Monty Don explains why now is the time to take plant cuttings to ensure successful rooting

With August upon us, there is plenty to be doing in the garden to prepare for the upcoming autumn weather. One such task is taking cuttings from established plants so that they may provide your plot with new plants. 

Taking plant cuttings is one of the best sustainable garden ideas that's completely free and easy to do. 

No matter what plant you want to multiply taking a cutting from it means you can spread it to other corners of your garden without having to take a trip to the garden centre.

So whether you're taking hydrangea cuttings or taking cuttings from roses who better to walk us through the whole process than Monty Don himself?

Monty Don's plant-cutting advice 

Monty, as always, starts his monthly blog post with a whimsical discussion on the current gardening conditions. He speaks of a rather depressing wet summer, which has been amazing for the plant life but not so much for the soggy gardeners tending to them. 

"And although us gardeners may be complaining, the garden has loved it. By August many gardens are beginning to look tired and worn out, but this year we have had no drought, no bad storms to batter the borders and enough rain to keep everything looking lush and healthy," he says. 

So with all your alluring plants that liven up your garden flourishing what better time to take cuttings and plan forward for multiplied blooms? 

Monty says as August progresses it's the perfect time to take semi-ripe cuttings from the current season's wood that has started to harden off. With that established, the gardening expert shares his essential plant propagation tips. 

"Always choose healthy, strong, straight growth, free from any flowers or flower buds. Once you have taken material from the plant and placed it in the polythene bag go and pot them up immediately," he says. 

The gardening guru explains that to prep the cutting you need to strip off all the lower leaves and side shoots so that only an inch or less of foliage remains. Then, cut the bare stem to size with sharp secateurs and bury it into a container of very gritty or sandy compost. 

Burgon & Ball National Trust Dark Wood Bypass Secateurs: £24 at B&Q

These secateurs are made with drop-forged stainless steel for strength and come with bypass action that gives precise clean cuts. The pair also comes with a 10-year guarantee to provide timeless appeal. 

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"To form good roots the plant does not need any nutrition other than oxygen and water so whatever material you put the plant into must be loose, drain well and not dry out. Once the roots are formed and you see signs of growth then it will start to need better nutrition and need potting into better compost," he adds. 

Once your cutting is prepped you'll need to place it somewhere warm and light, but nowhere with too much direct sunlight as you may scorch it. Keep it well watered and moist with a daily mist as this will stop the leaves drying out before the new roots have formed. 

Monty explains, "Most cuttings taken at this time of year will take between 4 and 6 weeks to produce viable roots but you know that the roots have formed when you see fresh new growth or when lifting the pot, see thin roots appearing from the bottom of the pot."

Now roots have begun to appear he says the cuttings can be removed from the pot and potted individually into fresh peat-free potting compost and put aside over winter before you plant them out next spring. 

If you're particularly worried about making summer gardening mistakes then you can even time your cutting right to the very hour of the day. Monty recommends taking a cutting in the morning whilst the plant is full of moisture but of course, whenever you can get around to it is also fine. 

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After you've finished taking your cuttings why not use a similar method from Monty for getting the most out of your strawberry plants? Similar to succession planting, using offshoots and cuttings from plants like this is a great way of getting more out of your plants for free.