Thursday, July 24, 2008

New Plants with No Cost

I am the type of person who loves to cut fresh bouquets of flowers to bring in the house, take to work, or give to family and friends. I love to have flowers in my home and at the office, especially if it is a flower with a strong fragrance.

But I don’t only cut flowers for my floral arrangements; I also love to cut branches from flowering shrubs. weigela, forsythia, mock orange, pussy willow and curly willow, these branches add height and texture to arrangements, and they have a tendency to hold their blooms longer in a vase than some flowers. What I have found is that many times, these branches will begin to send out roots while sitting in a vase full of water.


Once my cuttings have rooted in water, I transfer them to sand filled pots and keep them in a shaded, sheltered location until ready to plant in the fall. Under a large tree is the perfect place to place these cuttings. It is critical to monitor the moisture daily because new cuttings will die if they dry out - believe me, I've learned this the hard way! Most times, I have nice size transplants that can be planted into the garden in the fall, or they can be babied over the winter and then be planted the following spring.


Many cuttings like willow, weigla, hydrangeas and mock orange are ready to be transplanted into the garden in late fall. Some cuttings take a little more time - snowball bush, lilac and roses. For those later in maturing, just monitor them through the winter and maintain adequate moisture; by spring they should be ready to go into the ground.

10 comments:

Price said...

I was just appreciating my bouquet of fresh-picked roses..like you, I love just-from-the-garden flowers. And I think spring branches are heavenly!

Jess NBP said...

you're welcome. :)

Lynda said...

Thanks for the tips ... I love forsythia and willow and will try rooting some in water now ;0)

esmeralda Williamson-Noble said...

I haven't tried things like forsythia, I will. I have done with Basil, parsley and mint though.
Thanks for putting me on your blogroll. I would also like to have a blogroll but I am not sure how.
Esmeralda
www.anewplot.blogspot.com

Aunt Julie said...

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Aunt Julie said...

Bobbi: Thanks so much for sharing the Comment Love and for e-mailing Oprah! And thanks also for putting me in contact with the Bluegrass Moms! I've got my fingers crossed...

Aunt Julie said...

Bobbi: Thanks so much for Sharing the Comment Love in our efforts to get Uncle Lynn on Oprah! Aunt Julie and I figured out another way to contact Oprah, so drop on by and find out how!

Anonymous said...

Great blogs, Bobbi. Maybe you need to start another one on advice to bloggers. I love flowers in the house too.

Anonymous said...

What a great way to make free plants and I love bringing in cut flowers and making my own little floral arrangements.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for reminding me to take cuttings in August. Great idea.
What other plants work?