On Sun, 01 Aug 2004 11:39:57 GMT, Pam Moore
wrote:

Dave, can you give a brief description of the way you took the
cuttings, please? I have tried many times, different methods, but had
no success.

They are very easy Pam. Wait until winter when the current years
growth has hardened and the leaves have fallen off, and take
pencil-thick sections of stem about 4" long, each with at least one
bud near to the top of the cutting. Using a sharp knife, carefully
remove a 2" long sliver of bark below the bud so that the green
cambium layer is exposed. Insert up to the bud, in pots of very
gritty, loam based compost (50/50 JI No2 and horticultural sand/grit),
firm well, water and place in a co;d frame or unheated greenhouse. If
you live in the south, the pots can be stood outside in a sheltered
place. As long as the compost is kept moist, cutting will commence
growth by late spring and can be carefully separated and potted
individually by late summer.

A slightly alternative method is to take slightly long sections of the
previous season's growth with a bud close to the base and a bud close
to the top. Take a sliver of bark from opposite the lower bud and
treat as above. This way you may get both buds commencing growth, but
you are almost assured of good rooting. Personally, I rarely bother
with hormone rooting powder, but you can use that as additional
insurance.

Aftercare consists of growing the young plants on in a good loam based
compost - again JI No2 is good. During their first winter as rooted
plants, cut the shoots back to the lowest, strongest buds since these
will form the bases for the fruiting vines. At the second winter, cut
back to the strongest 2 buds in order to promote thick strong canes,
which will form part of the framework. They can be 'topped' at around
6 feet in late summer to encourage the formation of fruiting spurs.
You can allow strong canes to remain depending upon how you want your
vine to develop, but make sure that you prune out any thin shoots.

As a broad rule of thumb, anything thinner than a pencil should be cut
away. With older plants I usually remove anything thinner than finger
thickness. The best time for major pruning is in winter whilst the
vines are dormant. If you prune too late, the vines will bleed from
the cut ends.

Cuttings taken as described will be ready for planting out in their
final growing position after 15 months and commence fruiting within
4-5 years.

HTH
Dave Poole
Torquay, Coastal South Devon UK
Winter min -2°C. Summer max 34°C.
Growing season: March - November