How to propagate hydrangea cuttings

Cuttings are the easiest way to propagate hydrangeas of any kind. Lignified cuttings take root poorly, so it is better to use annual green shoots. In the article we will tell you in detail how to grow a spectacular hydrangea from a cutting.

Hydrangea can be propagated by cuttings both in spring and summer. But the most suitable time for this business is the middle of summer (shortly before flowering). Therefore, it is recommended to cut the cuttings from the bush at the moment when the buds have just begun to tie on the plant. But at the same time, it is important not to reach the lignification of the shoots, otherwise the cuttings will take root with difficulty.

Shoots are best cut in the early morning. So that they do not wither, keep the hydrangea cuttings in water until cuttings.

Any type of hydrangea can be propagated by cuttings: for example, ask your friends for shoots from your favorite variety of large-leaved hydrangea. But it is especially convenient to cut tree and paniculate hydrangeas when you want to form a tree or bush from them to your liking.

Timing of cuttings and types of cuttings

In late May - early June, the hydrangea is propagated by young growths - the green tops of the shoots. Such cuttings are called spring.

From mid-July, cuttings can be taken for propagation, in which the lower part of the shoot is already lignified, but not completely. These are summer cuttings.

It is easiest to root cuttings taken at the moment when the beginnings of buds appear on the tops. But you can’t pull until the shoot is completely lignified - rooting will go hard.

We plant hydrangea cuttings obliquely (45 °) in wet sand, immersing the lower part in the substrate by 2-3 cm.

After planting, spray the cuttings with clean water. Pay attention that their leaves do not touch the sand and each other.

We cover the cuttings with a bag or a glass cap, transfer them to a shady place where they will not overheat and dry out.

In normal summer weather (+20...+25 °C during the day and +18...+15 °C at night), hydrangea cuttings take root in about a month.

We plant the cuttings in individual pots with a mixture of garden soil, peat and sand (2: 2: 1) and continue to grow in a shady place.

Do not forget to regularly water the young plants, and dig the pots into the ground for the winter so that the roots do not freeze.

In the spring, the overwintered cuttings will grow, and you can plant them in a permanent place or in a garden bed for growing.

To get a lush bush branching from the ground itself, cut the seedling after planting by 2/3, if you need a plant with a small stem, leave it as it is.

Hydrangea arborescens forms root shoots, and, since it is now practically not propagated by grafting even in nurseries, coppice shoots of varietal plants retain all the signs of the mother plant.

If you need no more than two or three seedlings, then before taking cuttings, look in the ground and dig out a root located close to the surface. It can be divided into parts with 3-4 buds each and planted in pots, in a mixture of peat and sand (4: 1).