As gardeners, we’re bound to be more aware of a plant’s stems, flowers and foliage than we are of its roots. And yet roots are their most vital part.
They imbibe water from the soil and take in nutrients that are vital to its survival. But even at this time of year, when almost all activity is happening underground among those roots, I’m fairly oblivious to them as I walk around the garden. That is until I begin to consider taking root cuttings.
If you’re thinking of propagating plants, the methods that usually spring to mind are sowing seed, dividing up your plants or taking cuttings from stems and shoots. It seems unlikely somehow that roots – and nothing but the roots – could actually make new plants.
I have no formal horticultural training whatsoever and the first time someone told me about taking root cuttings it seemed a bit far-fetched.
Dig for information
Alan Street, the person who introduced me to this unlikely process long ago, is a good friend now.
He works for Avon Bulbs, one of the top merchants in the country, and his knowledge is encyclopaedic.
We first met at one of the Royal Horticultural Society shows at the RHS’s halls in Westminster. These are sort of mini-Chelsea Flower Shows, with exhibitors from all over the British Isles putting on inspiring displays and selling their wares.
I was trying to find out about exhibiting, which we did for the first time the following year. Not long after that, our nursery, Glebe Cottage Plants, was invited to exhibit at The Chelsea Flower Show. What a thrill!
I was interested in an outstanding Japanese anemone and Alan turfed one out of its pot. He showed me its roots and the little shoots that were beginning to form along them and told me they would produce new plants if those roots were cut into small sections and placed on the surface of compost, then weighted down with grit.
So I bought a plant, took it home, tried it and it worked. You can produce scores of new babies from just one plant, either in a pot or in the ground.
Making the cut
There are two different kinds of root cuttings but they both operate on the same principle that roots themselves can make new plants. It all begins to make sense when you think of what happens in the garden.
Ever tried to move an oriental poppy, digging down to a great depth and -making a really thorough job of it, only to find it reappearing the following spring with even more vigour and determination than ever before?
It doesn’t need any deep knowledge to realise these beauties need no trace of leaf or crown to regenerate ad infinitum, so they make perfect candidates for this method of reproduction.
Similarly, acanthus are almost impossible to eradicate once they have made themselves at home. Attempts to remove them usually result in a forest of stems replacing each one that was carefully dug out.
Bundles of joy
Japanese anemones, cultivars of anemone hupehensis or anemone x hybrida, are notoriously prolific once established, so much so that, when they have overrun a garden, bundles of their roots are often proffered as gifts to those just starting or moving into a bigger garden.
Perhaps it’s just as well that these donations are usually great woody chunks that seldom settle down.
It is the young, slender roots that therefore stand the best chance of -establishing themselves. To take oriental poppies as an example, either dig around the plant to expose a few thick, young roots or lift the whole clump. Shake off some of the earth and sever the best roots close to the crown of the plant.
With vertical cuttings – poppies, anchusa, verbascums and acanthus – just cut the roots into chunks of about one to two inches long, depending on their volume. The skinnier the cutting, the longer it needs to be. Then push the cutting into the compost so that its top is flush with the surrounding compost.
Cover with a layer of grit, water well and be sure to keep the cuttings in a warm, bright place. New leaves will appear around the top of the root, then new roots will develop. Grow them on in the greenhouse or a cold frame and then plant them out in their permanent positions when established.
As a means of increasing some of our favourite herbaceous plants, nothing could be simpler or more exciting. And you can do it in the middle of winter.
Have we left it too late to plant garlic?
Is it too late to plant garlic? Can I use leftover cloves from the kitchen to do so? Simon Clare, Gillingham, Kent
CAROL: December 21 is traditionally when you plant garlic. Now is fine but order special bulbs to break into individual cloves. If soil is too wet, push cloves into compost in individual modules, grow on and plant out later.
Can we spring into action and prune?
Some of our trees were damaged in recent storms. Is now a good time to prune them or should we wait until spring? Harun Malek, by email
CAROL: Winter is the best time to prune, especially with deciduous trees. You can see where to cut damaged wood and sap is at its lowest ebb. Remove any dead, damaged or diseased wood and aim for a balanced shape.
You answer..
Last week Emily Gabitas wanted to know the difference between hardy and half-hardy annuals and what she should grow in her glass porch.
CAROL: Half-hardy annuals will not stand sub-zero temperatures. You need to plant them outside when danger of frost is past. Hardy annuals are much tougher – sow them in the ground.
Barbara Withers, of Brighouse, West Yorkshire, says: Ask neighbours which annuals do best. We grow loads from seeds. Half-hardy annuals are slower to get going but seem to take off rapidly later and grow fast.
Pat Abrams, by email, says: Half-hardy annuals are a bit trickier but in autumn and spring we sow hardy annuals into borders and pots outside. If you sow in autumn, you get bigger plants earlier.
?? Can you help Brinley? What tomato variety should I use for a show exhibition? Brinley John, Llanelli, Carmarthenshire
What we’re doing this week here at Glebe Cottage
A new start: Although the view from the window is austere, it’s also inspiring.
And if it’s going to be transformed in spring and summer, I’ve got to get out there and start with the big clear-up straight away. If you’ve got hellebores it’s a good idea to cut their leaves off now. We’re going around doing just that.
These are evergreen leaves and sometimes it seems a shame to cut them back, but if they’re left they can harbour disease and spread it to other hellebores. It’s just one of the many jobs that come around throughout the year.
Tune into the seasons: This coming week is special for Glebe Cottage. Life in a Cottage Garden, our programme looking at a year in its life, has been re-versioned into four episodes, with each celebrating a season in the garden.
It starts on BBC2 on Friday at 8.30pm and is on for the following three weeks.
Using cameras at fixed points, you’ll be able to see how different beds and borders progress plus how seed is sown, germinated and is potted before finally taking its place in the garden.
You can share the triumphs and disasters as well as meet our cats and dogs, not to mention my husband Neil and our two lovely daughters.
The first programme features summer and, although it is based within that season, we’ll go backwards and forwards through spring, autumn and winter.
We’ll see the rich beauty of summer’s bounty – flowers galore – to brighten up this drab time of year and inspire you in your efforts in your own garden. There’s also a book of the same name that accompanies the series.
Offer of the week
There are few shrubs that can give as much pleasure during the cold dark winter months as Viburnum bodnantense Dawn.
Clusters of pale pink, sweetly fragranced flowers are produced for up to 12 weeks from late October. It can grow to two metres, but can be pruned gently to size after flowering.
You can buy one Viburnum bodnantense Dawn for £9.99 or two for £19.98 and get another free. Call 0844 448 2451 quoting SMP18349 or send a cheque payable to MGN SMP18349 to Viburnum Offer (SMP18349), PO Box 64, South West District Office, Manchester M16 9HY. Or visit www.mirrorreaderoffers.co.uk/349 to order online.
