Every year I overwinter a bunch of cuttings that I take from tender bedding plants. When spring finally rolls around I wonder if it’s worth the trouble.
This sorry lot goes out for a couple of weeks of acclimation before they are planted. Their winter leaves drop so they look worse now that they have all winter, but new growth has broken and they will be fine. I plant them out when the soil is warm.
A few rules to live by during the six months they are inside:
1) Keep them alive but don’t promote growth. Minimal water. No fertilizer. They do as well in little pony packs as 4” pots.
2) Keep the terminal buds on the plants because they produce hormones that promote rooting. The cuttings will get lanky. Plant them out that way and pinch them back once they really get going.
3) Give them as much sun as you can. South windows, etc.
4) Don’t pot them up to get a jump on spring. This sets them back and even kills them.
This sorry lot goes out for a couple of weeks of acclimation before they are planted. Their winter leaves drop so they look worse now that they have all winter, but new growth has broken and they will be fine. I plant them out when the soil is warm.
A few rules to live by during the six months they are inside:
1) Keep them alive but don’t promote growth. Minimal water. No fertilizer. They do as well in little pony packs as 4” pots.
2) Keep the terminal buds on the plants because they produce hormones that promote rooting. The cuttings will get lanky. Plant them out that way and pinch them back once they really get going.
3) Give them as much sun as you can. South windows, etc.
4) Don’t pot them up to get a jump on spring. This sets them back and even kills them.
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