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Cuttings by Brian Yates

All plants have a natural way of increasing themselves, and if it were not the case then plants would not survive. The methods employed in the natural state vary enormously, some increase themselves through leaders or runners such as creepers or strawberries, and others grow plantlets or mini bulbs like the arum lily or daffodils. But by far the most common is by seed, cross pollinated by bees and other insects, and Pinks fall into this seed reproduction as the method of increasing. We can by selective cross pollinating create a plant that is of great beauty, with a rich perfume, and of perfect size and colour. But once we have this prize plant we propagate it by cuttings, that is to say we take slips of the plant and strike it thus creating a clone of the mother plant, but in so doing this vegetative procedure we are really cheating Nature, and sooner or later the strain will weaken and die out, because sooner or later mother Nature will have its way. That is why we in the main we see names of plants in the Dianthus Register of long ago and now not available. Of course there are other ways that the variety has died out, it could be that it was lost by the growers due to inclement weather, or it could be that another better variety replaced the old one. Some varieties though have lasted the test of time such as Mrs Sinkins, but in the main the life of a variety is around 30 years. There is now of course micro propagation that will in essence clean up a plant, ridding it of many faults and viruses and this helps to maintain the strain in good health, but in time as sure as the sun rises each day the strain will become extinct.
So we turn to the taking of vegetative propagation (cuttings) anybody who has visited a large professional nursery will see skilled propagators at hand all day attending to the changing weather conditions, either dampening down, shading, or allowing a free current of air to aid and assist the propagation of the cuttings. But we are not professional nurserymen/women we take cuttings for our own use at home or for a few friends and it is you that I intend to address this article. We have to leave our plants each day and all day to pursue our employment, so it’s off to work in the morning and maybe not returning until late evening, and of course the weather can change at a drop of a hat during the course of the day. We must take cuttings that are vigorous and healthy and take about 50% more than we require, I say this due to the losses that we will incur due to our lack of attention during the day when we are at work. The best time for cuttings is June, July and August when the plants that are to be mother plants are healthy and mature.
Syd Wilson our BNCS Historian has sent me some very good material from C.H. Fielder and in his pages he states that some people get a mania for propagating and hence never end up with a decent second year plant, so please be selective in taking your cuttings. Select a plant that has given you a good show of blooms and take only enough cuttings that you require from that one plant. The golden rule is to try and improve the stock. Remember, we in this world never stand still, we either go back or forward and it is the forward leap that we are after.
I have tried various methods in taking cuttings. Jiffy 7 plugs that we soak and then place our cutting in the swollen plug. This method is not ideal as it can dry out or remains wet as is the most common case and the cutting rots. They say it is best to leave the bio gradable casing on and the roots will penetrate through it. I find it has the opposite effect and the roots seem to have to fight to establish, we need a free draining medium to root our cuttings in. The old method used by the professionals of old was to strike the cuttings in pure sharp sand and it is a deviation of this method that I favour. Fill a clay pot some three quarters filled with a mixture of 3 parts multi purpose peat compost, one part sharp sand and one part perlite, we now sprinkle a small quantity of super phosphate into the mixture and we end up with a free draining nutritious growing medium. Top up your clay pot with about a half inch of sharp sand and water well, leaving it to drain overnight, also water well the elected mother plant during the evening, this will ensure that the cutting will be fresh in the morning. The next day very early and a dull day if possible you can take your cuttings by either using a sharp knife or pulling away with a heel. Strip away the bottom couple of leaves and make a clean sharp cut just below a node and insert into the side of the clay pot and stand in a shady spot with a few wall bricks around so a sheet of glass can be placed over the pot without touching the cuttings. We now have protection from the elements plus a free air flow, keep an eye on the cuttings and dampen down as necessary and we should be seeing our cuttings begin to take on a light green new growth colour after about a month.
Happy propagating

Brian Yates