How to Grow Hydrangeas From Cuttings
It’s very easy to propagate your hydrangeas and create more plants from the originals you’ve already grown in your garden – and I’ll show you how to do it with these easy steps.
When Should You Take Hydrangea Cuttings?
Many gardeners like to do this in the spring because the plant is just beginning to grow, it has lots of energy and new growth to grow. But you can already do this operation by early fall.
I like to do this early in the morning. It is very important not to approach your hydrangea in the middle of the day, because the sun will tire it out. So the best time to cut it is early in the morning. I know some other gardeners like to do this in the late afternoon if they’re not morning people, but I think early morning is best.
How to Take a Hydrangea Cutting
Here are the steps I took:
Step 1: Choose Stem
Choose the stem of the hydrangea. A very good hydrangea stem for cutting will be one that has not flowered and is still fresh green. It will not have that original woody base because the trunk will still be flexible and have new green growth.
Step 2: Cut It
Now, you’re going to cut. I like to cut off about 4 inches from the top. I know some people work too short, but for some reason, I seem to get better results when I’m at least 4 inches taller. Cut below a group of leaf nodes. You will strip or cut the first set of leaves.
Step 3: Trim the Leaves
You’ll keep those leaves, but you’ll cut them in half because you don’t want to take on that many leaves while propagating. Some people cut more leaves than that – they’ll shave (and in this next step too) – but I seem to have good luck when I only have a few sets of leaves. However, I trim them a little.
Step 4: Place the pieces in the water.
Make sure you put the cuttings in water because if you cut a whole bunch of them off and leave them all out of the water now, they will wilt several times. I think this delays the whole rooting process. So put these boys in the water.
How to Root a Cutting
Here are the exact steps I use:
Step 1: Prepare a Container
Get a container or some planting trays. Planter trays are great because they often have pre-drilled holes in the bottom, which is great.
You can use a plastic container, but make sure you have a drainage system. If you don’t have a drainage system, all that water will stay there, and it will kill those roots.
You can just take a container and place a small tray of seeds on top of some rocks or some perlite to give it a little height. Then, when the water comes out of there, it will go into the rocks at the bottom of the gap (if you don’t want to make those little holes).
You can also drill a whole bunch of little holes in the bottom of the plastic box.
Step 2: Add a Medium Vermiculite
What I’ll do is add some perlite. This is a product that helps you retain moisture in your pots. Since it maintains that moisture, it’s a good source for doing some of your cuttings. But I also use some vermiculite. I use half perlite and half vermiculite, but you don’t have to use half and half. You can just do all vermiculite, or you can do all perlite.
Both of these media are very “loose”: they are not tight. Sometimes people do this process using garden soil, and garden soil is very hard. Then the roots do not come out. Sometimes it experiences root rot before it has a chance to grow.
Some people like to use a loose potting mix, it’s completely up to you. Just don’t use a potting mix that contains too much fertilizer because sometimes the roots don’t like all that solid fertilizer.
Step 3: Add some water.
Make sure to water the medium first. Soak the medium, adding a little water, knowing that excess water will drain to the bottom.
Step 4: Use Rooting Hormone
Now that you have the medium nice and saturated, let it drain a bit and prepare the rooting hormone.
There are lots of different rooting hormones available at your garden center. Some people also like to use cinnamon or honey, but I find that the real rooting hormones you find at your garden centers work a little faster for me.
Spray the rooting hormone on a small piece of plastic, paper plate, or garden cuttings. You never want to dip your plant directly into a pot containing rooting hormone because this could infect it. A whole bunch of stuff you don’t want to put in a bottle will end up in there. So, spray the rooting hormone elsewhere to submerge the cutting.
Take a wet pad and dip it in the hormone. Then cut the leaves a little. Sometimes, if I cut the stem too long, I shorten it a little to make sure it has a new cut and doesn’t dry out.
Dip it in some water to make sure you have something to help the rooting hormone stick to. This will just start the rooting process.
Step 5: Place the pieces in the middle
Use your finger to make holes in the middle. Cut the pieces directly and cover them.
The medium should look like sand – very loose and not clumped.
Make sure there is enough space in the middle between your cuttings. You don’t want to have any type of mold problems.
Step 6: Cover it and place it in partial shade
Cover it – you want it to have a greenhouse effect. It is very important at this stage that you do not leave them in direct sunlight until your plants have matured. Place it in your garden or near your garage out of direct sunlight. It should be in partial shade or in a location that receives sunlight.
Step 7: Continue to moisten the medium
Make sure to keep the medium moist. I would go out every two or three days and just touch him. If it feels like it’s drying out, I’ll give it a shot of water and then make sure the bottom drains.
Usually, in about five or six weeks, you can start to see some of those nice, beautiful roots.
Step 8: Transplant
When you have some strong roots, you’ll transplant them into some other potting soil. Let them be a little stronger. Then place it in your garden at least six weeks before the ground freezes.little bit stronger. Then, put them in your garden at least six weeks before the ground freezes.
