new plants by pegging them into the soil – a technique known as layering
Some woody plants spread naturally by layering – a technique where shoots touch the ground and take root, forming new plants. Gardeners can use this natural tendency to propagate plants; it’s particularly useful for magnolias, hazel and cotinus, which are hard to reproduce by other means. Deciduous plants can be layered in spring or autumn, but evergreens are better layered in autumn.
How to do it...
Tip layering is the easiest type of layering, which can be used to propagate fruiting bushes such as blackberries and raspberries. Simply bend a long arching stem down to the ground and bury the tip 7-10cm (3-4in) under the soil. You can hold the tip in place with a loop of thick wire as a peg. Simple layering involves bending a flexible stem growing close to the ground down to the soil. Remove any leaves from the mid section of the stem and bury it in the ground, leaving 15-30cm (6-12in) of the tip uncovered. Carefully bend the uncovered tip upwards and hold the underground section in place with a piece of sturdy wire. The bend often causes a break in the stem, which encourages rooting, or you can help the process by removing a very thin sliver of the outer bark from the underside of the bent branch with a sharp knife before burying it. Aftercare: Remember to keep the ground moist during a dry spell. Stems layered in spring should have rooted by autumn, and autumn-layered stems by the following summer. Detach the layered plant from its parent and plant out into the garden (or pot it up). Suitable plants: Blueberry (shown above), fruit bushes, hazel, cotinus, magnolia, forsythia, climbing roses, honeysuckle and rhododendron.