Gardening by Mistake

Rose cuttings have been my bane. For years I have had an unblemished 100% failure rate. I’m sure I’ve probably made about all the mistakes possible during that time.

A good friend talked me into giving it just one more try. Lucy with the football and Charlie Brown (me) hoping that this time I’ll finally get it to work.

I had about 25 cuttings in my first batch. I lost all but 2 of them. Two rooted and I was absolutely thrilled. And then during the next 6 weeks or so, both of those died. (See previous post). Losing those two cuttings really hurt.

I then started a second batch. It was to be my final attempt. (Yeah, right). I started about 25 more and it looks like I’ll have 5 of those root. I know this is a low rate for many rose growers, but 20% after years of zero is amazing for me.

My discovery last night of the roots in those cuttings sent me shooting out to the garden to take more cuttings. I’ve now got about 25 more in my propagation box. I’m trying Adolf Horstmann again among others. If I end up with another 5 rooting I’ll be quite happy.

Did you hear them? Earlier this evening I grabbed my pruning shears and a tub with about 2 inches of water (to keep them hydrated until I got inside) and headed out to the garden. Cue dramatic music. This could be my last attempt to root cuttings.

Overall, my record is abysmal. Years and years of failed cuttings. Early in the summer I set up a propagation chamber thinking I’d have a good chance with that. Reading about it, the idea seemed almost idiot-proof. I guess the key word is “almost” because it sure didn’t work real well for me! (In fact, I only recently realized that about 3 years ago I’d tried this very same thing, making prop chambers from plastic tubs, with the same 100% death rate. I’d managed to wipe it from my mind, I guess).

So I set up a new propagation chamber this evening. It’s bigger and deeper and has a fresh load of perlite. In the garden I gathered a couple of small shoots of veronica spicata, a stem of verbena, a stem or two of salvia ‘Rose Queen,’ two small shoots of coreopsis ‘Early Sunrise,’ two or three cuttings of my ‘City of York’ rose, a cutting of my gaura, one of my origanum ‘Hopley’s', and 2 or 3 cuttings of an agastache that I have and really like but haven’t been able to identify. Of all of these, the only plant I have any confidence with is agastache. It’s a member of the mint family and would probably root in water or if I just popped a cutting straight into the ground. In other words, it will probably root despite my best efforts to have it do so.

The plants have been through this before. They know my record, that being chosen is a sentence to almost certain death. I feel bad for them, really. I don’t know why I do so poorly. I’ve read and read about it and I’ve got my rooting hormone powder (fresh this summer). It’s demoralizing. And just to rub salt in the wound, a few days ago my friend Deanna said, “Oh, rooting is so easy!” when I complimented her many vigorous new plants from cuttings. “Yeah,” I said, “if you can do it!” My husband has a degree in physics. He thinks calculus is easy, but that doesn’t mean I can do it!

My formerly pitch black cuttings thumb is now more of a dark gray these days. I had put a bunch of cuttings into a propagation box. Many rooted, but they didn’t like coming out of the humid prop box and promptly shriveled up and died. A few, however, have survived and made it to the garden. At this point, only 2 have actually been planted in the garden (1 ajuga, 1 agastache). They’ve been in the garden for 2 days now and are still alive, which is encouraging. I have one other (an ajuga) to go out yet. One veronica spicata may make it to getting planted outside, as well. Out of the dozens of cuttings I put into the two propagation boxes, that’s a sad record. Dark gray may be too generous yet. So far, I’m way better at growing things from seed than from cuttings. I’m hoping to have a misting table or bed next year and that might go a long way toward rooting cuttings successfully. The sad thing is that both the agastache and the ajuga would root in water and rooting in water is the only way I’ve ever had any success with cuttings. I was hoping that a prop box would expand my rooting possibilities. I think I’ll try another batch at some point in the near future.

I usually start my seeds, pot them up and grow them awhile before planting them outside. I like to wait until I think they are of a size to withstand the weather and any encroaching weeds. Today, though, I thought I’d try something a little different.

