I’m not even going to bother telling you that times are tough right now. We all know that. But what can frugal minded gardeners do about it?
Well, for starters, you can take cuttings from your existing plants and those of your friends and neighbors (with permission of course). Taking cuttings means free plants. I don’t know about you, but free sounds really good right about now.
These Coleus plants are all from a single plant I purchased for $3.99. When I bought the plant, I had in mind making topiaries, so I was really excited to find a plant with six branches. Immediately upon bringing the original plant home, I cut off the six branches, dipped the cut end in rooting hormone, and stuck the stems in fresh potting soil. A week or so later they were all growing roots. My four dollars bought me six attempts at making a topiary. Less than a buck a plant is pretty darn good!
Now, whenever I pinch off a branch growing too low down on my topiaries, I repeat the cutting process described above and get a new, free plant. I also do the same thing when I trim my mother’s geraniums. And I have had good results with Ivy and Philodendrons by just sticking a cutting in a glass of water until roots have developed.
Have you taken cuttings before? Which plants have you had success with?
