Garden News (UK)

It’s time to take pelargoniu­m cuttings

And grow more of your favourite plants

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In March I take pelargoniu­m cuttings, which are grown on a two year cycle to use as my show plants. I’m always aiming to win the top prize, so I always take the strongest and shortest-jointed cutting that I can. I’ve found that if you use weak and straggly material, once rooted the plants will be the same. For show plants I root cuttings in small pots, which can be potted on to the next size pot with no check to growth once rooted. I use 4cm (1½in) pots for angels, miniature and dwarf cuttings and 5cm (2in) for all other pelargoniu­ms.

When my plants start to fill out it’s hard for me to reach the miniatures on shelves in the greenhouse­s, so to get around this problem I use litter pickers that cost me just a few pounds. These have a long reach and the jaws are just the right size to fit 9cm (3½in) pots and, if careful, even 10cm (4in). If, like me, you have a back problem they’re so helpful in picking up things like saucers and labels which have been dropped on the floor. A nother job I’ve been doing now is giving plants their final stop, so that they’ll come into flower for the June shows. My method when doing this is to stop every stem, even if it only has one set of leaves, because anything missed will grow and flower too early, spoiling the shape of the plant.

 ??  ?? Where would I be without my trusty li er picker?
Where would I be without my trusty li er picker?
 ??  ?? Here you see weak growth on the cu ing on the left, compared to the stronger one on the right
Here you see weak growth on the cu ing on the left, compared to the stronger one on the right

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