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Gardening With Dora
Sometimes I use this more relaxed time to concentrate on propagating shrubs. Either I or someone I know can always use one more hydrangea, Confederate rose or brugmansia. One technique that works well with hydrangeas is called layering. The process is easy. Find a long limb that is growing vigorously. Do not detach it from the mother plant. Scrape some of the bark off the bottom of the limb, cover the wounded area with dirt and put a heavy rock or a brick over it to hold the limb down. You can also bend a piece of a metal coat hanger and peg the limb down securely. The limb will be rooted by the beginning of summer and you can detach it and pot it up for planting in the fall. Some plants like oakleaf hydrangea, flowering quince and forsythia will often do this on their own if limbs rest on the ground during the growing season. Confederate rose and brugmansia can be easily rooted over the winter, too. The easiest way to do this is to dig a narrow trench about six inches deep and bury a limb where you want the plant to grow next year. The absence of transplant shock is a real bonus here. Wait until the blooms fade on both of these plants, but get them in the ground before the first frost. This can be a short window of opportunity for some years...blooms today, frost tomorrow. Brugmansia and Confederate rose will grow wads of roots if placed in water and kept in a frost-free environment. One to a container works best to keep the tender roots from getting tangled together. I have had mixed success with this technique because I always seem to damage the roots when transplanting into pots or the garden. Hardwood cuttings can be taken from most deciduous shrubs this time of year. A hardwood cutting breaks when you bend it. Dip the end in a rooting compound like RooTone, pot it up in free-draining soil, and tent it to preserve moisture loss. This process is designed for gardeners with more patience than I have. It has been my experience that this takes forever and is not always successful in the home garden. Mine, anyway. When the soil cools a little more it will be time to plant trees and shrubs and in November spring-blooming bulbs can go in the ground. Then we'll have something to do. Dora Garrick Fleming is a Clarke County native living and gardening in Winder, Ga.
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