Spring

Although it isn't here yet, it's warming up in Texas and the growing season starts soon. Yesterday I took about 25-50 olive cuttings off of some of the trees outside, and thats about a fifth of the number of cuttings that are still to be taken. The cuttings are about 2-3 inches long and are in their little hot house at the moment. Although cutting should have been done later, I did it now to really experiment with this species, and again, ive got about 100-200 more cuttings to take around March 22, when spring begins. These are all placed into a commercially available hot-house propagation center and in a soil mix of 1 part perlite and one part peat moss. These should do relatively well placed in a shady spot. Also, I have been witnessing the wonderful powers of the ficus, as I have been taking cuttings all of winter and fall, each of which has rooted except one. All of these have been hydroponically rooted (in water, with no rooting Hormone) and although I have been told they root more quickly in soil, I love watching the roots develop. The development is quite incredible and ill have pictures up soon about that. Again, Spring is coming soon, and I've got quite a few plants to work on and I'm feeling very happy.