Time to take cuttings

Another one of my favourite June jobs is taking soft wood cuttings. While mooching around the car boot sale I found a decent sized Butterfly Lavender with lots of side shoots. Also picked up two pots of Sempervivums that were ripe for splitting. First, gather the materials: parent plant, dibber, secateurs and terracotta pots. They root better if air gets around the roots. Clay pots breath much better than plastic ones. Soil is equal parts compost and soil, with a good handful of sand and grit to improve drainage.

 Peel off the side shoots, making sure you get a little 'heel' from the parents stem. Trim off the lower leaves and make sure there's a clean cut on the tip of the heel.

 Dip cuttings in hormone rooting powder and dib into the edge of the pot.

 Water well and move on the the next subjects.

 Also took cuttings of sage, rosemary, clematis and blueberries. Loads of free plants for minimal effort. Splendid.