[GPI]

Root cuttings to propagate perennials such as Limonium.
by GPI

When we hear about taking cuttings from plants we automatically think of stem cuttings. But there are other types of cutting available to the resourceful gardener.

In this piece I am going to concentrate on propagating a group of perennials, not by division or stem cuttings, but instead by taking root cuttings. The group of perennials that we can use for root cuttings includes……. Anchusa, Anemone, Acanthus, Brunnera, Catananche, Limonium, Papaver, Phlox and Verbascum.

. Acanthus (bears breeches), one of the candidates for root cuttings , photo / picture / image.

Root cuttings can be taken from November and right through winter as the parent plants will be dormant and receive little in the line of disturbance. Firstly select a young healthy specimen of one of the perennials named above, lift it from the soil with a garden fork and lightly shake the majority of the soil off to expose the roots.

Determine the young roots you wish to use, cutting them off close to the crown of the plant with a sharp knife. You will be chopping the roots into sections of 5cms in length, be guided by this when deciding how many roots to remove from the parent plant. When the roots are removed, settle the parent plant back in its original location, backfill and water in well.

Take the removed roots indoors, there you can cut them to 5cm lengths with straight cuts across the top of the root sections and slanting cuts across the bases, this technique makes it easy to recognise which way up to plant the cuttings.

With the straight cuts at the top you next plant the roots sections in pots with 5cm between each cutting (as many as your pot will accommodate). These pots are to be filled with a moist peat compost containing loam, the tops of the cuttings to be level with the compost.

Give the top of the pot a light covering of grit followed by securing a clear plastic bag around the rim of the pot with a rubber band, next place on a window sill and mist lightly if the surface of the compost dries out. New plantlets when they appear will be ready for potting on or planting out in summer.

Any queries or comments on Root cuttings to propagate perennials such as Limonium, please post below.
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