Hydrangeas are one of the most popular and long-awaited flowers whenever the warm months arrive. Its flowery massifs are of beauty difficult to match and are always the center of any garden, terrace, or space.
Due precisely to this popularity it enjoys, it is very common to look for ways to reproduce hydrangeas in order to share or expand the beauty of this plant. The best way to do it, or at least the fastest and easiest way, is by cuttings. So, if you want to learn how to make hydrangea cuttings, you just have to keep reading this article.
How to make hydrangea cuttings step by step
Follow these steps to make hydrangea cuttings :
- As always, the most basic and important thing you should do is get some good pruning shears or a knife if your plant is not very big. In any case, the tools must be very sharp to make a clean cut, and it is vital that you disinfect them very well before you start and when you finish cutting cuttings on each plant.
- Once the tools are ready, the important thing is to choose the right stems for the cuttings. Choose a branch that has at least three nodes and has new buds. If your hydrangea does not have any branches that you like to cut with three nodes and you cut a larger one, leave only three nodes when cutting.
- Always make an oblique cut , so that the wound does not accumulate dirt and closes better.
- Once you have your cutting cut, you need to prepare it. Cut all the leaves from the last knot and cut the number of the others in half. Thanks to this, the new plant will not lose so much water through evaporation in its leaves and it will be easier for the new plant to become strong in its first days. Now the cutting is ready to be planted.
When to plant hydrangea cuttings
Before starting the process of cutting hydrangea cuttings and planting them, the first thing you need to know is when it is best to cut them, so that you can plant it quickly, as the cutting cannot be kept separately for more than a few days.
Hydrangeas are plants that grow during all the warm months, from spring until the cold arrives in autumn, therefore, it is not a good idea to practice pruning the cuttings in these months: the plant is too active and would lose a large amount of sap, nutrients, and energy from the wound. Thus, the best time to cut and plant the cutting will be either in winter or in the second half of autumn, when the plant is in a state of vegetative rest and the whole process will be much less harmful to it. The ideal is to choose this last moment. A good indication that the hydrangea is at the right time is after its flowering ends, but before the flowers are completely wilted.
How to plant hydrangea cuttings
With your hydrangea cuttings already cut and cleaned of unnecessary leaves, the next step is to plant them. However, while it is possible to plant hydrangea cuttings in pots, directly helping them root will greatly improve the chances of successful cutting. There are different ways to consider how to root hydrangea cuttings :
- For one thing, you can put your hydrangea cuttings in water . Place the cuttings in a container with water, preferably glass or transparent plastic, that allows you to see if the roots appear at the base of the stems. Place the jar with the cutting in a semi-shady area or with some light, but always protected from direct impact. Change the water in the container every 24 hours to prevent mold from appearing in it, and wait for the roots to appear, at which point the cutting will be ready to be planted.
- Another way is to plant the cutting in a pot or outside , but first helping it with rooting hormone . You can buy it in any nursery or specialized surface or, better yet, make your own organic homemade rooting agent , which is even cheaper. The most popular are made with lentils, coffee, cinnamon or soybeans, among others. Keep in mind that the process of making rooting at home is very simple, but it takes several days, so you will have to have it prepared in advance. Thus, you can immerse your prepared cuttings in the rooting mix, for half an hour, and then plant them in substrate or soil. It is always more advisable to use a pot with a hydrangea seedbed substrate, light, acidic and nutritious. Place the pot in a semi-shady area and keep the substrate moist but never waterlogged. In about three weeks, it should have rooted, which means your cutting will have been successful. Once the first buds have grown, it is ready to be transplanted to its final location.
