Martin Fish on multiplying your deciduous shrubs
Get lots more plants for free by taking hardwood cuttings
Taking hardwood cuttings is a simple and easy way to propagate a wide range of plants, including many deciduous shrubs such as forsythia, deutzia, philadelphus, roses, ribes and many more. They can also be taken to increase your stock of fruit bushes such gooseberries and currants, as well as vines and fig.
Hardwood cuttings are taken when the plant is dormant, usually between the end of November and March, although for best results I prefer to take them this side of Christmas to give them plenty of time to root. Traditionally, the cuttings would be inserted outside in rows and left to grow until next autumn, when they would be lifted. This method works very well, but it does take up space in the garden for a full year.
Where you only want a few cuttings of each plant, I prefer to root them in deep pots in a cold greenhouse or polytunnel where they’ll get a little protection from extreme weather conditions.
Taking hardwood cuttings is very simple and all you need is healthy, current season’s growth that has turned woody. Some books say that the cuttings should be pencil thickness, but don’t worry too much as some shrubs are always going to be thicker and some thinner. The important thing is that the cutting material should be no more than one year old. To prepare the cutting, make a straight cut immediately below a bud at the base of the cutting and a sloping cut away from the bud at the top. The length of the cuttings can vary between 20-25cm (8-10in) depending on the wood.
Once prepared, insert the cuttings half to two-thirds their depth into pots of gritty compost, individually or several cuttings around a large pot. Keep the compost moist at all times and in spring the buds at the top of the cutting should start to grow, indicating roots have formed.