Monty Don, the beloved host of Gardeners' World, has revealed what he considers the easiest plant to grow at home – and it's one you can eat. According to the gardening expert, rocket is probably the simplest plant to cultivate in any garden. Because it is a cut-and-come-again crop, you can enjoy fresh salad leaves throughout the entire growing season.
Why Rocket is Ideal for Beginners
With summer now officially here, it is the perfect time to enjoy delicious, wholesome salads. Instead of spending nearly £2 on a bag of rocket at the supermarket, Monty Don says you can grow your own for free. Returning to our screens at 8pm tonight on Gardeners' World, Monty describes rocket as 'probably the easiest of all plants to grow.' As a fast-growing cut-and-come-again crop, it allows you to reap rewards repeatedly.
Growing rocket from seed is remarkably straightforward. Monty explains: 'If you sow them direct you can leave them where they are. If you sow them in a seed tray you can prick them out and then plant them out about four or five weeks later at whatever spacing you want.' Most salad crops are equally easy to grow. He adds: 'If you want something to eat from your garden, that is certainly one of the easiest things you can do, and from that any kind of salad or lettuce grows very easily from seed.'
Rocket thrives particularly well in cooler conditions, making spring and autumn the most suitable seasons for growing it.
Propagation from Cuttings
While growing salad from seed is simple, Monty notes that propagating plants from cuttings is not as challenging as many assume. 'Cuttings are sometimes seen as something that can be a little bit tricky, but by and large they're not,' he says. For cherished plants, taking cuttings can serve as an 'insurance policy' should disaster strike. 'Just the other day I took a batch of salvia cuttings, and they are a really good idea to take because they root easily and they're an insurance. You keep the cuttings protected over winter and it means that if you lose the parent plant, you've got healthy young plants to replace them the next year.'
Aeoniums are among the simplest plants to propagate from cuttings. Monty advises: 'Simply cut a straight piece of stem with a rosette on the top of it, and then put it to one side and leave it for a week or so to callus over. Then put that into some perlite or even some pure sand, water it, and it will almost inevitably produce roots and a healthy young plant.' Aeoniums can reach heights of approximately 1.5 metres, featuring deep red-purple foliage and producing small yellow blooms in late spring.
Division as a Propagation Method
Another way to produce plants for free is by division. Monty recommends two plants in particular: hardy geraniums and hostas. Hardy geraniums have fibrous roots that can be simply pulled apart. 'You can take a large plant and divide it into as many as half a dozen or even 10 baby plants that you grow on, and that will give you really good coverage in a year or so.' For hostas, Monty advises cutting rather than pulling. A sharp spade or even a bread knife is all that's required. 'Cut them into quarters or even slice them like a cake, plant them out and you'll have lots of new hosta plants.'
