A month has gone by, and as we go into fall, the year-end result is coming into view. I did an inventory yesterday to get an idea of how many shoots will be ready to plant in February. You can see the new field behind me in the photo, 6000 square feet currently in a cover crop, and I need to know how much of it needs to be turned over and covered in landscape fabric next month. So I counted rods, only the pencil thickness or larger ones so I was very conservative. All the plants have some number of thin shoots, too flimsy to plant, so they'll get cut and composted. (Are there any uses for them? Tiny baskets maybe?)
Some as the varieties have done exceedingly well, with substantial, upright tall rods, but most of the purpurea varieties are short, thin and floppy. Many also have an annoying side growth habit that means they are lying in the walkway. I'm not cutting those til next season. I've noticed that the second year growth really strengthened several of my first year plants, at least the ones I got in the ground in time. So there are 6 varieties that fall into the ‘not yet’ category (and sadly, most are basketry favorites like Packing Twine and Dickie Meadows) I'm hoping that plan will allow me some more time to determine if they'll do well here.
Some as the varieties have done exceedingly well, with substantial, upright tall rods, but most of the purpurea varieties are short, thin and floppy. Many also have an annoying side growth habit that means they are lying in the walkway. I'm not cutting those til next season. I've noticed that the second year growth really strengthened several of my first year plants, at least the ones I got in the ground in time. So there are 6 varieties that fall into the ‘not yet’ category (and sadly, most are basketry favorites like Packing Twine and Dickie Meadows) I'm hoping that plan will allow me some more time to determine if they'll do well here.
 |
| All of the current plants are listed, with the number of plants that are viable or struggling. Available Rods times Length (in feet) gives the number of 12" cuttings to be planted. |
The varieties that excelled are typically other than purpurea, and are the varieties likely to do well for landscaping purposes. No problem there, since one of the first uses I have are living fences and structures on the property. Baskets will come later.
OK, now for the numbers - I have potentially 1100 cut rods for planting! That’s largely from the 170 first year plants; the best performers are averaging 3.5 useable rods per plant. Jaune de Falais, by itself, will yield 200 plants, from 11 originals. My second year plants are only producing about 100 of those starts; Those are my live-and-learn babies: get those cuttings in the ground asap! No more pots!
Of course, when February rolls around, things could be different. Late fall here is usually pretty warm and rainy, so more growth is still possible. It could also go the other way, some of these rods may not set buds, or other problem.
I’m planning for the best case, and it’s already about 10 times what I expected.