Free plants for next year

Most people don’t think about taking cuttings in August. It sounds complicated and I resist as I need to look things up. But it really isn’t, start with one plant already in your garden, or even go pick one up this weekend.

I’d rather take a cutting from a plant that’s already proved it can cope with my garden than buy one raised under glass somewhere else. That’s really what August cuttings are about, not a fiddly propagation skill, just helping yourself to more of what’s already working.

And handily, today (Saturday 15th August) is a root day on the biodynamic calendar1. I use the calendar to make sure I do jobs rather than let them slide for another week or two and missing the date.

Whatever has grown strongly for you this year, in your own soil, in your own weather, without cosseting, is the plant worth propagating. It’s already proven it can cope with this summer, in a way a garden centre-bought plant hasn’t had the chance to yet. Take your cuttings from the thing that’s actually thriving where you garden, and you’re building a plant bank suited to your conditions.

Taking cuttings saves you a lot of money, and there’s a real satisfaction in walking round a border in a couple of years’ time, made up entirely of plants you grew yourself, or swapped with a friend down the road who grew theirs the same way.

So before you take a single cutting, walk the garden and mark what’s earned its place this year.