February gardening diary: take root cuttings
You can still take root cuttings from herbaceous perennials


It's not too late to take root cuttings of herbaceous perennials, perhaps when the plant is being moved. Sea hollies are ideal for this treatment. Lift the plant with care and put it on a bench. Work some of the soil away and admire the thick, whitish roots. Remove two or three of these. Cut them into 2in lengths, remembering which end is which, and insert them the right way up into pots of sandy compost. Label and place outside. In due course, new shoots will appear and they can be potted up. The same goes for oriental poppies. SCD
* Follow Country Life on Twitter
* Subscribe to Country Life and save
Exquisite houses, the beauty of Nature, and how to get the most from your life, straight to your inbox.
Country Life is unlike any other magazine: the only glossy weekly on the newsstand and the only magazine that has been guest-edited by HRH The King not once, but twice. It is a celebration of modern rural life and all its diverse joys and pleasures — that was first published in Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee year. Our eclectic mixture of witty and informative content — from the most up-to-date property news and commentary and a coveted glimpse inside some of the UK's best houses and gardens, to gardening, the arts and interior design, written by experts in their field — still cannot be found in print or online, anywhere else.
-
A Hampshire Manor for sale that dates back to the days of Alfred the Great, with the most beautiful staircase we've seen in years
The ten bedroom property features an indoor swimming pool, jacuzzi, spa complex and stables, and it was restored by the same architect who worked on Downing Street.
-
The last miracle of St Boswell? How a Scottish potato field became the world's least-likely producer of sparkling wine
The country has produced its first ‘champagne’ after its producers, Lorna and Trevor Jackson, planted 1,000 vines nine years ago on their farm in St Boswells.