With the generous support of The Finnis Scott Foundation, the Gardens have been working behind the scenes to create a new designated propagation facility in our Subtropical House, providing a controlled environment to propagate, grow and safeguard our plants and the living collections for generations to come.

This exciting new project has enabled our Horticultural team to propagate and ‘back up’ plants from our living collection including Aglaonema commutatum, Tibouchina orvilleana, Thevetia pulvinata and more! If you’re visiting the Gardens soon you may even spot our waterlily (Victoria cruziana) on display in the Propagation Case that our Horticultural team have grown from our own seed.

As part of the project we have welcomed community groups to take part in Propagation in Action workshops delivered by our Senior Horticulturist, Bethan. Sessions involved propagating plants from the Subtropical House by taking softwood cuttings which were potted and displayed in the Propagation Case and using a propagation technique known as ‘Rhizotron’, which involves taking cuttings and placing the cut stem into a potting mix in a petri dish so that the roots can be observed.

Our new propagation facilities will be essential as we progress with our major restoration project: Growing Our Green Heritage. With the entire historic glasshouse estate ‘at risk’ and in need of urgent extensive repairs to preserve them and provide appropriate environments for the living plant collection, these new propagation facilities are essential in ensuring the propagation and survival of our living collection, especially plants that are vulnerable, rare, and critically endangered in the wild.