If your property is large and you are planning to plant a hedge, this can be very expensive due to the number of plants required. Therefore, shy away from looking around first: Perhaps you or your garden neighbors are already cultivating a shrub in the garden from which you can take cuttings.

Summer is the best time to take cuttings

Which hedge shrubs are suitable?

Many hedge plants are easy to propagate yourself, even if some species require a little patience until they take root.

This works without any problems, for example:

  • cornel,
  • Liguster,
  • forsythia,
  • cotoneaster,
  • boxwood,
  • Yew.

The right time for cutting cuttings

Ideally, you take cuttings in the months of May to August. With deciduous shrubs, you can cut sticks in autumn after the leaves have fallen.

The degree of maturity of the wood is important:

  • If you cut too early, the shoots are prone to rot.
  • If they are already well lignified, they are hesitant to put down roots.

How are cuttings cut?

The sticks, which should be about eight inches long, are separated from the upper third of the mother plant. Immediately remove any leaves and make a straight cut in the bark to mark where the top and bottom are. Also cut the lower area at an angle.

With some evergreen shrubs, successful rooting is tedious. Here it has proven itself to tear the first shoot section directly at the branching instead of cutting cuttings. Use a sharp knife to peel off the protruding bark so that the knots are visible.

How are the cuttings set correctly?

  • Loosen the soil and completely remove weeds.
  • Stick shoots into the ground in rows ten centimeters apart.
  • It is important that you put the lower end into the ground with three quarters of the length of the branch pieces.

tips

If you cut cuttings from the prunings in the spring, they cannot be planted out directly because the soil is still frozen. Store the sticks in a bucket filled with sand in an unheated garage or in a cool basement room, with the marking facing up, in an upright position until spring.

Category:

Garden design