If you'd like to learn how to propagate plants then starting out by propagating hydrangeas is an excellent way to learn.
Hydrangeas are very easy to start from cuttings. And contrary to popular perception, hydrangeas do not require a greenhouse to start
them. As long as you have a pot of soilless potting mix handy, you're already well on your way.
What You Need
We propagate our hydrangeas in one gallon nursery pots, but any similar patio garden container will do. You'll also need enough soilless
potting mix to fill the pot or patio container. And make sure that your potting mix is moist. Nothing will prevent your hydrangeas from
rooting more than a container of dry potting mix. A pair of professional bypass pruners would come in handy, especially if you plan to propagate
more plants in the future, but hydrangea cuttings can just as easily be taken with a pair of sharp scissors. The only other thing you'll need
is about 30 minutes of your time.
Best Time To Take Hydrangea Cuttings
We've found that the best time to take cuttings of hydrangea is late spring to early summer. You can technically take hydrangea cuttings any
time during the growing season, but getting your hydrangeas rooted early in the season gives them more time to develop a larger root mass better able to
withstand their first winter.
Preparing for Hydrangea Propagation
The hydrangea cuttings will need a moist, firm bed of soilless medium to be stuck in. Go ahead and fill your pot or patio container with
your soilless mix. Fill it all the way to the top and then stick your hand inside and press lightly to help it settle in the pot. Once
that is done, you're ready to take your hydrangea cuttings.
Hydrangea Cuttings
Now grab your bypass pruners or scissors and head on out to your hydrangea bush. If your hydrangea bush were a plant specifically for
taking cuttings, you could take as many cuttings as you wanted. But more than likely you're going to be taking cuttings from a plant in
your yard. Maybe right in front of your home.
If that's the case, step back away from the plant for a moment and look at your hydrangea. Notice the overall shape. You may find some
branches that have grown a little longer than all of the others. These branches are prime candidates for practicing propagation.
Go ahead and cut these branches back to the same length as all of the other branches. This will give you some cutting stock to practice with.
Once you have cut the branches from the mother plant, keep them out of the direct sun as much as possible. It wouldn't hurt to go ahead
and mist the branches after they have been cut with the garden hose before you actually start working with them. Now it's time to find
a place, out of direct sun, to make your individual cuttings.
Taking Individual Cuttings
A potting bench would make an excellent plant propagation workbench. But a kitchen sink will work just as well. Take a moment to
briefly inspect one of the branches you cut from your hydrangea. You'll notice a slight swelling on the stem where each leaf actually
meets the stem. This is called the leaf node. For hydrangeas, like many other plants, you will cut directly beneath the leaf node for
each individual cutting. Your individual hydrangea cuttings should be approximately 6 inches to 8 inches in length. So starting from
the top end of your branch, measure 6-8 inches, find the nearest leaf node to your measurement and then cut right below that leaf node.
The next cutting will be the same. Measuring from your last cut, 6-8 inches, from that measurement find the nearest leaf node, cut
directly below the leaf node. Continue these steps until there is no stem left. If your last cutting on each branch has some stem left below
the bottom leaf node, go ahead and cut right below that leaf node to remove that piece of stem. If your last hydrangea cutting is shorter than
6-8 inches and has at least one set of leaves, you can go ahead and use that cutting too. It will just start out as a smaller plant
than the rest after it roots.
Sticking Your Hydrangea Cuttings
Now it's time to stick your hydrangea cuttings. Grab your pot or container of soilless mix and set it in front of you. Grab all of your
individual hydrangea cuttings and place them beside your container of soilless mix. Pick up one of your hydrangea cuttings. It should
still have 2 or 3 sets of leaves (maybe even 4) on the stem. The lower leaves have to be stripped from the stems. Otherwise they would
just rot in the soilless mix once they are stuck and adversely affect the rooting process. Making sure your cutting is right side up,
leave the top set of leaves as they are and strip the bottom leaves off. This can be done easily with hydrangeas by circling your index
finger and thumb around the stem directly below the top set of leaves and running your fingers down the stem. The lower leaves should
snap right off. Once you have done this with all of your individual cuttings they will be ready to stick. Simply stick the cuttings
into the soilless mix until the top leaf node of each cutting is a few inches from the top surface of the soilless mix. It doesn't have
to be perfect. Just try to space the cuttings around the interior of the pot as evenly as you can. You don't want two cuttings touching
each other down in the soilless mix and thus competing with each other. Once all of your cuttings are stuck, give the whole container of cuttings
a good soaking of water. If you have a garden hose attachment that has a mister then go ahead and mist all of the leaves also.
Caring For Your Hydrangea Cuttings
After your hydrangea are stuck and watered in thoroughly, just place them in a heavily shaded location out of direct sun. You can hide
them behind the hydrangea mother plant if you want, but not somewhere where you might forget about them. Just make sure they don't get
any direct sun while they are rooting. Keep the soilless mix moist at all times, but not soaking wet. If you have pets, make sure not to place your
hydrangea cuttings where they may spray them. Your hydrangea cuttings should start rooting within a month. As long as your rooting
container isn't too deep you can usually tell when they have rooted by examining the drain holes of the container. Once you see white
roots exiting the drain holes you'll know for sure your hydrangea cuttings have rooted and are growing nicely. When you see these roots
you can start feeding them lightly.
