All new shoots or top shoots are suitable for cuttings, and you can make cuttings all

from those spring and summer, but if you want to derive profit of the plant the same year it’s a question of making cuttings as early as possible in the spring. In order to be able to make early cuttings you must place the mother plants where there’s enough light and worm enough so that they can start producing cuttings. It will also helping the mother plants if you sprinkle the stems with lukewarm water with some Atamon in, doing this will encouragement the new shoots to break through.

The best temperature for making cuttings is at temperatures between 12° C and 15° C, it’s much easier to make cuttings at 10 ° C that at 20° C, and don’t place the cuttings directly in the sun. A root formation remedy can be used during the cuttings in order to ensure that the roots has the best possibility to root, but my experience is that it’s not any help when making cuttings spring and summer – it’s only as some help when I make herbaceous cuttings. The shoots that are used for cuttings must be without flower bud.

During cutting you must used either a sharp knife or a scissors, both must only be used for making cuttings since it’s very important that no illness or anything else comes in touch with the stem "flesh". It’s also forbidden touching the open stems with your fingers because a chemical material that we produce can have effect on the cutting. Make the cut under a leaf stalk so that there’s three or 4 leaves stalk on the cutting. The last leaf stalk has to be removed, and before putting it in the pot with earth you can dip the cutting into a sponge remedy.

The soil I use when i make cuttings is so free of nutrient as possible, airy and pure soil, in Denmark it’s named "Spagnum", I don’t know the English word for it, but it´s pure soil without any mixing with manure. Don’t leave the bag with soil outside to be wet and cold – a little cutting can almost be frighten to death if it’s put into a cold soil.

Prepare the soil a day or two before you need it, so that the soil and water can absorb, doing this you always have a pot prepared for cuttings if you by accident break of a top cutting from a plant. Many use a mix of soil and coarse sand in a mixing of 1 part sand to part light soil (Spagnum) this mix holds the water so that the cutting not so easily dry out. Of course there’s also soil special for cuttings/potting that already are mixed from the suppliers, and if you byes them at sale they are not more expensive to use than the home mixed soil.

It´s important that yu not press the soil in the pot to hard during cutting/potting work, because the roots must have space so that they easily can stretch out after the nourishment in the soil.

Watering:

The first days there will be condensed water under the plastic and therefore I don’t water extra, but every day I strike against the plastic so that the condensed water fall down on the cuttings and the first week that’s normally enough water. But check it… If the cuttings are placed in the sun you must watch carefully because under plastic they will quickly be scorches by the sun, special if they also are placed in a greenhouse or behind a window in the house.

When I make cuttings, I have to ways of doing it:

Method one I used when I make a lot of cuttings - mass production. Here I fill a flamingo box with soil – push it a little together – water it gently and leave it to compact for a day.

The day after I start taking the mother plant over to the table where I make the cutting – (be sure that there´s god lighting so that you can see to cut the correct place on the plant) and all the materials that I need during the cutting process is found and placed nearby.

The reason of taking the mother plant to the cutting table instead of taking the cuttings from the plant wherever it’s placed is, that it’s important a nameplate for the cutting is made at the same time as the cutting is taken. I’m always afraid to make a mistake concerning the nameplates and furthermore it’s also best for cuttings to go into the soil as quickly as possible. I make little holes in the soil with a little stick (not used for any other purpose) with a distance of 8-10 cm´ between, and then the cuttings are placed carefully in the hole. The cutting is placed so that the place where I removed the lowest parts of leaf stalk is under the soil surface. Then I water gently around the cutting and then the soil will by itself falls down around the cutting and that’s enough. You can help a little by pressing gently on the soil, but not much. White (not clear) plastic is placed tight over the flamingo box. Then you have a little greenhouse – and from here you just wait – have patience… After the first week you must check that the cuttings are not drying out under the plastic, although they seem dry you must be careful if you water them, because it’s almost better that they are a little to dry rather than they are over watered.

After approx. 12-14 days I remove the plastic (the plastic has been lifted once or twice every day to give a little fresh air in the little greenhouse). After 3 weeks I can’t wait any longer so a little test is made – I take gently in the top of the cutting and tries to lift it, and then I can feel if the plant has started to make roots or not. If the cutting can’t be lifted from the soil, it has made a root or is starting well on it – if the cutting is loose in the soil, it has not made roots and need more time.

Method two has the same working procedure as method one; the difference is that I instead of flamingo boxes use plastic pots – size 5 cm´s - placed inside a flamingo box. Making cuttings in plastic pots has the advantage that the roots will not be touched or damaged until they are stronger – but I fell that the cuttings easier dry out when they are placed in little pots.

After approx. 4-5 weeks the cuttings are ready to the first potting which must be done carefully because the little roots are still fragile. Don’t use to big a pot because there’s much better root development in a small pot than in a bigger pot. I go from a size 5 cm´s to a size 7.5 cm´, and from 7.5 cm´s to 9 cm and so on.

Remember its still not allowed pushing the soil to hard around the plant. A rule for when re-potting is necessary is to turn the pot and look if the roots are visible in the bottom, ot they are a re-potting is necessary. Sprinkling the plant´s with a mist of water once a day does increasing the growth. When the growth has increased the pinching for shaping the plant starts, each time you pinch you double the amount of shoot top and therefore also the amount of flowers. Pinch over 2 or 3 leaf. When the cutting are well establish you start with manure.