OCTOBER 2025

As gardeners you may think that winter is the time to start thinking about next year’s garden and planning the jobs ahead. Certainly it always feels like there is a little more time on hand, and if the weather is abysmal outside then it’s a good excuse to find somewhere warm to get things organised.

However there are a few jobs that need to be done now in preparation for next year; these are seed collecting, the taking of cuttings, and for some plants the sowing of seeds.

As we have the Propagation Course at the end of this week it seems an apt time to take a look at these tasks.

Let’s start with seed collecting. If you’ve been dead-heading your herbaceous plants regularly through the summer then you may not yet have too many seeds , but chances are that a few flowers will have gone to seed, and their heads/pods are now turning brown, becoming drier and more crispy. These are what you want to start harvesting into paper bags or trays all the while making sure they stay dry- any dampness will likely cause the seeds to rot, and may also cause the seed coatings to break down, which will impede their viability.

Once labelled and placed in their packets store them in the dark till needed in a dry, cool place. Don’t feel you need to replicate the sub-zero temperatures of the Millennium Seed Bank most seeds will maintain their growing capabilities when stored between 2-10°C, a cool room temperature. 

There are a wide variety of seeds to search out, and shown below are a selection of different herbaceous seeds to look out for:

Dianthus carthusinorum, Zinnia, Scabious, Salvia, Echinacea.

There are of course plenty of others.

If you collect seeds from half-hardy annual plants such as Tagates then hang onto these over the winter and sow them as the first weeds of spring start to appear in the garden, and the soil begins to warm.

Some tree and shrub seeds will be ready for collection now, Chestnuts for example. Others such as Roses will require a little more time for ripening, and some will require several weeks in a fridge or cold garden spot to kick-start their growth.

Many hardy herbaceous perennial plants can be sown now as they will survive the winter in a sheltered place and produce stronger, larger plants next year. This is of course dependant on your available spare space to be able to find them a covered spot to overwinter either indoors or outside. Cornflowers do particularly well by this method, but Delphiniums also respond well and this year we could end up with 80 pots of Delphiniums ready for planting out in spring.

Finally to cuttings; whilst the temperatures are still friendly take the opportunity to take cuttings of plants that may be borderline susceptible to the cold, e.g. Rosemary,Sage, and of plants that you want greater numbers of for next year. At this time of year you’ll most likely be taking semi-ripe stem cuttings where the stems have become less springy and flexible, and the cells are a little older. Therefore reduce the number of leaves of each cutting in order to reduce the surface area from which moisture might be lost, and keep the top growth well humidified by for example, covering with a plastic bag.

Find a sheltered or indoor spot for the cuttings keeping the soil moist, and as the roots develop move them into individual pots, then plant them outdoors in spring when the weather has warmed. 

I give the above advice in general terms to cover a range of plants, but I would recommend seeking out a book on propagation if you would like more detailed and specific advice for a particular plant. Plants have developed numerous ways to repopulate themselves and there are many techniques worth trying out. 

Just remember to get those seeds and cuttings done in the next weeks for plenty of free plants next year.