Tender perennials: cuttings

These propagation methods are suitable for tender perennials

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs. such as bidens, gazania, heliotrope, marguerites (Argyranthemum) and verbena.

All root quickly and easily, as do other frost tender plants including fuchsias, pelargoniums, penstemons and salvias. Although you can lift or mulch such plants in autumn, cutting them back and keeping them under glass over winter, they can become woody and are best replaced with young plants raised from cuttings.

Foliage plants you may wish to bulk up include coleus (Solenostemon), plectranthus and Senecio maritima.

Winter is too late to take cuttings

A method of growing new plants from parts of an existing plant, such as sections of root, stem, leaf or bud. When prepared correctly and planted in the right conditions, they can produce roots and eventually become independent plants. There is a wide range of different methods for taking cuttings, depending on the plant and time of year. so you must plan ahead before the season is out.

• Take softwood cuttings of pelargoniums, petunias, bidens, fuchsias and penstemons in spring and summer from new growth
• Semi-ripe cuttings of penstemons, salvias, argyranthemum, verbena and heliotrope can be taken from summer to early autumn when the base of the cutting is hardening and the non-flowering tip is still soft

Most tender perennials

Perennials are plants that live for multiple years. They come in all shapes and sizes and fill our gardens with colourful flowers and ornamental foliage. Many are hardy and can survive outdoors all year round, while less hardy types need protection over winter. The term herbaceous perennial is used to describe long-lived plants without a permanent woody structure (they die back to ground level each autumn), distinguishing them from trees, shrubs and sub-shrubs. propagate easily from cuttings. There are two methods that are particularly useful: semi-ripe cuttings and softwood cuttings. You can also find specific advice on salvias, penstemons and pelargoniums on our other web pages.

Most cuttings

A method of growing new plants from parts of an existing plant, such as sections of root, stem, leaf or bud. When prepared correctly and planted in the right conditions, they can produce roots and eventually become independent plants. There is a wide range of different methods for taking cuttings, depending on the plant and time of year. taken in spring will be flowering in their first summer. Those taken in late summer will be overwintering under glass and be ready to harden off during May.

One of the keys to overwintering rooted cuttings under glass is to keep them on the dry side in bright frost-free conditions of around 7°C (45°F).

It is easy to propagate a wide range of tender plants, but problems such as grey mould and damping off diseases can occur under glass where ventilation

The introduction of outdoor air into a space, for example, a greenhouse. This airflow can reduce temperature, replenish the gases absorbed by plants and keep down fungal diseases like grey moulds. can often be inadequate. Pelargonium rust can be a problem in damp conditions

Fuchsias, usually trouble-free, but can suffer from fuchsia gall mite or fuchsia rust. Glasshouse whitefly can affect most plants under cover especially fuchsia, pelargonium, verbena and chrysanthemum.