TAKING HARDWOOD CUTTINGS
Q. How do I take hardwood cuttings?
Hardwood cuttings, I can say from experience really want to survive and can withstand an awful lot of neglect. They can tolerate anything except drought (and being planted in the ground upside down!)
When the leaves have fallen from deciduous shrubs, this will be the time to take hardwood cuttings. Easy plants to try include willow (Salix), buddleia and dogwood (Cornus);
Cut pencil thick lengths (15-20cm) of woody, new growth. Make the cut above a bud at the top and below a bud at the bottom of the cutting
Choose a sheltered spot in the garden, out of direct sunlight but not in heavy shade.
Push the cuttings into a slit made in the soil with a spade. Fill in with soil, leaving a couple of buds exposed.
If you have heavy soil, line the slit with sand for drainage.
Label (you will be surprised by how quickly you forget what you have planted!)
Water in dry weather
Leave the cuttings until the following autumn when they will have rooted and be ready to move them, either into pots or to their planting position.
If you have fish boxes or even large plant pots, than fill them with soil and push the cuttings into those.
Do not let them dry out.
OVERGROWN PRIVET
Q. I have a 20ft high privet hedge around the front garden. Is there any way that I can maybe prune or cut it back, or will I have to remove them and start again?
A. You can more or less cut privet down to the ground and it will come back very well. You will have to remove the very thick branches but they will be replaced by new growth. When you finish chopping give it a good feed and watering.
RASPBERRY CANES
Q. When is the best time to plant raspberry canes? How do I plant them?
March is a good time for planting raspberry canes. You might have to water the plants well in dry spells through the next few months. Don’t allow summer fruiting varieties to produce fruit this year. Cut the canes down to about 30cm (12in) on planting and remove any flowers that appear.
Most soils are suitable for raspberries, but a little preparation will pay rewards, especially because they will remain in the same position for 10 to 12 years. Dig a row 30cm (1ft) deep by 1m (3ft) wide, working in as much well rotted compost as possible. Where more than one row is being planted, allow 1.7m (5ft) between rows in order to let the roots spread freely and give room for you to harvest the crop in summer.
SPIDER PLANTS
Q. How do I take cuttings from my spider plant?
A. Spider plants send out offshoots with little babies on them. You could leave the babies attached to the offshoots and secure them onto a pot of soil with a clip. Cut them off when rooted. You can also detach the babies straight away, as they grow roots very quickly, you can see how quickly by placing the end of one of the plants in a glass of water. Spider plants throw out more offshoots when they are pot bound. If you decide not to replant them in spring, make sure they are watered and fed well and you will be repaid with a lovely display.
COMPOSTING CLOTHES
Q. I have a lot of clothes that I don’t wear anymore but they are too worn for the charity shops. I made a scarecrow out of a few items to keep the birds off the vegetable patch (complete with football head!) Can I put the rest on the compost heap?
A. You can add any natural fibre like cotton, silk, wool and linen to the compost heap. Don’t put synthetic fibres like rayon, nylon on as you will still be digging them up in a hundred years time. Take off plastic zips as well. If you have lots of clothes that you cannot put in the mix then you could try this. Open a bin bag and make layers of the clothes inside it. Tie off the end and put it in to the compost bin where it will act as insulation to keep the heat in. If you haven’t got a garden then Inishowen have plenty of clothes banks you can use, they do not have to be on good condition!
Q. How do I take hardwood cuttings?
Hardwood cuttings, I can say from experience really want to survive and can withstand an awful lot of neglect. They can tolerate anything except drought (and being planted in the ground upside down!)
When the leaves have fallen from deciduous shrubs, this will be the time to take hardwood cuttings. Easy plants to try include willow (Salix), buddleia and dogwood (Cornus);
Cut pencil thick lengths (15-20cm) of woody, new growth. Make the cut above a bud at the top and below a bud at the bottom of the cutting
Choose a sheltered spot in the garden, out of direct sunlight but not in heavy shade.
Push the cuttings into a slit made in the soil with a spade. Fill in with soil, leaving a couple of buds exposed.
If you have heavy soil, line the slit with sand for drainage.
Label (you will be surprised by how quickly you forget what you have planted!)
Water in dry weather
Leave the cuttings until the following autumn when they will have rooted and be ready to move them, either into pots or to their planting position.
If you have fish boxes or even large plant pots, than fill them with soil and push the cuttings into those.
Do not let them dry out.
OVERGROWN PRIVET
Q. I have a 20ft high privet hedge around the front garden. Is there any way that I can maybe prune or cut it back, or will I have to remove them and start again?
A. You can more or less cut privet down to the ground and it will come back very well. You will have to remove the very thick branches but they will be replaced by new growth. When you finish chopping give it a good feed and watering.
RASPBERRY CANES
Q. When is the best time to plant raspberry canes? How do I plant them?
March is a good time for planting raspberry canes. You might have to water the plants well in dry spells through the next few months. Don’t allow summer fruiting varieties to produce fruit this year. Cut the canes down to about 30cm (12in) on planting and remove any flowers that appear.
Most soils are suitable for raspberries, but a little preparation will pay rewards, especially because they will remain in the same position for 10 to 12 years. Dig a row 30cm (1ft) deep by 1m (3ft) wide, working in as much well rotted compost as possible. Where more than one row is being planted, allow 1.7m (5ft) between rows in order to let the roots spread freely and give room for you to harvest the crop in summer.
SPIDER PLANTSQ. How do I take cuttings from my spider plant?
A. Spider plants send out offshoots with little babies on them. You could leave the babies attached to the offshoots and secure them onto a pot of soil with a clip. Cut them off when rooted. You can also detach the babies straight away, as they grow roots very quickly, you can see how quickly by placing the end of one of the plants in a glass of water. Spider plants throw out more offshoots when they are pot bound. If you decide not to replant them in spring, make sure they are watered and fed well and you will be repaid with a lovely display.
COMPOSTING CLOTHES
Q. I have a lot of clothes that I don’t wear anymore but they are too worn for the charity shops. I made a scarecrow out of a few items to keep the birds off the vegetable patch (complete with football head!) Can I put the rest on the compost heap?
A. You can add any natural fibre like cotton, silk, wool and linen to the compost heap. Don’t put synthetic fibres like rayon, nylon on as you will still be digging them up in a hundred years time. Take off plastic zips as well. If you have lots of clothes that you cannot put in the mix then you could try this. Open a bin bag and make layers of the clothes inside it. Tie off the end and put it in to the compost bin where it will act as insulation to keep the heat in. If you haven’t got a garden then Inishowen have plenty of clothes banks you can use, they do not have to be on good condition!
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