The Bung 'em in style of propagation

[veggiechicken]

There's the "right" way to take cuttings and another way, which isn't "wrong" and works better for me.
Basically, whenever I prune a plant, I bung the pruned bit into a vacant space, often near the parent plant as this reminds me what the anonymous "stick" is.
By this means I have grown a fig and camellia hedge in the front garden and I'm hoping to grow a peach and nectarine hedge in the back garden. So far, all the cut back bits that I bunged in a few months ago are alive and well and several are in flower.
The jostaberry and worcesterberry hedge is taking over another stretch of fencing and there are fuchsias amongst them too.

What I am trying to say is, don't be afraid to treat them rough, they're sturdier than you think. All this stuff about using rooting powder and heat undoubtedly works too but its so much faff. If you have lots of prunings, bung 'em in and see what happens. Nothing to lose and a free plant to gain.

I like "free".

[SarrissUK]

I like that VC! I do pretty much that too, although I don't propagate enough

[veggiechicken]

I also keep buckets of water permanently in the garden. I bung the cuttings in them until I find a space to plant them. Lots of them root in the water before I get round to it.
I have some jostaberries glaring at me everytime I pass their bucket.

[Ocelot]

That works with hardwood cuttings for me, obviously softwood cuttings are a different proposition. I have loads of blackcurrant bushes (too many to find space for) by using that method. I often find them layering themselves if I forget about them.

I do find some plants propagate themselves. I found a japanese wineberry plant had layered itself in some mud on the patio last year. My best find was a baby tree fern growing around the base of the parent.

[roitelet]

Did just that with some Canadians Maples some years ago and they are now about 20ft high!!!

[Runtpuppy]

I did that as well! Couldn't get myself to throw away the pruned bits so stuck them in the pot with the parent plant.

As of now, I have two cuttings of a mystery rose sending out new leaves, gooseberry cuttings, blackcurrant cuttings, plum rootstock cutting, possible pear twigs, and a raspberry cutting.

'Raspberry cutting?', you ask.

I was pruning the fruited raspberry canes around the end of January. While I made myself throw away the pruned stuff this time, I couldn't resist sticking one of the cut canes into the raised bed next to it. It has green stuff on it now :-\

I am, of course, in a slight state of panic because I don't have a lot of room for these things. Also, if throwing away prunings was difficult ('cos they're still alive, aren't they?!'), can you imagine what would happen if I had to throw away an actually growing stem, with roots and everything?

[Small pumpkin]

I've heard (but not tried yet) that if you put a willow cutting in a glass/ tub/ bucket of water with your other cuttings they produce a natural rooting hormone to help your cuttings root quicker.

( for those of use that are planning on taking cuttings from our garden but haven't got anywhere for them to go yet )

[roitelet]

The willow will root as well!!!!

[Small pumpkin]

The willow will root as well!!!!

Yeah I know, but I need some willow for the wet areas

[rary]

I had some scales off a lily bulb a couple of months ago and put them into a pot of damp vermiculite today I potted on 5 small lilies from them, quite pleased with that as I was going to throw them out and they are from a named lily bulb,,,, all I need to do now is find the name

[boatsman]

Willow roots easily in a bucket of water. I have grown several bushes this way. Apparently the willow produces a growth hormone; hence the old trick of putting an aspirin tablet in a vase of flowers to keep the flowers alive longer. Aspirin is derived from salicylic acid which in turn is found in willow cuttings.