Comfrey cuttings

 I have several comfrey plants which seem to do very well in damp semi shaded areas of rough grass and nettles. The flowers attract bees (when the neighbourhood farmers haven’t killed them all with spray - our colony of mason bees have all disappeared the day after a neighbouring field was sprayed. Same thing has happened two years in a row).  I love the way that comfrey competes with the grass and nettles by putting on an early autumn spurt of new leaf growth which then dies with the first frost and flops to the ground smothering the surrounding competition. The dead leaves are robust and form a ‘mulch mat’ around the plant in the spring.

However the few comfrey plants are not increasing in number so I am using the autumn growth spurt to take cuttings. To create genetic diversity I take cuttings from different plants.

A growing tip with the lower leaves cut off seems ideal.

These go in a jam jar on a sunny windowsill for 4 to 6 weeks.

They are ready to plant out when new roots have started to form. Don’t worry if the  leaves are looking grey or spotted with mold - as long as there are roots they will do OK.

As the roots are use to being submerged in water keep them that way by putting the pots into a container of standing water.

Once the roots show at the bottom of the pot the plant can be planted into a larger pot to overwinter.

You will soon see a little new growth. I have done this once before and put the pots in the greenhouse over the winter as I thought that the cuttings would not be very robust, having only just rooted. However I am not sure if this is necessary.

So as an experiment this year I have taken 8 cuttings so I will leave half outside and half in the greenhouse over the winter to see if it is necessary to keep them sheltered.