How to Take Hardwood Cuttings
If you love a particular shrub in your yard, why not have more of it? Given the right conditions, many plants will root from stem cuttings in spring or summer, or in winter from pieces of root.
- Excerpted from How to Grow Practically Everything
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Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited
It can take two or three years for a shrub grown from a cutting to reach flowering size, so take a few each year for a constant supply of new plants. If you don't have room for them yourself, your gardening friends will appreciate a gift.
These are the easiest cuttings to grow, but you need patience, as rooting can take more than a year. Find a sheltered spot where the cuttings won't be disturbed. Use this method for deciduous shrubs, trees, roses and fruit.
Suitable Plants
boxwood
butterfly bush
deutzia
dogwood
elder
forsythia
flowering currant
mock orange
rose (including bush types)
spirea
viburnum
weigela
willow
Take a Healthy Stem
In autumn, select straight stems, about the thickness of a pencil and with plenty of buds, taken from the current year’s growth. Strip off any leaves and side shoots. You may be able to take several cuttings from a single stem.
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley LimitedCut Into Sections
Make individual cuttings about 10 inches long. Cut straight along the bottom just below a bud, and make a slanted cut above a bud at the top. The cuts differentiate the top from the bottom, and allow you to plant the right way up.
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley LimitedPlant in Ground
Make a narrow V-shaped trench by inserting a shovel about 8 inches in the soil and pushing it forward. Insert cuttings 6 inches apart, leaving a few buds above the surface. These will form the branches of the new shrub. Firm lightly, label and water.
Enlarge Photo+Shrink Photo-DK - How to Grow Practically Everything © 2010 Dorling Kindersley LimitedExcerpted from How to Grow Practically Everything
© 2010 Dorling Kindersley Limited
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Given the right conditions and care, plants can be rooted from stem cuttings in spring or summer.
How to Take Root Cuttings
Given the right conditions, plants can be rooted from stem cuttings in spring or summer, or in late winter from pieces of root.
How to Take Softwood Cuttings
Given the right care, plants can root from stem cuttings in spring or summer.
See Also:
From our Sister Sites:
- How to Propagate with Hardwood Cuttings (from HGTVGardens)
- Road Trip: Take an Amble to the Frederik Meijer Gardens and Sculpture Park (from HGTVGardens)
- How to Create a Butterfly Garden (from HGTVGardens)
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