Grow Your Own Magazine

A couple of weeks ago I had to trim a long but fairly soft branch off a gooseberry plant and decided to cut it into lengths and stuck the lengths into a pot - not really expecting anything to happen.

Instead of dying they seem to be sprouting even more vigorously and have new buds on them - so it look as though I may be in the very early stages of 6 new gooseberry bushes.

Does anybody else propagate their fruit bushes this way and can I do it will all of the soft fruit?

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TonyF, Dordogne 24220

I've done it with gooseberry and blackcurrant Tony- and both were really easy!
I just pushed my pruned 'sticks' into the soil.....about 90% success ( and I can kill most things!).

The same trick works well with willow 'cuttings'.

Bet you can't beat my killing streak Nicos - mint and lavender! Doesn't matter what I do or don't do, b****y stuff will not live!

How on earth can you kill mint!!!!!?

You tell me and we'll both know!

Three years running, different part of the garden each time, runs rampent for the summer (at least three stems!) and goes dormant in the winter - all fine you say. Yes, but even if I wait until june/july it never comes back up. No sneaky little tendrils half a yard away - just nothing!

I've managed to root cuttings of blackcurrants, redcurrants & grapes just by cutting bits off willy-nilly & pushing them in pots.
Must admit Terry/Nicos, I've not had much luck with taking cuttings of lavender which is supposed to be easy & I have also managed to kill off mint when I've put it in a pot & left it outside over winter thinking it's indestructable & found out it isn't, at least not in my garden!

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Into every life a little rain must fall.

How the h**l can you kill mint? The ruddy stuff grows everywhere, even into the lawn

To which I can only say.....

Lucky you!