I have something like 13 echinops ritro seeds which have germinated and they have a nice long radical. As I said, normally I’d pot those up. Today, I decided I’d plant them straight into the garden. I don’t start plants from seed in the garden because it never works for me. But I thought I’d try these. I took some of my popsicle sticks to use as plant markers, so I keep an eye out for them (for weeding and watering and not stepping on). The mulch on this bed is thick, about 3 inches. It is cedar chips, fairly compacted together and not easy to just sweep out of the way. After digging down to the soil and planting one of my sprouts, I decided to see how well the others would do planted in the mulch itself. After all, the weeds certainly think it’s a wonderful place to grow!

My test is lopsided, of course, with only 1 of the 7 seeds being planted in the soil, the rest being planted in the mulch. (The remaining germinated seeds that I didn’t plant outside today will get my usual treatment tomorrow— potting up). And I’m not convinced I’ll have any luck at all— I think every plant out there that I’ve grown from seed I’ve started in a pot first and then moved outside, including even those which don’t like to be transplanted (like borage). I just use paper pots for those so I can just pop them into the ground without disturbing the roots.

At any rate, I’m looking forward to seeing what happens. And tomorrow I’ll be potting up some other seeds that are not going straight into the garden. I also have some cuttings which are ready to be potted up. I hate the potting up part so much that I tend to put it off until it’s too late. I’m about at that point with some of the germinated seeds. I’ll have to suck it up and do it tomorrow.

I’d been debating ordering some plants online. I’d decided against it, thinking that I should just concentrate on growing plants from all the seeds I have, instead of spending more $$. And then today I had the idea of stopping at our local Ace hardware store to check out their plants. Oh my goodness! I was so glad I hadn’t placed that order. I got better plants for less money, I think. They had 4″ perennials for $2.49 each and they were in very good shape!

I ended up with:

• 3 penstemon ‘Husker’s Red’
• 3 dianthus ‘Firewitch’
• 2 phlox subulata ‘Candy Stripe’
• 2 perovskia (Russian sage)
• 2 blue alpine asters

That’s 12 new plants I can add to my gardens in my fight to fill up the gardens before the weeds do. I know that’s not much in the face of many hundreds of square feed of garden, but I’m quite tickled. These are things I wanted and didn’t expect to get. Yay!

I potted up the cuttings this afternoon. I ended up potting:

• 1 cerastium
• 1 origanum ‘Hopley’s’
• 2 coreopsis ‘Early Sunrise’
• 5 thyme (2 different varieties)
• 1 agastache
• 5 ajuga

There are a couple of ajuga that have started roots, but I’m going to wait a bit longer before I pot them up. One of the coreopsis looks like it won’t make it, so I’ll be surprised if I ever get to plant it in the garden. I plan on growing these in pots for at least a few weeks, maybe until fall.

I plan to get more cuttings from my plants yet this evening and start another batch. The citrus thyme I took cuttings from a week ago has grown like crazy and could use more clipping. I’m not sure exactly how much of that I’m going to want, but I’m pretty sure that I’ll have more than that. If it makes it as a good ground cover, as I hoped when I bought it, then the thyme is welcome to grow and spread.

On another topic entirely…

Yesterday we drove DH’s grandparents with us and the kids to Topeka (about 90 minutes away) for a dual birthday celebration. Papa is 93! (And DH is 39). On that drive, Ceda told me that they have given up growing tomatoes this year. The spot where they always planted them is too much of a slope and there was concern about one of them slipping and falling. I know how much Papa loves his tomatoes, though, and I just couldn’t stand it. So today, I picked out a cherry tomato plant and a large pot. I’m going to pot it up and set it near the same spot, but easily accessible next to the driveway. I hope that this will work and that they’ll be able to enjoy tomatoes this summer. I know Papa always grew the big ones, but I hope these cherry tomatoes will still be good. I’m going to go pot that up and we’ll take it over tonight. I may take my gloves with me. Ceda told me that the roses were being choked by some perennial. They are, and no wonder: the perennial choking them is vinca vine. I hate that stuff! It is wonderful if you need tough groundcover, but only if it is in a location where it can run rampant or cannot escape from it’s spot. This vinca vine is having a merry romp through the roses and other plants. I know that I won’t stop it, but I figure if I rip some chunks out tonight when we drop off the tomato plant I can at least slow it down marginally.

