Soft fruit bushes

[lesleygl]

I want to get some more soft fruit bushes. Been looking around but haven't found any. Lidl, aldi and home base usually have some a good prices but none at the moment. Anyone see any on special offer?

[rustylady]

It's not really the right time of the year to be planting fruit bushes unless they are pot grown and therefore much more expensive. Do you want different varieties, or more of what you have already?

[lesleygl]

I have quite Lot already but want t fill a space

[rustylady]

Sorry, the point of my question (which I didn't make very clear) was that if you want more of what you already have you can take cuttings from your existing plants. Plants for free

[redser]

Lidl and Aldi will have them again in September, maybe even August if I remember correctly from last year. There's probably little to be gained (in terms of time) by starting from a cutting now instead of waiting to get bareroot plants in the autumn I'd say.

[chris]

I'd just take a cutting as RL says (not really the right time to do it, but I have in the past) - and literally just plunge it in the ground, and give it a good watering for a couple of weeks

[rustylady]

I'd just take a cutting as RL says (not really the right time to do it, but I have in the past) - and literally just plunge it in the ground, and give it a good watering for a couple of weeks

I've found that currants (black, red and white) all root really easily from cuttings. Gooseberries too, and I've found that one of my goosegogs in particular keeps rooting itself where some of the branches touch the ground.

[FB.]

I've found that currants (black, red and white) all root really easily from cuttings. Gooseberries too, and I've found that one of my goosegogs in particular keeps rooting itself where some of the branches touch the ground.

Yes, very easy to root currants and gooseberries from cuttings. As you say: they will also root where branches touch the ground (or up the stem if the stem gets covered by mulches).

No special care or rooting hormones required.
Just cut a pencil-sized piece off when the leaves are falling (about October) and stick it halfway into the ground outdoors where it can remain cool and damp during the winter.
Rooting from autumn cuttings takes a couple of months (variable with weather).
You'll know it's rooted if it manages to send out a new shoot - usually happens in spring.


Best results are from cuttings about pencil-sized taken when most of the leaves have gone yellow or fallen.
They will also root reasonably well from cutings taken from leafless plants during the winter, as long as the buds haven't opened.

[FB.]

Oh, I should add:

Cuttings (and grafts) do not seem to "take" well if brought indoors to a warmer/drier environment: they tend to dry-out before "taking".