On 2009-08-28 17:20:27 +0100, soup said:

Son "got" a plant from a teacher at school (well he got two) his
teacher's has died, the one he gave to next door is still alive and
pretty healthy but the one in his greenhouse is doing really well, it
is 117CM tall (despite (because of?) getting pretty much ignored it is
doing better than next doors which is pretty much a house plant).
Thing is; he 'believes' it dies of every year, can anyone identify
the plant and how we would go about getting a cutting from it?
Instructions in words of one syllable please as I am no gardener and
son doesn't know any real terms.

http://www.sidtech.co.uk/iu/soup15528396654.JPG

Looks like a Coleus and properly looked after indoors should come up
every year but will be killed off by frost in the garden. Find some
non-flowering shoots, or take flowers right off any top cuttings, and
take cuttings about 3" long just below a node (knobbly bit on stem)
take off most lower leaves leaving a couple or three at the top and put
5 round the rim of a pot filled with a good cuttings compost. Plant
them 2 or 3 nodes deep. Keep in a warm place and just damp, not
saturated. Once the new plants have rooted, pot them on individually
into e.g. 9cm pots and again, don't over-water them.
--
Sacha
www.hillhousenursery.com
Shrubs & perennials. Tender & exotics.
South Devon