I EXPECT many people reading this will have just returned from their summer holidays in exotic and somewhat warmer climes.

In July I spent a week on the sub-tropical island of Fuerteventura and marvelled at the exotic plants luxuriating in the grounds of the hotel. Many were familiar houseplants such as croton, umbrella plant, parlour palm, various cacti and rubber plants. Most of the plants I saw, however, would now need a very big pot demonstrating what a difference ideal, year-round growing conditions can make. Contrast this with the conditions that our houseplants often have to put up with particularly cacti for whom watering can be a very sporadic affair.

Despite our lush surroundings, the rest of Fuerteventura is an arid wasteland in the summer and it made me think that no matter where you garden there will always be advantages and disadvantages to the site, whether climatic or otherwise.

In Fuerteventura most plants need to be irrigated and this is generally from waste water. Good gardeners understand their gardens and work with the conditions rather than against them but this is not to say that the needs of plants cannot be met by sensible reuse of valuable fresh water.

I have to say that the holiday did ignite a desire to grow more exotics but sometimes the same effect can be created using similar hardy plants, so avoiding the need for expensive heating through the winter.

In my garden, alongside a small patio I have a lovely specimen of the Chinese windmill palm which happily takes the worst of our North Yorkshire climate. Growing alongside it are a range of ferns, crocosmia and kiwi fruit providing a pseudo-tropical effect. I do have a few small, less hardy plants such as citrus and ginger lilies but these are grown in pots and over-wintered in a frost-free section of the greenhouse.

In the countryside the temperature is generally a few degrees lower than in the towns and cities but cold is not always the main issue with slightly tender plants. Wind scorch on evergreens and winter wet generally will often kill more plants than the cold. In more rural gardens it is important to identify any sheltered microclimates such as south-facing walls and use these to best effect.

Last year I grew quite a lot of plants from seed sent from specialist societies. Much of this seed is provided by like-minded enthusiasts who collect seed from their gardens. This is a surprisingly easy task and very rewarding.

Many spring flowering plants may well have already shed their seed but throughout the summer and autumn it is worth checking those plants that you want to propagate as they finish flowering. Named plants called cultivars will often not come true from seed but the variation that you get from seed-raised plants may well provide some interesting plants.

Seed usually should be collected when ripe and on a dry day. If you want to save the seed to sow in the spring it is vital that the seed is dry so that it doesn’t attract moulds. Seed can be dried in paper bags and then separated from chaff (other dead bits of the plant). Seeds in berries need to be separated from the berry, washed and dried before storage, paper towels are ideal for this.

The two most important criteria for then storing your seeds are a constant temperature (less than 10 degrees) and low humidity (less than 50 per cent). Seeds can be stored in the refrigerator, not the freezer, in an airtight container until you are ready to sow them. If it is not practical to store seeds in your refrigerator, store them in any place that is cool, dark and dry, whilst protecting them from insects and rodents as much as possible. Store the seeds in paper bags to allow good air circulation and prevent moulds, although seeds can be stored in plastic bags provided they are thoroughly air-dried first. Remember to include information about the seed especially the name of the plant.

If you have plants that you want to propagate from cuttings then the late summer offers a final chance to take softwood and semi-ripe cuttings. Less hardy plants such as salvias, penstemons and pelargoniums (‘geraniums’) are more easily over-wintered as small-rooted cuttings rather than lifting the whole plant. Softwood cuttings root readily when plants are growing actively and so it is always worth taking a few before the onset of autumn. Non-flowering shoots root best and for most plants the cutting should be taken immediately below a node, this is the point on the stem where a leaf arises. Softwood cuttings dry out quickly and so keep them in a plastic bag with a little moisture until you are ready to use them.

Hormone rooting compounds will often improve rooting but if you have a ten-year-old tin of rooting powder in the back of the potting shed throw it out and buy another, the active ingredient is only viable for one season. Another common issue with rooting powder is putting too much on the base of the cutting as this can inhibit rooting, only the smallest amount is needed.

Here at Craven College we are ready to start a new academic year with a wide variety of gardening courses in Skipton, Harrogate and Ripon. The RHS practical courses where students get to propagate a wide range of plants are always well received. Propagation is one of the most enjoyable and rewarding aspects of gardening that has the ability to enthral gardeners of all abilities.

A couple of events to look forward to in September are the Harrogate Autumn Flower Show from September 18 to 20 and the autumn plant fair at Harlow Carr next Sunday, September 6.