The important gardening job Monty Don recommends for November
As we move towards the winter months, there are a number of gardening jobs you'll want to tick off before the weather turns — and one, in particular, should be tackled in November, according to gardening expert Monty Don.
Taking to his gardening blog, where he shares his top tips and advice, the Gardeners' World presenter urged gardeners to consider taking hardwood cuttings.
What is "a remarkably straightforward way of creating new shrubs, bushes and even trees from existing favourites," according to Monty, will allow you to fill your garden with new plants without having to fork out for them in the spring.
So, tackling this gardening job now can help save you time and money in the long run.
If you've not taken hardwood cuttings before, the technique is pretty easy to master. "Fruit bushes, roses, any flowering shrub or tree are ideal for this method of propagation," Monty explains.
"Unlike growing plants from seed, cuttings always 'come true' – in other words are exactly like the parent plant so it is the best way of reproducing favourite plants as well as being almost totally trouble free and needing no extra equipment or shelter."
Some of the most suitable plants include dogwood, gooseberry, mulberry and rose shrubs, as well as honeysuckle and vine climbers and willow, poplar and plane trees, says the RHS.
The main reason it’s a good idea to take hardwood cuttings in November, as opposed to earlier in the year, is because it's the dormant season.
Whether you've propagated before or this is your first time, you’ll want to “cut a 12-24 inch length of straight stem, the thickness of a pencil, of this year’s growth, and divide it into lengths between 6 and 12 inches long,” Monty adds. As you do so, cut straight across the bottom and at an angle at the top. Doing this will help you to remember which way up to plant it, as well as provide an angle for water to run off.
You can always add some rooting hormone to give it an extra boost, but this isn’t strictly necessary.
He adds: "Strip any remaining leaves from it so you have bare, straight stems. And either place the cuttings so only one third is above soil level in a deep pot filled with very gritty compost (four or five can fit into each pot) or outside in a narrow trench backfilled with gritty sand to ensure good drainage."
Other than watering them once a week, you should be setting yourself up for success when it comes to next autumn's landscape. This is because “a good percentage will make young plants ready for potting up or planting straight out,” Monty adds. You may need to water them a bit more during particularly warm weather in the summer, to ensure that they don’t dry out. But typically, “the cut surface undergoes a period of callusing over the winter from which roots will develop in the spring,” the RHS adds. So, you shouldn’t need to think too much about them until next year.
Overall, it will give you a head-start to set your garden up well for 2025.
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