READERS’ LETTERS

WHAT NEXT FOR PELARGONIUM CUTTINGS?

Q

The geranium/pelargonium cuttings I took last September are now quite leggy and flowering. This happened last year, so that when planted out in the garden I had to stake them because they were so tall. Can you please advise what I need to do? I am tempted to take cuttings from them.

– Hilary Webster – via email A

Follow your instincts and take cuttings from your cuttings. This time (and in the future) make them shorter, using young, green shoots about 10cm long, with two or three leaves on each, making a clean cut just below a leaf node. Carefully pinch out the growing/ flowering tip of each before inserting them into pots of multi-purpose compost with a little added grit (or some ready-bagged seed and cuttings compost).

It will speed things up a bit to give each pot what used to be known as a “Wisley cloche”, which can be as simple as a clear plastic bag popped over the top, secured with a rubber band and prevented from collapsing on to the little cuttings by a trio of wooden kebab sticks or some such.

Make sure the cuttings have good light, but avoid putting them on sunny windowsills. When there are tiny signs of growth visible through the steamed-up “cloches”, snip the corner of each to let in fresh air. Within a few weeks, the cuttings will have developed roots and can be potted on, cloche-free, to a stronger loam-based compost.

PLAYHOUSE FOR PLUGS Gill Platt has ambitions to turn a part-glazed, octagonal, wooden, former garden playhouse into a greenhouse/potting shed to store overwintering dahlias, begonias, etc, as well as to nurture plug plants.

She asks what kind of heating would be needed – she doesn’t care for the idea of a paraffin heater and asks if it would be a good idea to install electricity.

Installing an electrical supply into a greenhouse or outhouse is fine, but there are certain regulations (easy to find online), and the work has to be signed off by a qualified electrician.

I would think a small electric tube heater with a thermostat (see thegreen housepeople.co.uk) would be sufficient to keep the wooden shed frost-free, and would also make it an ideal place to overwinter tubers and other things that are not quite hardy (including dormant fuchsias, pelargoniums and so on).

I feel, however, that I may be putting a spanner in the works when I say Gill may run into trouble with her plug plants. They will be certain to suffer from the complete lack of overhead and all-round light and will grow stringy even if, as she says she intends to do, she takes them in and out of her new haven to remedy this.

She needs to consider, too, that the changes in temperature all the to-ing and fro-ing would involve would be bound to affect their growth adversely. Maybe a simple cold frame outside would provide a good halfway house.

FORMENTOR

The second offering from Seat-owned spin-off Cupra, which produces a range of sporting and heavily designed SUVs, is quite distinctive in appearance while being comfortable and intriguingly upholstered inside.

Seat’s talented suspension set-up team has achieved a spirited but commendably compliant balance of ride and handling.

The five-cylinder hybrid version is great fun if you like spinning front wheels and spectacular performance (I do), but I suspect that most will go for less fire-breathing versions.

What’s more, I’m still at a loss as to exactly who these cars are aimed at.