Potting & root cuttings

Wed 16th Jan
Weather: Deep frost, -1°C. It had gone down to -4°C overnight. There were icicles along the inside of the windows of the hothouse, and Aeoniums in the coolhouse had gotten frosted.

Whorls of frost patterns on the cold frames

It was a potting day today - I  potted on Gladioli sp. - one reasonable sized bulb or three small bulbs in a pot. Rachael split Bergenia 'Beethoven' (which has white flowers) and did root cuttings of them also. The roots were laid and covered with peat in a wooden seed tray. Then they were placed in the hot house underneath the benches. Kate did roots cuttings of Inula Hookeri putting three 1 inch pieces in a compartmented seed tray (very close to the surface and lightly covered with soil on top - using a No.1 compost mix).

Root cuttings of Bergenia 'Beethoven'

Inulas are vigorous so potentially if roots cuttings are done at the end of the year, you could get growth and flowers by July - August the following year.