Taking Hardwood Cuttings From Shrubs

At that time use sharp clean pruners to take six inch long pencil diameter cuttings from vigorous shoots on the plants you want to propagate.

Taking hardwood cuttings from shrubs.

First always clean your pruners or knife with rubbing alcohol or 1 part bleach and 9 parts water to prevent the spread of disease. This method will not work with evergreen. But in a pinch hardwood cuttings can be taken anytime of the year. Plant cuttings are grouped into four basic categories.

Hardwood cuttings provide an easy and reliable method of propagating a range of deciduous climbers trees and shrubs and as bonus they are taken from mid autumn until late winter when more time is usually available to the gardener. Growing plants from cuttings is an excellent way to fill your garden with lush flowers herbs and other plants without spending any money. Alternately plants like begonias propagate nicely from leaf cuttings so a specific tutorial is best. If it is a tree or shrub that produces suckers from the stems or roots use the suckers for your cuttings.

Some plants such as half hardy perennials or tender shrubs may not make it through the winter so by taking cuttings you can ensure that you can enjoy them the following year taking cuttings in autumn is also a good way of increase your stock of your favourite plants. Then in autumn and early winter you can add hardwood cuttings to your bounty. In the old days gardeners propagated favorite shrubs by taking cuttings and sticking them in the ground. You can use hardwood cutting to grow most deciduous plants and trees although you may have success with strong evergreen varieties as well.

Start with cuttings from your plants or ask friends for their cuttings. Softwood greenwood semi hardwood and hardwood. Nature is a survivor. Hardwood cuttings are those taken from plants that are usually perennial including fruit plants trees climbers including vines and deciduous shrubs.

Some evergreen plants hollies for example can also be taken at the same time of year as other hardwood cuttings. Hardwoods are generally flowering plants such as rose bushes and softwoods are more often evergreen shrubs with softer branches. Depending on whether it s a softwood ripe wood or hardwood cutting there are a few different things to know. Hardwood cutting or hardwood propagating refers to the process of growing new shrubs or trees from segments of dormant branches typically in the fall or winter.

An example of a good plant for a hardwood cutting is angel s trumpet which produces trumpet shaped flowers that grow on vines. The point of taking hardwood cuttings in non growth periods is more to do with doing as little harm to the parent plant as possible. Hardwood cuttings are also only taken from shrubs bushes and trees that lose their leaves every year. In summer you can take cuttings from tender perennials and shrubs to propagate them.