I haven’t made any walks through my garden today, which is unusual. Usually I walk through it at least morning and evening. I’ll get out there in a bit to see what’s new today. Here are two pictures from yesterday.

Andrea Stelzer

Charles Aznavour

I admit it: I couldn’t wait. I peeked before my self-imposed Monday date. Truthfully, I took a peek at two cuttings on Friday, with disappointing results. I thought that would get me through until Monday afternoon, but this morning (Sunday), when I saw my propagation chambers, I was gripped by an irresistable need to know how they were all doing.

The results were fairly good! New roots were small on those cuttings which have roots, but since the longest they’ve been in the box is 8 days, that’s not surprising. What rooted? Ajuga, thyme, cerastium (when I checked on Friday, nothing. No roots and it looked like it never would root!), coreopsis ‘Early Sunrise’ seedlings, and agastache. Of course, I expect I’ll be running to the garden later today, collecting more of what has rooted so I can start more new plants. I wish I had a few more (and more exciting) choices, however. I may try some of the gaillardia and salvia ‘Rose Queen,’ as well. As pretty as the ‘Rose Queen’ is and how well it has done– and under such inhospitable circumstances– I’ve been wishing I’d grown more of it from seed than I did. Cuttings would be quicker than growing more from seed. I also meant to take some veronica cuttings last week but forgot. This would be a good time to do that, as well. I only have a few veronica at present but would like more.

I’m slapping myself (figuratively, although I probably should do it literally) because I didn’t think of asking for any cuttings yesterday when at my MIL’s house. She’s got a house and yard from BH&G. Although a lot of her stuff is in shade, I bet I could have found something there! I do still need to get to my parents’ house and take some dianthus cuttings.

As for the cuttings which haven’t rooted yet, there is still hope as nothing had outright died yet. Admittedly, the phlox subulata appear that they are in the process of dying. (Very disappointing, too. I’d like a lot more of that in my garden). The rose cutting of ‘Improved Blaze,’ of which I did not want more but was using as a rooting test, has lost all of its leaves. It is now a stick. But at this point it’s an alive stick, so we’ll see. This is how all rose cuttings have gone for me in the past, so I am not optimistic.

I did propagate a coreopsis ‘Zagreb’ earlier in the week entirely by accident. I was pulling out some of that noxious Convolvulus arvensis and a piece of the ‘Zagreb’ came with it. The piece had roots, so I planted it in another bed. If it “takes,” I’ll have a start of it in that bed. So far, it looks like it’s going to make it. That was Monday or Tuesday and I think it would have shriveled up by now if it wasn’t going to survive.

I did set up prop box #2 this morning. I moved some of the taller cuttings which were really too tall for the original into that. No roots on them yet. (Go figure, I just took the cuttings Friday evening!) Inspired by the success of my lone ajuga cutting rooted in water (and a need for a lot of groundcover in the “A” bed), I took 9 cuttings from a potted ajuga waiting to be planted. I think it’s a 4-inch pot. Anyway, I took 9 cuttings. I could have taken more. I can still divide that plant into 3 before I plant it, too! I took cuttings of a few other plants: thyme, cerastium, phlox subulata, and verbena canadensis. (I’m trying to fill the garden beds before the weeds do it for me. And this year I’m testing various ground cover plants to see which performs best and which I like best, hence the thyme, cerastium, phlox, and ajuga).

I’ve told myself I’m not going to check any of those cuttings for at least a week but boy is it hard to wait! I’m so impatient! I could wait if I knew they’d root. It’s the not knowing part that killing me. Still, none of the cuttings have turned black or shriveled up, so there’s still a chance for any of them to root.