Late autumn is the ideal time to take hardwood cuttings. It’s an easy, reliable way to propagate fruit bushes, shrubs like roses, dogwood and buddleia, and deciduous trees and hedges. Get your cuttings off to the best start with our detailed guide!
Hardwood cuttings are an exercise in patience. Unlike softwood and semi-ripe cuttings that can root in just a few weeks, hardwood cuttings take months, and it’s best to wait a full year before transplanting them from a pot or temporary bed into their final home. The good news is that hardwood cuttings are easy to take, require little care and are usually successful.
What plants can you take hardwood cuttings from?
Plants that grow well from hardwood cuttings include:
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Deciduous shrubs, including buddleia, dogwood (Cornus), roses, forsythia, viburnum, and mock orange (Philadelphus). You can take hardwood cuttings from hydrangeas, but semi-ripe cuttings usually root better.
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Deciduous trees like willows, elders and poplars, as well as fig and mulberry trees.
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Climbing plants, such as honeysuckle, Virginia creeper and jasmine.
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Fruit bushes, including blackcurrant, redcurrant, blueberry and gooseberry bushes, and grapes.
When to take hardwood cuttings in the UK
You should take hardwood cuttings between mid-autumn and late winter, when plants are in their dormant state. The ideal time is just after leaf fall in autumn or before new buds burst in spring, but as these can be busier periods in the garden, you may prefer to take advantage of a bright winter’s day to take cuttings, as long as the weather isn’t too cold – it’s best to avoid periods of hard frost.
How to take a hardwood cutting
Follow these steps to grow plants successfully from hardwood cuttings.
Step 1: Cut a long, woody stem
You want to take hardwood cuttings from the current year’s growth. Select healthy shoots that are about a pencil-width in thickness. Avoid spindly or trailing shoots. Use sharp secateurs to cut straight across the stem, just above a leaf node. Remove the soft growing tip. You can take multiple cuttings from one long stem.
Step 2: Prepare your cutting
Trim your cuttings to lengths of around 20 cm. Make the top cut just above a node (leaf bud) and cut at an angle, so water can run off. This also helps you differentiate between the top and bottom of the cutting. Make the bottom cut straight across the stem, just below a node.
Due to cell polarity, the plant “remembers” which way is up and down and will want to produce roots from the bottom and shoots from the top of a cutting. It’s not impossible for a cutting planted upside down to root, but to give your cuttings the best chance of thriving, plant them the right way up!
Step 3: Dip cuttings in rooting powder
Hormone rooting powder isn’t essential, but it can help roots to form. Dip the bottom of the cutting into the rooting powder before planting it in the ground or a pot. If you don’t have any rooting powder, don’t worry – most hardwood cuttings will root without it.
Step 4: Insert cuttings into a trench or pot
You can let hardwood cuttings take root in the ground or in a pot. The method you choose will depend on the space you have available, how many cuttings you’re taking and the plant you’re trying to propagate.
If you have space to grow your cuttings in the ground, this is the easiest method, as you don’t have to remember to water or care for pots. Dig a narrow trench in a sheltered part of your garden that’s almost as deep as the cuttings are long. You can add a layer of sand or grit at the bottom of the trench to help with drainage, but this may not be necessary depending on your soil. Place the cuttings in the trench around 4–6 inches apart and backfill, so the cuttings are buried two-thirds deep, with a couple of buds showing above the surface.
If you only have a handful of cuttings or you don’t have space to dig a trench outside, you can plant them in a deep pot. Fill the container with cutting compost or a mix of grit and multi-purpose compost (equal parts) and insert the cuttings, leaving a section with a couple of buds showing above the surface.
Some plants, including dogwood and laburnum, are slow to root. You can give these cuttings a head start by planting them in a pot or planter of moist sand over the winter. Plant them out in a trench, as outlined above, in early spring.
Ongoing Care
Hardwood cuttings take a long time to develop sufficient roots to plant out. Shoots should appear on your cuttings in the spring, but leave them in the ground or pot until the following autumn, when you can lift them and plant them in their final positions.
If you’ve planted cuttings in pots, keep them in a cold frame or frost-free greenhouse over winter. Water the pot occasionally to make sure the compost doesn’t dry out. If you don’t have a suitable location to store them, keep them in a sheltered spot and use a cloche to protect the cuttings during cold periods.
FAQ
What’s the best time to take hardwood cuttings?
The ideal time to take hardwood cuttings is shortly after a deciduous plant has lost its leaves in autumn or just before new buds break in spring. However, you can take a hardwood cutting at any time over winter, as long as you avoid periods of hard frost.
What are the best plants for hardwood cuttings?
You can use hardwood cuttings to propagate deciduous shrubs and trees, including roses, dogwoods, buddleias, forsythias, viburnum, willow and hawthorn. Hardwood cuttings also work well for fruit bushes and trees, including currants, gooseberries, fig, mulberry, and grapes. You can also try taking hardwood cuttings from certain climbing plants, including jasmine, honeysuckle and certain vines.
What’s the difference between hardwood and softwood cuttings?
You take hardwood cuttings from woody stems when a plant is dormant in autumn or winter. Softwood cuttings are taken from new, green shoots in spring and early summer. Softwood cuttings are fast to root and you can use them to propagate many perennial plants as well as deciduous shrubs. Hardwood cuttings take longer to root, but they’re easy and low maintenance.
