Propagation is one of gardening greatest pleasures.
Layering, a method of reproducing woody plants that can be done from now until early summer, is a fun, cheap and easy way of propagating plants you love but which are not always available in garden centres.
There are three types of layering: ground, aerial and mound.
All involve exposing the plant's cambium layer - the delicate tissue surrounding the stem that lies directly under the bark - to a damp growing medium that will encourage root formation.
All methods require either a sharp knife or secateurs.
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You'll also need a spade (ground and mound layers), some 20 centimetre lengths of coat hanger wire bent into hooks, compost and bamboo stakes (ground layers) and plastic bags, plastic ties and sphagnum moss (aerial layers).
Ground layering is easiest and sometimes even happens of its own accord with low-branching shrubs like daphne, Mexican orange blossom (Choisya ternata) and viburnums.
Select a 20 centimetres long stem and remove leaves.
Make a small (5cm) lengthways cut like a tongue midway from the end and push in a small pebble to keep it open.
Dig a shallow hole and peg down the cut stem with a wire hook. Bend the end of the stem upright, tie it to a bamboo stake and refill the hole with damp compost.
Roots may take several months to form - check by tugging gently - after which you can separate the layer from the parent and replant it.
Aerial layering is ideal for shrubs, climbers and trees that don't have low hanging branches suitable for ground layers, or won't grow from cuttings. Maples, especially a treasured Japanese cultivar that you'd love to have more of, camellias and magnolias are all good subjects.
I recently air layered a crepe myrtle, Lagerstroemia 'Natchez' with scented white flowers; it's a bit early in the season but I'm hoping it will rock away in spring.
To create an aerial layer, select a tip of last year's growth, nick the stem halfway through at about 10cm to 15cm from the end, and poke in a twig to keep the wound open.
Place a large handful of damp sphagnum moss on a plastic bag, wrap the whole thing round the nicked stem and tie each end tightly with cable ties. (It's fiddly, be patient.)
When roots emerge through the sphagnum, cut the branch below the rooted layer. This becomes your new plant. Remove the plastic but leave the moss in place and pot up.
Mound layering is suitable for multi-branched shrubs such as may (Spirea) and hydrangeas. I'm about to experiment with an ancient beauty bush (Kolkwitzia amabilis) which I never now see in nurseries and which I'm terrified of losing.
To mound layer, prune the plant in late winter to the lowest buds and cover with compost. When new shoots emerge, mound them over and repeat the process to a height of about 30 cm..
After three months, wash away the compost and you should have a mini forest of new plants.
It sounds like magic. I can't wait to try it.
