Seven Steps Closer to Spring – #4

Make More Plants!

Have you kept some geraniums, coleus or other summer annuals alive all winter? If so, it’s time to take cuttings! The plant will benefit from being cut back and you can root the sprigs you’ve removed so that you have more of these plants next spring.

Taking cuttings is really pretty easy. You’ll want a sharp knife, some rooting hormone, some new seed-starting mix and some clean pots.

The first step is to cut off end pieces of your plant that are about eight inches long. Don’t make much bigger because the likelihood that they’ll root goes down if the piece is too large. From there on, follow the directions on the photos below.

After you have the cuttings in a pot, put a loose piece of plastic over the cutting – a dry cleaner bag works well. This will help keep the moisture around the cutting while it roots, but the plastic shouldn’t be pulled tight against the pot – leave air spaces.

Most cuttings root in a couple of weeks. Monitor your pots and water them every week or  so. Keep them in a bright place but away from direct sun. Remove the plastic after two or three weeks and once you see the plants starting to grow, move the pots to a sunnier place and fertile. Don’t feed the plant until you see it starting to grow, however.

Making one plant into six more? You can grow that!