All the books tell you all kinds of rules about rooting cuttings. The instruments have to be sterilized, you have to use rooting hormones, and so on. But sometimes is just isn’t gonna happen. Suppose you’re out in the boonies, unprepared, and the closest things you have to clippers are your fingernails? Are you going to leave this heirloom rose or weird colored geranium behind because you didn’t bring your sterilized scalpul with you? Of course not. I went to an auction once where there were shrubs with the most charming flowers in autumn. I didn’t know what it was but I thought I needed some. There was a pile of old, rusted garden tools that were to be auctioned. I found a dull, rusty hedge trimmer, made four cuttings of the sweet plant, and stuck them in some bottled water I had in the car. Two of the cuttings are still alive and about to bloom in my yard. They are also butterfly and hummingbird magnets and I’m so glad I have them. I’v'e hauled them on three moves. It turns out they are called Turk’s cap or Turk’s turbin. They are covered in small red blooms that look like unopened hibiscus. I broke all the rules you see in books, yet they are growing and thriving. Just keep your cuttings reasonably warm, moist but not soggy, and in good soil or growing medium like perlite. Half the time I don’t bother with covering them, but if you do, just use a plastic bag from a big box store and put a stick in it to keep it from collapsing onto the plants. Pull off the bottom leaves and stick the cutting in whatever you’re growing it in.
Besides Turk’s cap, easy plants to roots are: Roses, azaleas, camellias, rosemary, sages and salvias, geraniums, mums, forsythia, coleus, impatiens, hydrangeas, and oleanders. If you start with coleus or chrysanthemums you’ll feel like a success and gain confidence to try more. Chrysanthemums are so easy, when you pinch them off to make them bushier, stick the parts you pinch off into the ground. They’ll root! I’ve also had great success with succulents, especially jade and ghost plants. Good luck!
turk's cap
