Leona Heights Garden Club Tip of the Month

by Marge Laverty

Summer Propagation of Plants

How to take cuttings from a friend's garden:

For softwood plants, stem cuttings taken from spring to late summer during the active growing season are most easily and quickly rooted. They are taken from soft, succulent, new growth that has some flexibility but does break when bent sharply. Then, below a node, make an angle cut. Cuttings are usually about four inches long. For some plants, like geraniums, they can be longer.

For semihardwood plants, take cuttings after the active growing season or after a growth flush, usually in summer or early fall, when growth is firm enough to snap when the twig is bent sharply. If it just bends or is spindly, the stem is too mature for satisfactory rooting. Make an angle cut.

How to start cuttings:

Start cuttings in a pot, box, or flat that will drain water. The rooting medium must allow for easy water penetration and fast drainage. Pure sand (builder's sand or river sand, not salt water, ocean, or bay sand) is the simplest medium but requires the most frequent watering. A better medium is a half-and-half mixture of sand and peat moss, perlite and peat moss, or perlite or vermiculite alone. Remove all leaves on the lower half of the cutting.

Now dip the cut end into a rooting hormone powder or liquid, available at a nursery or store garden department. Tap off excess powder and insert the cutting to about half its length into a ready pencil-size hole in the medium.

Thoroughly water:

Loss of water through remaining leaves is the greatest threat to success with cuttings. To minimize this, provide a greenhouse atmosphere high humidity. One method is to invert a clear glass jar over a cutting or place a plastic bag over cuttings in a flat and fasten down the bag in such a way as not to touch the cuttings, using small sticks to hold it up. Leave a very small section lifted up so air can reach the plants. Keep all new cuttings out of direct sunlight during the rooting period. When you see new growth forming, you can expect that the cuttings have rooted.

Attracting Flocks of Butterflies and Gardeners Too

Check with your local nursery for a new butterfly bush, Buddleia davidii "Santana." It is cultivated from its parent stock, the Royal Red butterfly bush. Unlike other buddleias (pronounced bud-lee-ahs), Santana has added striking, creamy yellow and green variegated leaves to the regular species' slender, honey-scented fragrance. This plant is easy to grow and is even hard to kill. Plant it close by for the view and scent in well-draining soil in full sun, and provide regular watering. It will grow to four to six feet in height and width, and flowers from early summer into fall. Santana flowers are rich claret purple and appear as beautiful six- to 12-inch spikes. They make excellent cut flowers. Remove dead flowers, and the plant will continue to bloom to produce seeds. Santana may be purchased at Thornhill Nursery (Montclair), Evergreen Nursery (San Leandro), and Sloat Nursery (San Francisco). They are priced around $12.99 for one-gallon can size.

Watching for Deer

Every year when the green grasses in the nearby hills turn brown, deer return to forage in our gardens. People look for deer-proof plants. The problem is, there aren't any totally "deer-proof" plants. It depends on what is available to eat. If a deer is hungry enough, it will eat anoleander, which is poisonous and will probably make it sick. The best thing to do is to place a fence or deer-proof netting around your plants. Some plants not usually eaten by deer are foxglove, zinnias, salvias, lavenders, and the above-mentioned butterfly bush.

Don't Forget the Alameda County Fair in Pleasanton, June 22 to July 8

You will get many ideas on garden subjects and learn about animals, and you will have a really good time. Children will love it. Prices at the gate are adults, $7; seniors, $4; and children, $4. Watch for days of special events and reduced prices.