Awful weather - typical Brits talk

ArbitraryRandom

Well, it either will or it won't... but I might be tempted to take some little bits from the smaller branchy/less woody growth and try rooting those alongside - won't get you as bigger plant if they take but increases your chances of getting something to root  

twopenny

Just a quick pop in to say who wanted Winter Jasmin?

Tescos £6, new in so looking healthy.

Fruit trees £8

Wow Blue, that's a big 'un!

Dustyevsky

Bluey, the big stem is probably too big, but if you tear some of the branchy bits off and shorten them, they could still work as hardwood cuttings. Put them around the edge of a pot of compost in a light, frost-free place. Also, stick a few in a sheltered, shady part of the garden. That way you get 2 goes. Hardwood cuttings are best from October/November, but it may not be too late.

YoungBlueEyes

Well so much for my weather forecasting abilities, there's a properly hard frost out there Mind I'm no worse than the drunkards ha haa! Car's all frozen and pretty but I have to go into town this morning, that's the 'fall' for my sheepskin 'pride' I spose. 

It either will or it won't, that's my kind of advice Arb!  

I've plenty of pots so I'll take lots of bits and have lots of goes Dusty. If they take I can give some to Lovely Neighbour and the Oracle. So I'm not using the main branch, just snipping some of the side twigs off? And will I do it like I did the rose sticks - cut flat across the bottom and slanty at the top, dip in rooting powder and poke into a pot of compost/soil in the garden? We're almost out of January so I'll be lucky if it works. 

Aye it is a bigg'un 2p, I felt ever so guilty when I was carting it home  It would only have died if it'd sat there eh so... 

Beautiful starry night last night, it was all so bright and clear. Makes my heart smile  

Oh and that letter is brilliant Dusty, where'd you get that from?  

YoungBlueEyes

Did somebody put 50p in the dawn meter? 

twopenny

Thanks for giving a dawn. No such luck here.
Grey skies, dark it was 3c here and still is but they promise sunshine and double figures so here's hoping.
Lights and heating on. Not sure what to plan for today. It's very meah sort of day.

Dustyevsky

YoungBlueEyes said:

I've plenty of pots so I'll take lots of bits and have lots of goes Dusty. If they take I can give some to Lovely Neighbour and the Oracle. So I'm not using the main branch, just snipping some of the side twigs off? And will I do it like I did the rose sticks - cut flat across the bottom and slanty at the top, dip in rooting powder and poke into a pot of compost/soil in the garden? We're almost out of January so I'll be lucky if it works. 

Oh and that letter is brilliant Dusty, where'd you get that from?  

Don't cut the bits off; tear them off, like I said! The heel you get is better for rooting, and there's a scientific reason why....but you can forget that, 'cos I have! Put cuttings around the edge of a pot of damp compost (where there is more oxygen & drainage) and keep that in a light, frost-free place. Put others in a sheltered bit of the garden to try a 'natural' approach as well.

The letter is a card my daughter sent me. I just removed the letter heading in a poor attempt to avoid copyright issues.

A grey start here, like 2p, with a sharp wind. It must've been freezing, as there was ice on top of the compost bin lid.

I had ideal conditions for a huge bonfire yesterday that consumed 9 dumpy bags of chainsawed hedge bits. I'll not now fly to Davos to compensate for the CO2 created; I'll plant 20m of new hedging instead. Must get on and order that.

PARENTAL ADVISORY: While we're still roughly around snowdrops, here's a surveillance snap I took at a galanthophile love-in last year. See all the oldies enthusiasts with their phones out! Oooh missus!

pink_poppy

Thanks, YBE, I'm still a few years off retirement, so would be looking to get another job in my original field of work (not what I'm doing now). Anyway, what was I talking about yesterday... I walked into this job without any relevant experience, but I do think they were desperate for staff at that point so it was lucky timing for me   

£16,99 for a net of pretty stones?! Can you get some cheap gravel or slate to use on your ficus pots instead?? I'm guessing they would do the same job in covering the soil?? And definitely water from the bottom - I remember Dusty suggesting that for my tomato gnats.

It was me that mentioned the Winter Jasmine, twopenny. I've thrown the leaflet into recycling now, but they were £7.99 for a 3L fancy pot, I think?? This was Aldi.

We have Storm Ingunn roaring outside at the moment - heavy rain and 40-50mph winds. Oh joy...

twopenny

I think they make these names up Pops for fear of running out of them!

You can get a whole big sack of pretty pebbles for under a tenner from the builders merchant. Then get creative with the rest. 

Temperature's not making any great effort to move upwards as promised.
Dull grey skies predicted for the future. Just the level of grey varies 

Farway

Dull & grey here, dribbles of leftovers from Storm Ingunn rain arriving tonight, allegedly.

Good luck with the cuttings YBE, bound to be at least a couple that make it Shirley.

My T & M seeds are on the way, I think I am needing to have a seed sort out soon, maybe at least divvy up into veg & flower piles

I'll probably spark up the Excel Nerd mode and put the tomatoes into a spreadsheet, which I will fail to update come summer, relying on my superb non memory.

Today's other gardening, does unwrap & putting a pot of parsley from Asda greengrocer Dept into my conservatory for growing on count?

A bit of a cheat but a quick & cheap solution.

In other news, DGD is taking her pruning fruit tree practical exam. Including espaliers.

Now I know who I can get to help come Autumn. 

Could I entice her into the Dark Side of circles & bent down branches?