need cutting advise!

[SamBeavis]

We are upping sticks and moving to France later this year

I know it's not strictly legal (!!) but I have a number of plants I have grown fond of over the years and would love to have them come with us when we emigrate

I obviously wont be uprooting 20 year old bay trees, but would like some advise on taking cuttings..

I have tried in the past very unsuccessfully to take cuttings of many of my plants (I have a lovely mature garden in the UK, and people are always asking for them) - Does anyone have a never-fails method of doing this??

Also, if this works successfully, whats the best way to transport them to the nouvelle maison?

Thanks in advance

Sam
x

[SamBeavis]

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

what plants in particular? shrubs? perennials? How long have you got?

[SamBeavis]

well the ones I am most favouring are my holly bush, my Bay tree, and a few other shrubs I have around the garden

As I say the 2 aforementioned plants we have tried to take cuttings and have failed...

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

you picked a couple of toughies! Bay is very difficult to propagate at home. Think you'd need a hardwood cutting with a heel, rooting hormone, mist and bottom heat........If its a shrub and not a tree, maybe you have rooted suckers at the base you can take

holly is semi-hardwood cutting taken ideally in the autumn. Also tricky

any easier, non-evergreens you want to take??

[SamBeavis]

That's the thing, I've had success with non-evergreens, it's pretty much the 2 I've mentioned that are the final buggers that won't take!
What are your thoughts on uprooting, potting and taking the whole thing?
This is completely a no no for the Bay as she has a trunk the size of a small tree, but the holly bush could I suppose be transported...?

[Rhubarb Thrasher]

again, transplanting holly is tricky. The advice is to transplant when it's dormant, either in March or October, so you've missed that.
In a way, you've got nothing to lose, except for the trouble and expense of doing it, but chances are if it did take, you'ld get a lot of die back, and it would lose it's shape
Personally, i'd like the idea of starting a new garden afresh, but having said that, looking at the garden now, there are lots of things i'd move heaven and earth to propagate (but not holly!)