Here’s my hydrangea. If the soil is heavy mix in perlite or coarse sand with compost or peat moss and add a 2.5 – 5 cm (1in -2in)layer at the bottom of the trench. She does not know the exact name/variety of the hydrangea, but my guess is it may be a limelight or something similar since it is white/cream in colour and turns green later in the season and dries beautifully. (Answer) Hydrangea panticulata ‘Limelight’ can be propagated from softwood cuttings taken in the summer or from hardwood cutting taken in the winter. Choose a Donor Plant. There are two types of cuttings to start shrubs, bushes and trees — hardwood cuttings and softwood cuttings. I determine a stem’s maturity by taking it in my hand and bending it. Use a sharp knife to cut just below a leaf joint and remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting. Hydrangea panticulata ‘Limelight’ can be propagated from softwood cuttings taken in the summer or from hardwood cutting taken in the winter. Tamp down with your foot and water and weed as required. As we are taking the cuttings near as possible to the longest day of the year the hydrangeas are usually in full flower. These phrases refer to the state the wood of the plant is in. Or you can do hardwood cuttings in late winter/early spring. Enjoy double the fruits on one tree, with a selection of grated duo fruit trees, ideal for smaller gardens. Getting cuttings through the first winter without a greenhouse is the hardest part of starting new hydrangeas from cuttings. How to take cuttings from cactus and succulents. Take softwood cuttings in spring. Dig a trench about the depth of your spade in an area sheltered from wind. Providing bottom heat with a heating pad promotes rooting. Select healthy growth on your hydrangea between 3 and 5 inches in length. In spring and early summer. If you are unsure as to the variety of hydrangea you can check descriptions on the site below: https://www.hydrangeashydrangeas.com/identify.html, 777 Lawrence Avenue East Toronto, ON, Canada M3C 1P2 | Phone: 416-397-1345, Copyright © Toronto Master Gardeners 2019, Gardening Guides provide introductory information on a broad range of horticultural topics. Take softwood cuttings from your ornamental shrubs and woody herbs, and you can boost stocks for free. If the stem is still too green, it will bend but not break. Pink Diamond Hydrangea is very easy to propagate. It’s a fairly young plant. The Hydrangea cuttings should each have at least 3 sets of leaf nodes – see photo above. Cuttings that come to the surface due to frost action should be pushed back down. Softwood cuttings treated with rooting hormone will root readily in a sand:peat medium but must be carefully … While they like a moist soil, if the soil is heavy you may have to monitor water to ensure that they do not become waterlogged as it may lead to root rot. Those 12 plants will yield thousands and thousands of cuttings! In this short video, Gardeners’ World expert David Hurrion shows you which stems make the best cuttings, how to prepare and plant them, and which type of compost and pots to use: Remove shoots, longer than the finished cutting, just above a leaf on the parent plant. The hardwood cuttings that we stuck in December were well rooted by June. The following method is the one I use regularly with good success: Fill one or more 20 cm (8 in) deep pots (the pots need to be deep enough to accept the full length of the cutting stem), with one part sterile … You may wish to dip the base of the cutting in hormone rooting powder, tapping off any excess. It is easiest to propagate hydrangeas using a softwood cutting vs. a hardwood cutting because rooting usually occurs faster therefore it is the recommended practice. Off to the right you can see some Emerald Green Arborvitae sneaking into the picture. You can do Softwood Cuttings in late spring or early summer. 1. The hydrangea shoots (pictured above) are perfect. Prepare greenwood cuttings as you would softwood cuttings, but make them a bit longer, generally 7.5-12.5cm (3-5in) long. Be very careful not to scratch or damage the main stem. How to take hydrangea cuttings. Select from cherry, apple, pear and plum bare-root trees. Softwood cuttings are a good choice because the stem is not too young and prone to drying out yet not as tough and slow-growing as a hardwood cutting. New growth that is still pliable and has not yet developed a bark exterior is called softwood. Place cuttings in a warm position, out of direct sun, to root. These are taken a little later in the season than softwood cuttings, usually from late spring to mid-summer. Glossy green foliage then follows turning to shades of purple before falling in autumn. Watch this expert video guide from the RHS on how to make more plants for your garden by taking softwood cuttings from plants such as penstemon and hydrangea Hardwood cuttings are more commonly used for propagating trees and shrubs. There are several methods of taking Hydrangea cuttings. When to Take Softwood Cuttings. Growing shrubs from hardwood cuttings is one of the simplest and most inexpensive ways to propagate shrubs. As the soft leaves are quite tender, care must be taken to keep them from drying out. Hydrangeas also do well as a hardwood cutting taken during winter. You can transplant the best rooted cutting the following spring or autumn. 3 Easy Ways to Propagate Hydrangeas. 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