I see lots of trees now from which I'd love to grow a cutting.
But is that a complete waste of time during the flowering season?


--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

There are three standard techniques of cuttings, softwood, semi-ripe and hardwood. None of them involves taking cuttings just now, it is about the worst time for it, too late for hardwood, too early for softwood. Here are advice pages for the three techniques.
Cuttings: softwood / RHS Gardening Advice
Cuttings: semi-ripe / RHS Gardening Advice Cuttings: hardwood / RHS Gardening Advice

Really a good idea to find out what is the name of the plant you like the look of, and google suitable propagation techniques for it. Will avoid you wasting your time. What kind of cutting will take most easily depends upon the species. Some are easy, some are easy enough if you know the special trick for that species, some are challenging, some are impossible. If it costs a lot to buy the plant in a nursery, that is a good indication that cuttings aren't easy!

On Apr 11, 2:02*pm, Timothy Murphy wrote:
I see lots of trees now from which I'd love to grow a cutting.
But is that a complete waste of time during the flowering season?

--
Timothy Murphy *
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

Most of the trees you are coveting will not have suitable cutting
material on atm & in any case many will be propagated by grafting
which you can't do now because you have no rootstocks established and
it's too far into the growing season anyway. It will soon be a good
time to take softwood cuttings of certain shrubs.
I'm assuming of course that you will have the owner's permission.
Otherwise expect some serious wrath upon you and well deserved.
Sometimes when I had the garden at work open, the day after looked
like the aftermath of a swarm of locusts and mostly the cuttings would
have been taken by folks who didn't know what good cutting material
was and wouldn't know how to root it anyway.
I am very generous with cuttings/seeds etc if asked and if it's in
good condition at the time of asking. And I've often benefitted by the
generosity of others

Rod

"Timothy Murphy" wrote in message
...
I see lots of trees now from which I'd love to grow a cutting.
But is that a complete waste of time during the flowering season?


--
Timothy Murphy
e-mail: gayleard /at/ eircom.net
tel: +353-86-2336090, +353-1-2842366
s-mail: School of Mathematics, Trinity College, Dublin 2, Ireland

Two things, always ask first, I have never known a gardener to refuse
another gardener a cuttings but it feels bad if caught (for both parties.)

secondly find out what it is you are trying to take and find out also a good
timing for that plant, you are correct that generally while a plant is in
flower is not normally the best time, but plants are adaptable and can
normally be struck most times by differring methods.
One famous gardener was quoted as saying when asked "What's the best time to
take cuttings?" "when you are offered them"!

--
Charlie, Gardening in Cornwall
Holders of National Collections of Clematis viticella
and Lapageria rosea cvs
http://www.roselandhouse.co.uk