karenfletcher

Seeds & cuttings on a windowsill

This year for the first time I took some cuttings in the autumn (verbena, fuchsia & pinks), and to my great pride I have managed to keep them alive through the whole winter and even multiply them, even though the location isn't ideal - it doesn't have light enough hours in the day, but in the middle of the day it can get blazing sunshine, plus it's on top of a radiator.  In the spring I started with seeds (Livingstone daisies, cosmos, foxgloves) and so far everything is going well, and I've now started to plant some of both cuttings and seeds out in the garden.

The thing that is troubling me is that my precious babies are so wimpy compared to what is available in the garden centre, and far behind - absolutely no sign of flowers yet, while the garden centre has had blooms for months already.

Am I doing something wrong (e.g. starting too late), or is this because they have a more controlled environment? Is there a chance that e.g. the fuchsias will do better next year (assuming they survive the winter), or will they always be stunted? Is it worth bothering to grow annuals from seed when you don't have a greenhouse, if it takes so long for them to mature that you don't have long to enjoy the flowers?

I'd be glad to hear your advice and experience!

Karen

Pruning a Photinia

I also have a Red Robin, it's part of a loose 'hedge' consisting of different plants that just break up the view into my living room but is really not dense at all, and actually I'm wondering if I was sold a dud. I've got branches that are two feet long and only have a clump of leaves at the end, nothing along the branch, plus a lot of the trunk has no branches at all.

I assume the usual rule of thumb applies, i.e. cut just above a leaf, but what if there aren't any to cut above?

It's shooting nicely now at the ends, but it's really too open. I'd appreciate any advice on how to thicken it up - preferably without having to cut it down to the ground and start again . Oh, it's probably 6 or 7 feet tall and I don't need it to get much taller than that. Thanks.

Protecting plants from frost

Can someone advise me at what temperature you should worry about frost? Is it only if the temperature is below zero, or if it's below about 4 degrees (when water starts to expand, I believe - and that's when my car starts giving me warnings). And what exactly should I do? I have some plants in pots (fuschia, delphinium, roses, agapanthus) - is it the plant that needs protection or the roots? I live in Holland and my local garden centre only has bubble wrap for protecting plants, not fleece, so I assume that's not for covering up the plant itself.

Fuchsia cuttings

Oh, duh! Thanks!

Fuchsia cuttings

Thanks again for all inputs. Actually I've hijacked someone else's topic, and I don't know if this is a hard fuchsia or not. I decided to take the cuttings nonetheless because if the plant dies I definitely won't be able to take them in the spring! I doubt the plant or the cuttings will surviive, but I'll know more for next time.

I'm slightly confused about the differences of opinion regarding light, but if temperature is important then the garage will be a better option than anywhere in the house.

Fuchsia cuttings

Thanks Geoff, thats very helpful. I'll give it a whirl.

carnation cuttings

Okay, thanks for the explanation. I must say they are quite leggy, so that's probably the light/warmth thing (though I'm surprised if light is the issue - maybe the double glazing strips out something important). I might try and let one flower and see what happens. Mostly I'm just experimenting to see if I can avoid having to buy so many plants in the spring!

carnation cuttings

Thanks for your response. That windowsill does get a good bit of light (it faces south), but I gather that temperature is significant - does that make things grow too quickly for the time of year?

Would it be a problem if I let it flower? I don't really understand the significance of the 'non-flowering shoots' requirement. At the moment I've got three cuttings in one pot, I've already potted the verbena on and they had quite a lot of roots but I don't know about the carnation - I'm speculating that the flowers would be taking all the energy that's required for developing roots - is that right?

Thanks!

Fuchsia cuttings

Thanks for your responses and the advice on getting the plant through the winter. I know it is almost November (aargh) but the fuschia is still flowering so I figured it must be happy enough. The immediate issue is that I'd like to take some cuttings in case it *doesn't* survive the winter - but maybe I've just left it too late. I guess I'll give it a try anyway, just in case. I have my cuttings on a windowsill but it's right over a radiator and also gets pretty warm if the sun does decide to shine. I gather from another thread that the temperature mustn't be too high.

For the plant itself, I have an uninsulated garage but there's next to no light in there - would that be better than indoors? Even my spare room is not particularly cool. As for 'water sparingly' - stupid question, but what does that mean? And if it's going to lose all its leaves anyway, how do I know it's still alive? Or do I just keep watering it as an act of faith and wait until springtime to discover if it's alive?

Can you tell I'm a novice?

Fuchsia cuttings

I've inherited a rather grotty hanging fuchsia - a lot more woody stalk than leaves - with absolutely stunning flowers. I've never yet had a fuchsia survive the winter (it's in a pot and I don't have a greenhouse) so I'd love to take cuttings and try to have a new plant next year. However, there are very few bits of leaf growth that I could use as a cutting, and they're very short (a centimetre or so) and not even very straight.

Does anyone have any advice?

Thanks

Seeds & cuttings on a windowsill