Kitchen Garden Forum

I planted my new blackcurrant bushes a few weeks ago and cut them back to 2" above the ground - Not being one to throw anything away I put the resulting cuttings - all about 8-10" long in a glass of water on the kitchen window ledge and to my amazement every one of them has sprouted a fine mass of roots. What now? pot them up in the cold frame? will they be hardy after life on a warm window ledge? Are these roots going to be 'soft' and break if I pot them up?

I too had a handful of good cuttings when pruning my new blackcurrant last week. I put mine in a pot of compost in the greenhouse (unheated except on very frosty nights). They look alive and well, and if they strike I'll plant them out in a few months time. I've never tried rooting them in water, but my guess is they would thrive in pots of compost for a while (more nutritious than plain water), then go ahead and plant them out when the weather is good.

this happened to me too! i used the pruned branches as supports for my sprouting broccoli and noticed the other day that the buds were looking rather healthy. I guess they're putting down roots, so thanks for that advice, I'll pot them up at some stage.