At this time of year, propagation is high on the list of jobs to be getting on with. Hardwood cuttings are taken at this time of year from shrubs such as Cornus or dogwood, Cotoneaster, Forsythia, Physocarpus, Ribes or flowering currant, roses, Potentilla, deciduous viburnums like bodantense, opulus and juddii, fruit bushes such as red and white currents, gooseberries, barberry and blueberries.

To take a hardwood cutting couldn’t be easier, just cut straight stems of your chosen plants that are roughly the thickness of a pencil, make a sloping cut above a leaf joint at the top of the stem and a straight cut below a leaf joint at the bottom of the stem. This will ensure that you know which way up the cuttings will go. Once you have all your cutting material you need to cut them to size again with a sloping cut at the top and straight cut at the bottom ending up with your final cuttings about 6-8inches long.

Find an area of ground somewhere out of the way as these cuttings will be in the ground for 12 months then push your spade into the ground and then just rock it back and forth to make a small thin trench. Place some horticultural sand into the bottom of the slit and then push in your cuttings leaving about 2-3 inches out of the ground, slope cut above ground. Carefully firm them in so they are all held firm then label them as you will forget, keep weed-free so this time next year you will be able to lift them up and either pot them up or plant them straight out into the ground.

Another way to bulk up your stock is to take root cuttings and it's just as easy as taking a hardwood cutting but the plants used are perennials and not shrubs. Plants like oriental poppies, phlox, Japanese anemones and primula denticulata to name but a few are ideal candidates for root cuttings and if taken now you will be potting off new plants in the spring.

Carefully lift up the whole plant, taking care not to damage its roots. Wash the roots in clean water to remove any soil and using a sharp knife cut off 5cm lengths of healthy roots. When you have finished taking the cuttings you can replant the parent plant. Next, fill some pots with gritty compost and lay the root cuttings on the surface nicely spaced apart. Cover the root cuttings with a thin layer of compost, water well, label and place them in a cold frame or a cool place indoors. Don’t overwater or let them dry out and in spring you will be rewarded with lots of new plants.