Cuttings and More

Stan - Plot 33:
​On Wednesday I received my new variable electric propagator. I set it up in my greenhouse at home & filled the trays with the appropriate compost.
One day later, with the compost warmed through, I started to take Fuchsia cuttings of various varieties.  The trick is to find yourself a nice plant from which to take your cuttings.  I made sure there was no signs of disease then I found a stems with a couple of pairs of leaves and I cut the stems so that they were about 2” long.  I then removed the surplus leaves which exposed a leaf node, and cut the stem up to where the leaf node was. That’s it, ready for planting into prepared pots.  You can dip the end of the stem in hormone rooting powder or not.  Sometimes I do, but the powder doesn’t seem to make much difference if the cuttings are healthy.
I hope some of these plants will be available for Jeff to sell with his other plants with the money going to his charity.
 
I also set the Dahlia tubers on my other propagator in the hope of having cutting available for the middle of March and then growing on ready to plant out in early June.
 
Now is a good time to sow broad beans if you haven’t done already. I have sown Bunyards Exhibition in the cold part of my greenhouse. This variety has not let me down in the past.
 
In the next few weeks there will be many seeds that can be sown. Like me, keep checking your seed packets for the appropriate dates.