Growing shrubs and trees from cuttings is a surprisingly easy technique to master. With good tools and a little practice, it soon proves to be an economical and enjoyable way to propagate many woody stemmed plants.
A quick way to make cuttings the right length is to measure them out on the plant against a pair of standard secateurs.
Whether you want to raise a lot of deciduous plants or only one, propagating them from hardwood cuttings is usually a very successful method. The process is very simple, both to learn and to put into practice, and even brings rewards with rare or unusual shrubs.
If you see an attractive plant growing well in your area that you cannot find in a nursery, ask if you can take a cutting. If the right procedure is followed, the plant will not be defaced. Always check first that the plant is suitable for propagating in this way as other methods may prove more profitable in some cases.
Many plants from one source
The cuttings method is also very useful if you want to grow a large number of a particular shrub or tree. For example, if several shrubs are needed for a hedge, you can save the expense of buying them all. As long as time is not a problem, you could buy just one plant and take cuttings from it to propagate the rest.
Take cuttings in early autumn
You can start taking hardwood cuttings as soon as the new stems have become woody in early autumn. However, it will be less damaging for the parent plant if you take the cuttings during a frost-free spell in winter.
You can also take hardwood cuttings from stems pruned out of shrubs during the winter. However, cuttings taken then are best inserted in potting compost in a cold frame (protective outdoor box) or stored in bunches under cover, because they will be more vulnerable to frost and cold wind. Rooting will not begin until early spring, and the cuttings are unlikely to be ready for transplanting until the following autumn. However, this does not prevent long-term success with winter cuttings.
Choose annual shoots
Three-quarter-ripe stems that have developed during spring and summer are the most suitable to use for hardwood cuttings. They are easy to recognize by their older stems which are much darker and firmer and often less easy to root.
Dipping the basal end into a hormone-rooting preparation should result in faster and stronger rooting. When planted, only the top 'eye' should be visible above the surface of the soil.
However, the fast-growing poplars and willows (Salix) can root from old wood and will usually grow even if planted upside-down.
The angled cut
Each cutting should be approximately 20cm long (which is the length of an ordinary pair of secateurs), and should have about four or five buds. To lessen the risk of putting the cuttings into the ground upsidedown, cut them off straight at the top and angle them at the bottom. This angled end is also easier to push into the ground than a straight cut.
Always make the top immediately above a healthy `eye' or bud, cutting into firm wood. Use sharp, good quality secateurs to avoid tearing the bark, which is usually thin, and so damaging the eye.
Rooting indoors
Rooting can be started indoors during the winter. Deep window boxes or pots are ideal for this. Fill them with a mixture of equal parts of good potting compost and gritty sand.
Set the cuttings into the mixture 2-3cm apart, so that only the top `eye' is visible. Roots will eventually form lower down on the stem. Place the window boxes in a warm location. Keep the soil moist, but avoid over-watering.
After a few weeks, the cuttings will produce their first leaves. When these show, carefully lift out one or two cuttings. If they have good roots, lift and carefully separate the remainder and plant them in pots. Plant out into the garden after 1-2 years' further growth.
Hardwood cuttings can also be propagated by placing them in water. When using this technique, remove them and plant them in pots as soon as the first roots have formed. If the cuttings are left in water for too long, the new roots become brittle and are then slow-to become established and to develop a strong root structure in the compost.