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.