Learn to propagate hydrangeas from cuttings using these step-by-step instructions. You can root cuttings in summer or fall and grow them into new plants.
If you need pruning tips, see Hydrangea Pruning Guide for Beginners.
Grow Hydrangea from Cuttings
These step-by-step instructions show you how to propagate hydrangea by taking cuttings from a hydrangea plant and rooting them to grow new plants.
Contents
Getting Started
Summer is the time to take “softwood” cuttings to grow new hydrangea plants. As the stems mature, they are called ‘hardwood’. Either way, the propagation method is essentially the same.
Please don’t get hung up on the timing: you can root cuttings throughout the growing season.
To select softwood shoots for cuttings, try the bending test:
- New growth is too green and will bend but not break.
- Softwood will snap when bent. This is just right.
- Hardwood is too woody to snap. You can still propagate these as well.
Depending on the plant, you may choose lateral (side) or apical (main) shoots.
The cuttings should come from new growth (current year) on young and vigorous plants.
Because home propagating can be hit and miss, I like to take several cuttings to ensure I get at least one that thrives.
Here in Ontario, the cuttings taken in mid-July are quickest to root. But you can still take cuttings right through until fall, using anything from softwood to semi-hardwood or hardwood.
How to Propagate Hydrangea Cuttings
Supplies
- Clean pruners or snippers for taking cuttings
- Potting mix for container plants
- 6-inch (or larger) flowerpots with drainage holes
- Scalpel or other fine trimmer for final cuts
- Rubbing alcohol and lighter for cleaning cutting blades
- Protected work surface for preparing cuttings (the scalpel can leave marks)
- Rooting hormone powder
- Pencil or dibber to make holes in potting mix for cuttings
- Water
- Clear tote with lid to hold pots (tall enough to enclose pots with plants inside)
Step-by-Step Instructions
1Before You Take Your Cuttings
About Plant Patents
Some plants areย patentedย and asexual reproduction is not permitted without permission from the patent holder. Patents and trademarks are usually listed on plant tags.
Select your donor plant the day before you take cuttings and water the roots deeply if needed.
Take your cuttings in the morning when the plant is nicely hydrated.
Before taking any cuttings, get your pots and supplies ready. You should get the cuttings trimmed and planted immediately after removing them from the donor plant.
Cuttings do best with consistent moisture, so I prefer to use plastic rather than clay pots if I have some available, since clay dries out faster. But, if you can check on your plants every day, either will do.
Use pots at least 6-inches wide and deep. If youโre using wider pots, you can put several cuttings in each one.
Fill pots with potting mix made for container plants (no added fertilizer).
Gently press down the container mix (it tends to be a bit too fluffy) and top it up so itโs an inch below the lip of the pot.
In the photos here I initially set my pots in shallow tubs, but will ultimately set them in clear, deep totes with lids on.
Now youโre ready to take your cuttings.
Rooting Hardwood Cuttings
This video shows how I root hardwood cuttings. Itโs the same method, just done at a different time of year.
2Choose a Donor Plant
Hereโs my hydrangea. Itโs a fairly young plant. Ideally, the stems you use for cuttings are the thickness of a pencil or more.
Never take cuttings from a plant that is weak, unhealthy, or otherwise diseased. Healthy, robust plants provide the best cuttings.
3Cut Off Shoots
- Always clean and disinfect your pruners first. And repeat if you are taking cuttings from more than one plant.
- Use shoots that are as thick as a pencil or more (ideally) and do not have any flowers on them.
- Count 4 leaf sets (minimum) down from the tip of the stem to locate your cutting point.
- Cut ONE INCH BELOW the 4th leaf node (the bump on the stem just below the spot where the leaves meet the stem).
I didnโt have any shoots available that were pencil-thick, but they should still do fine. Because itโs still summer, there is time for the roots to form before winter.
Propagation Tip
If youโre too late for softwood cuttings, you can also root semi-hardwood and hardwood cuttings in late summer and fall. The method is the same as you see here. The difference is hardwood cuttings are tougher but can take longer to grow.
See the hardwood cutting propagation tutorial here for instructions.
4Trim Your Cuttings
I do not always cut my cuttings the same way because I like to experiment, but there is one basic formula that works well.
Start by looking at your cutting. Weโre going to remove most of the leaves. Thereโs a method to it, so keep reading.
In this next photo, the lower two sets of leaves (four leaves total) have been carefully removed with the scalpel. You can also pull them off by hand.
Itโs the nubs of the leaf nodes that grow roots so you want to be careful to leave them intact. By burying this cutting deeply in the potting mix, with rooting hormone on the nodes, weโll have a nice long root zone.
In addition to removing the lower leaves, you can now make a fresh cut RIGHT BELOW the lowest leaf node, removing that extra inch we allowed for with the original cut.
Next, we take care of the top of the plant. In this next photo, there are four leaves total. There are two lower leaves in a pairโweโre going to keep those leaves. If they are large, you can cut them with clean scissors, leaving just the lower half of each leaf.
