This will be our last article until September because most of the work from June through August involves mowing grass.
May is the beginning of the rainy season and as soon as the ground is thoroughly saturated we should perform the major feeding of the year and apply fertilizer to all of our plants, even those that seem to do well without any help from us. Regular granulated 6-6-6 or 8-8-8 is fine for all purpose fertilizing and can be bought in economical 40 lb sacks.
We get the most out of fertilizer by applying it to completely wet soil so that the dissolved nutrients are available to the roots of plants for a long period. Applied to dry ground, the solutes move through the soil very quickly and are wasted. Don’t forget - fertilize everything.
It’s also the time for taking cuttings of our favourite plants. Cuttings should be taken as low on the parent plant as possible, making sure the outside of the cutting has brown bark - not a green surface. A diagonal cut should be made about a quarter inch below a node, a bump raised from the surface of the limb which will turn into a branch above ground level but roots below ground level.
Cuttings should be no longer than ten inches and only four inches should be pushed into the ground where you want the cutting to grow or into a pot for later transplanting. Cuttings are more resistant to wind movement if they are inserted at a 45 degree angle rather than upright.
Some foliage can be left on the cutting, but only a little. Two or three half leaves is about right. If you have a new shoot, leave it on. I have found they are often rewarding even if the outer leaves tend to dry up a little.
Don’t over water cuttings. They are susceptible to rotting and root growth is more vigorous when adventitious roots are encouraged to chase receding moisture. Cuttings put down in May will have developed a substantial root system by the end of August.
Some people say that Bougainvillea is an awkward plant to root. I have found it very easy. Follow the rules and I think you’ll find it easy too. Frangipani and other milky-sapped plants seem to benefit from their cuttings being left in the sun for a few days before transplanting. Some plants such as Crotons can root in plain water. Change the water every couple of days and transplant very carefully, when the time comes, in a slurry of soil so that the roots can be accommodated with a minimum of breakage.
Fruit trees and other shrubs that are resistant to propagation by cuttings can be propagated by air layering. This time we have to take an area below a node along a mature branch and remove the outside bark and cambium layer with a sharp knife for a length of two inches, scraping away all soft matter. The revealed wound should be then wrapped in moist sphagnum moss (not peat moss) using aluminium foil (twisted at the ends) and a cloth covering (tied into place).
See you in September!
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