How to propagate from a cytisus?

[karaman]

hallo,

my friend has taken a fancy to my yellowish-red-flowering cytisus. it really likes to be where i have put it and made a lovely show earlier this year.

now that flowering is over, thought i might take a cutting and pop it into a cutting compost. would this work or should i just buy one for her birthday?

thanks

karaman

[John McGaw]

With many plants softwood cuttings dipped in rooting hormone and planted in sterile potting mix is worth a try. It will either work or it won't but if it doesn't the effort and expense is minimal. If yours is the plant I'm thinking about it is usually a prolific seed producer and a fast grower, verging on the weedy, so there may be little to gain with anything beyond growing from seed.

For my own purposes I lean toward simply taking a dozen cuttings from a plant I like (sometimes I even ask first), dipping them, and stuffing them in a large pot of ordinary potting mix from the garden center, and then putting this out in the yard in a protected spot and letting it fend for itself. If after a year or two outdoors I have a few living specimens to use I figure that it is survival of the fittest.

Just my £0.02 worth, of course...

[karaman]

hi, thanks for reply, thats what i thought, just needed confirmation. will propagate now as it has finished its flowering period so best time is now i thinks.

thanks again

karaman