GINA PARKINSON has advice on how to keep the garden going with hardwood and root cuttings.

THE year may be drawing to an end and thoughts turning to Christmas, but the garden grows on, or can be encouraged to do so by propagating plants with hardwood cuttings and root cuttings.

The former is simple to do and worth trying with most shrubs, trees and climbers such as box, buddleia, spotted laurel, ivy, philadelphus and dogwood.

Cut several stems from the plant to allow for a certain amount of failures then trim them at the base with a diagonal cut just below a leaf joint and at the top with a horizontal cut just above a leaf joint.

The length of the cuttings will be dictated by the size of the mother plant but they need to be long enough to be planted in a trench to root.

Dig a V-shaped trench with a sloping side and a straight side in a sheltered part of the garden and put sharp sand in the base of the trench. Place the cuttings against the straight side of the trench and fill it in with soil; mix sharp sand with the soil if it is heavy.

Firm down gently, water and label.

The cuttings should root with 12 months and may need watering in dry weather especially if it gets hot in spring and summer.

If there is no space in the garden the cuttings can be put into pots filled with a mixture of sharp sand and compost, they root better in a free draining medium. Put in a sheltered spot in the garden or in an unheated greenhouse. When the cuttings have rooted, new growth on the stems usually means this has happened, they can be planted out into their permanent position. Excess plants can be potted up and given away, they should be ready in time for the following Christmas.

Root cuttings are harder to take and I have only done it once or twice when a plant has needed to be moved. Euphorbia griffithii responded well and other hardy perennials with thick fleshy roods such as verbascum and oriental poppy should also produce new plants with this type of propagation.

The first step is to loosen the soil around the base of the mother plant to expose some of the roots or alternatively lift the whole plant.

Remove some of the thicker roots and cut into 5cm lengths making a straight cut at the top and a diagonal cut at the base. This will identify which way up the cutting should be planted.

Put thicker cuttings vertically into a pot filled with cutting compost so the top of the cutting is just above the surface and lay thin cuttings on top of the compost.

Cover everything with a thin layer of fine grit, label and put in an unheated greenhouse or coldframe, or in a sheltered spot in the garden. Remember to replant the original plant.

Updated: 09:04 Saturday, November 15, 2003