It’s a snip
Taking hardwood cuttings is time well spent in winter. Get busy now and not only will you have beautiful plants but you’ll save pots of money too
Hardwood cuttings are taken in winter and mostly used to propagate deciduous woody plants while they are dormant. This is a cost-effective way to raise a large batch of plants to make a hedge, but it’s also handy for anyone wanting to produce free plants.
And if you’re moving house, it’s a great way to take plants with you without digging up the originals.
Making cuttings
Not all shrubs root well from hardwood cuttings. The most successful kinds include philadelphus, cornus, ribes, weigela, buddleja, berberis, sambucus, clerodendrum, hardy fuchsia and hydrangea.
You can also root bush, climbing and rambling roses – even though they are normally grafted – and soft fruit, including red, white and blackcurrants, gooseberries and blackberries.
Take hardwood cuttings at any time from leaf fall in autumn (November) to bud burst in spring (mid March). To find suitable material for making your cuttings, look for long straight shoots and trace them back down until you find a faint “ring” showing where last year’s growth ended.
Cut them off just below this point, using secateurs so the cutting has a small piece of older wood at the base.
Now shorten it to nine inches by snipping off the top to bring it to the right length, making the upper cut just above a leaf scar.
Trim the base of the cutting off immediately below the growth ring or a visible leaf joint, to make a cutting that should be about the length and thickness of a pencil.
Rooting cuttings in the ground
Choose a sheltered piece of ground with welldrained soil – perhaps in a nursery bed or the veg patch.
Work in some sharp sand and well-rotted organic matter, then prepare a slit trench by pushing a spade into its full depth and waggling it backwards and forwards slightly to create a V-shaped trench about eight inches deep. Then continue so it runs the whole length of your row.
Take the prepared cuttings, making sure they are the right way up. You could dip the bottom inch into a jar of rooting hormone, though it’s not essential. Then push them into the slit trench so that just the top inch is left showing above ground, spacing them about six inches apart.
Firm the cuttings in gently, using your foot, along each side of the row to close the trench around them. Label them, water them in and keep them well weeded.
Rooting cuttings in pots
Root hardwood cuttings into large pots to keep them portable if you are moving house or want to give them away without waiting for them to root.
Use pots at least eight inches deep and loosely fill to the rim with an equal three-part mixture of John Innes seed compost, multipurpose compost and potting grit. Push half a dozen cuttings vertically in around the sides of the pot. Water, label and stand in a cold frame or sheltered corner of the patio. Water whenever the compost starts drying out.
‘‘ You can root many plants including various roses and soft fruits
Aftercare
Hardwood cuttings take a long time to root. Some of the faster kinds may be ready to move a year later, while other slower types may need to be left until the spring after. Keep them watered and, when new leafy growth appears, nip out the very tip of the shoot to make the young plants branch out and grow into a better, bushier shape. It’s a long process but it’s definitely worthwhile.