Back to Basic: Hardwood Cuttings

Here’s an easy, reliable, cheap way to grow more plants.

Propagating plants with cuttings is one of the easiest ways to grow new plants and increase your collection. There are different ways to propagate, but one of the simplest is using hardwood cuttings. These cuttings are taken in winter when plants are dormant, when they’re more resilient to weather changes. Hardwood cuttings grow reliably true to type, meaning there is no variation from the parent plant. No fancy greenhouse or shade house is required.

What you need:

• Sharp, clean secateurs
• Clean sharp, budding knife (or small kitchen knife)
• Methylated spirits
• Top quality potting mix
• Coarse river sand or grit or fine pea gravel 
• Vermiculite or perlite
• Terracotta or plastic pot
• Rooting hormone gel or powder

Here’s how:

STEP 1. Select healthy wood from the growth produced during the previous season, ensuring it's free from any pest and disease. It's best to choose wood from the lower section of the stem. Cut a segment ranging from 10-20cm in length, ensuring it contains at least two leaf nodes. The thickness of the stem should be of typical of the plant species: not too thick or thin.

Note: With frangipani, the cutting can be up to 2m in length! You will need to allow frangipani cuttings to dry out for up to three months and form callus before potting.

STEP 2. Dip secateurs in methylated spirits to avoid transfer of virus and disease.

STEP 3. Cut the base square, just below a node (a dormant bud swelling on the stem). Make the top cut on a slant about 1-2cm above a bud. Remember to note the cutting’s polarity—it’s essential to plant it with the correct end up.

STEP 4. Use a sharp knife to carefully slice a 1cm sliver along one side of the cutting from the base. This exposes the cambium tissue, promoting root growth.







STEP 5. Make your own propagation mix from equal parts top quality potting mix, coarse sand (grit or pumice) and perlite (or vermiculite). Alternatively, you can use a seed raising mix. For frangipani cuttings, use equal parts coarse sand and pumice.



STEP 6. Dip the base of each cutting into either rooting hormone powder or gel designated for hardwood cuttings. This will encourage good roots.



STEP 7. Fill your pots with propagation mix. Use a dibbler to make a hole in the centre of the pot; this will allow insertion of cutting without dislodging the hormone gel or powder.



STEP 8. Insert cutting, ensuring at least one bud is above the soil level, then firm around the cutting with your hands and water in. Water every few days to keep mix just moist.







STEP 9. Keep the pot in a shaded place or unheated greenhouse until the following autumn, ensuring that they do not dry out. Once cuttings have started to produce roots, you should individually pot up each cutting into its own pot.



Frangipani cuttings will often produce leaves and flowers 6-12 months before a root system develops.

Suitable candidates

Deciduous trees, shrubs and vines are perfect for hardwood cuttings: figs, grapevines, hydrangeas, mulberry, roses, waratahs and wisteria.