Right above them is the newest growth: two more leaves and a tiny sprout. These get pinched off.
By pinching off the newest top growth, the plant will eventually produce side growth, so you donโt end up with a bean-pole of a plant.
If you would like to see another example, this article on softwood cuttings also has diagrams of each of the basic cuts.
Leaf Trimming
It’s common practice to cut the remaining leaves in half (from side to side) when propagating. The theory is that the plant will put more energy into rooting rather than hydrating the leaves. I did not do this for the photos but it is recommended.
5Rooting Hormone and Planting
With a quarter teaspoon of rooting hormone on a clean dish, dip/roll the lower two leaf nodes (where we removed the two pairs of lower leaves) in the powder and tap off excess.
Use a pencil to create a deep hole in the potting mix. Bury the cutting two leaf nodes deep.
If youโre using a smaller pot, put the cutting in the middle.
If you have a larger pot (8-inches or more), you can put up to 4 cuttings in, positioning them around the inner sides of the pot.
6Water and Care
During summer and fall, the ideal setting for encouraging root growth is to keep the cuttings in a clear, deep tote with a lid, out of direct sun.
You want a humid environment and even moisture in the growing medium.
If the underside of the pots receive heat (without any risk of drying out), the roots will form faster.
Itโs fine to keep the lid on and let the humidity build up in the tote until itโs time to get ready for winter.
What To Expect
Itโs hit and miss with homegrown cuttings. We have so much variation with the source plants, when and how we prepare the cuttings, and the conditions they are nurtured in that itโs hard to know why a cutting did well or not. Thatโs why I start several of each type, hoping for at least 1 good one, and perhaps several.
In the first week or so, your cuttings may slump over. If you prepared them properly (with the right cuts and rooting hormone) and they have humidity in the tote, they should revive. This can take a week or more.
Some cuttings look good the whole way along. Others may suddenly die. Just roll with it.
After several weeks, check for signs of new growth. Depending on how close we are to fall, you may see different things. The most obvious is new green growth up top. If you are using smaller pots, you may even see new root growth by the drainage holes. But either way, upper growth means the roots have expanded and your cutting is doing well.
Closer to fall (or in fall), the leaves may turn color. But as long as they are not brown and wilting, your cuttings are probably doing fine.
If I have room, I tend to hang onto the slower cuttings as well. If they still appear healthy, they may just take longer than the others. And sometimes, as in life, itโs the slower ones that end up being the best ones.
If you ever notice signs of diseaseโwilt, fungus, moldโabandon ship. Properly dispose of the plants, disinfect your supplies, and try again another day.
Storing Cuttings in Fall and Winter
How do I overwinter hydrangea cuttings?
What you do next depends on your situation. If you have a greenhouse, you can move the tote in there until spring.
Alternately, if thereโs enough new growth and you have at least 8 weeks before first frost, you can plant your cuttings in the garden or move them to a larger pot.
You can also overwinter the tote in a sheltered location in a shed or outdoors, by first getting the cuttings used to fall conditions (lid slightly off, outside).
If I donโt have totes available, I put the pots in a sheltered spot under a tree and cover them in deep straw.
Be sure the soil never dries out or freezes, and gradually reintroduce the cuttings to light and outdoor conditions as spring progresses.
Resources
Hydrangea | Genus: Hydrangea
Hydrangea Growing Tips
Flowering plants native to Asia and Americas
โข Hardiness Zones vary from 3 to 9
โข Morning and part sun
โข Soil: does not like to dry out
โข Fertilizer: Holly-tone by Espoma in spring only if required.
โข Propagation: How to Root Hydrangea Cuttings
โข Pruning: Need to prune depends on variety
โข Pink/Blue: See how color changes
Shop Online: Buy at Naturehills.com (US shipping)
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Propagation How-to Books
These are books I like for plant propagation tips and tutorials:
- AHS Plant Propagation | American Horticultural Associate
- Grow Your Own Gardenย | Carol Klein
- Plant Propagator’s Bible | Miranda Smith
~Melissa the Empress of Dirt โ
How to Propagate Hydrangea Cuttings
Equipment
Supplies & Materials
- 1 Hydrangea mature, growing in garden
Instructions
- Take cutting in morning when plant is well hydrated. Choose stemโpencil-thick or moreโwith at least 4 leaf sets (counting down from tip) and no buds or flowers. Clean cutting blades with rubbing alcohol before and after use.Cut one inch below 4th leaf set nodes (where leaves join stem).1 Hydrangea
- Use your cutting to create several plants. For each new plant you want a stem with nodes (leaves removed) and top stems with leaves (can be cut in half to reduce demand on plant).
- Dip stem in rooting hormone powder, tap off excess, and plant in potting mix burying bare nodes. It's fine to root several cuttings in one 8-inch pot, placing them around the edges.
- Water thoroughly and place in clear tote. Use lid or partial lid if humidity is low.
- Water as needed. Grow in warm, sunny location out of direct sun. Watch for signs of new growth in 4-6 weeks.
- Transplant to pots or plant in garden if enough time to establish more roots before winter.