OT: Clippings of plants other than dahlias

blown_dry

My grandma would not always resist the itch. She was retired on Social Security and clippings were her source for garden plants. I remember her once sending me as a kid into a yard to get a piece of a rose bush while she waited at the curb with the engine running...

AndreaB

blown_dry Our Grandma’s would have been fast friends! I’m surprised I’ve never done it myself, because that was the norm for my Grandma. I’m guilty of pinching herbs, but it’s just because they smell so good.

Teddahlia

We spotted one of those fuschias they grow in front of the building at the medical offices. Easy pickings.

Juliarugula

I was never even half as successful at rooting other plants as I am with dahlias.

Although, when I was trying was about 15 years ago, and I have much better rooting/growing supplies now thanks to the legalization of cannabis.

I’ve never snuck a cutting, but I have pocketed a few seed pods here and there…

blown_dry

AndreaB I’m guilty of pinching herbs, but it’s just because they smell so good.

I do this too. There's a lot of rosemary and lavender along my walk. Sometimes people will pick themselves a posey from my beds along the sidewalk. I wouldn't do it, but there's worse things.

SteveM

I've taken cuttings from side shoots (laterals) of chrysanthemum or dahlia bunches for sale at the flower mart. Most chrysanthemums have been disbudded but many dahlia farmers do not disbud stems for market so it is easy to get cuttings. I wonder if the trial gardens have problems with people "pinching" a new variety.

calico20hill

Trial Garden at Tacoma's Pt Defiance park...it wasn't just pinching the tips but "Pinching" the wholeplant. Someone came in one night after the park closed and lifted the future prize winner, plant and all. I think it was Clearview Cameron. They took the tubers and stuck the top of the plant back in the ground where of course it was a wilted mess the next morning and the theft was discovered. At the same time some other park artifacts were stolen, items that probably went out on the black market immediately.

Other then that I don't think we ever saw significant pinching on the plants. Occasionally some ones ball bounced into the buses or someone took a flower, not realizing quite what a test garden is.

Darce

I just bought a ton of rooted cuttings just now- Japanese flowering quince/fig/pomegranate and red and white currant- I try to grow most of my annuals and perennials from seed using winter sowing but I haven’t been as successful growing shrubs/trees using winter sowing (except for some success with elderberry and Japanese maples)and I find that cuttings intimidate me a bit as seeming too fussy. I am trying to graft fruit trees this year as my new experiment with techniques project - maybe cuttings will be next year’s project.

The nursery I buy from is very inexpensive for rooted cuttings tho - 6-7.50 for a pink currant or a fig is excellent! They are a bit like the dahlia wars tho and sell out fast - they just restocked their figs/Japanese flowering quinces/pomegranates/ Stanely plum seedlings/and gooseberry and currant plants so if anyone is interested- prob check them out today or tomorrow
They are on the west coast and have a lot of the same fruiting bushes/trees that raintree and one green world has

https://fruitwoodnursery.com/starter-plugs-seedlings-and-rooted-cuttings

Krista

Darce Wow this is a really fun nursery! Someday I hope to have the space for fruit trees, goji berries, an olive tree maybe, and now a pomegranate - I had no idea they were hearty to zone 7? I just ordered rau ram and a purple tree collard though, thank you for this share!

Darce

Krista
I think pomegranates can be tricky to grow in zone 7 much less zone 6 where I am but they had some varieties that originated in colder regions (I bought one called Agat that was supposed to grow low so it stayed under snow cover during winter)so I am going to take a gamble.
I think I might treat the one I bought like a fig and keep it in a container and put it in basement to overwinter. At 7.50 ea I can buy a couple of figs and pomegranates to experiment without so much guilt if I fail - I am too nervous to invest much money in zone pushing so this works out great
They are a great nursery-I bought currant bushes and grape vine rooted cuttings from them last year and they were sturdy little plants for sure!

Krista

Darce Oh I really look forward to hearing how these do, I think what you’re planning sounds great! I wouldn’t know where to begin with wintering over but I’d love to learn though hearing your methods. I’m happy to hear these plants are sturdy too - their prices are indeed so friendly. You’re right, it makes the gamble more approachable! I spent what felt like a ridiculous amount for a purple tree collard from another nursery a couple years ago. It was a puny plant that never grew and that felt a bit like a heartache, certainly.