When to take cuttings. The best time to take softwood cuttings is from mid-spring to early summer. Hardwood cuttings are taken later in the year, from mid-autumn to mid-winter.
September/October is the ideal time to take cuttings from your favourite strains of tender perennials to increase your stock for next spring or to make sure they live on if the parent plants do not survive the winter.
Taking cuttings is a great way to propagate new plants. You can take cuttings at any time of year in a variety of ways, but the easiest (and most successful) method is by taking cuttings of plants' stems in summer.
You can truly take stem cuttings from any houseplant or herbaceous plant (those with non-woody stems) any time during the growing season (spring to late fall). Many root so easily that they will even root in a glass of water. (If you try this, keep the water clean and put the glass out of direct sunlight.
Most softwood cuttings are taken in spring and early summer, from the tender new growth of the season. If potted by mid-summer they will develop sufficient roots to survive the winter, otherwise pot up in the following spring.
Warm growing medium temperatures accelerate cell division which leads to faster callusing, root initial development and subsequent root growth. It also speeds up the dry-down rate of the growing medium, which also helps encourage better rooting. The best way to warm the growing medium is through bottom heat.
Late summer and early autumn is the perfect time to propagate your favourite plants by rooting cuttings! You may want to do this to have more of garden plants but often it is the frost tender varieties that are best over wintered as little plants. After all there is a limit to the space we all have on a windowsill!
September is the ideal time to take cuttings of many tender plants, including penstemon and pelargonium. Find out more in our practical guide. September is a good time to take cuttings of many plants.
Hardwood cuttings provide an easy and reliable method of propagating a range of deciduous climbers, trees and shrubs, and as bonus, they are taken from mid-autumn until late winter when more time is usually available to the gardener.
As temperatures cool, you can start taking cuttings from tender perennials that are generally grown as annuals, such as coleus or geraniums. After a good frost, you can start dividing perennials and take hardwood cuttings. Fir, spruce, and pinecones can be gathered for spring plantings.
Technically, you can transfer your cuttings to soil at any time. In fact, you can actually propagate directly into soil, however, it's much harder to do within your home. When you propagate in soil, you have to keep a good balance of soil moisture, air flow, and humidity.
One obvious sign of dead floras is mushy and fragile stems plus roots. Once a plant has reached this stage, no home remedies will save it.
Many of the coleus, geraniums, and some of the begonias that we all love in our pots will also overwinter well as cuttings. It's very difficult to bring the entire pot in, but you can take small cuttings, root them over the winter months, and then next spring plant them out in your containers.
When exactly should I start taking winter cuttings? You now know that winter cuttings are taken from mid-autumn to late winter, but there will be periods within those months you should avoid. If the garden is particularly wet and frozen, avoid taking cuttings until there is a dryer day.
“Grafting, budding, and plant propagation can be done on many types of plants during the winter, not just hardwoods.” High humidity and moisture are important during the post-cut and post-grafting periods.
Several cuttings may be placed together in one container. Be sure to add fresh water as needed until the cuttings are fully rooted. Rooting will generally occur in 3-4 weeks but some plants will take longer. When the roots are 1-2 inches long or longer the cutting is ready to be potted up.
Certain herbs don't mind the cold: Thyme, rosemary, parsley, chives, and cilantro actually prefer cool temperatures. Some herbs are perennial, so you'll plant once and enjoy for years. Plant transplants now so you'll have fresh herbs for all the upcoming holiday feasts.
Take Herbaceous Plant Cuttings Now
October is a great time to take plant cuttings of your favorite perennials to propagate in your greenhouse or home over the winter.
Take the cuttings any time between mid autumn and late winter. Different parts of the UK have very different weather conditions, take the cuttings when the leaves on the rose bush are starting to fall or have fallen completely in your area. A typical hardwood cutting will be about 15cm / 6in to 20cm / 8in long.
Taking cuttings at the wrong time of year.
“Generally speaking, it's much easier and faster to propagate plants in the spring and summer, when temperatures are warmer, days are longer and the humidity is higher. However, if you use grow lights indoors, it's possible to propagate all year round,” says Buckley.
If you would like to keep any half-hardy plants for next year, August is the time to take cuttings. Perennials such as Verbenas, Fuchsias and Pelargoniums are good plants to take cuttings from. Once you have taken the cutting, dip into a hormone rooting compound before inserting them into small pots.
Media is usually kept at 72-77° F while air temperature is maintained at 68-73° F. If bottom heat is not used, air temperature should be maintained between 77 and 80° F. Maintaining air temperatures lower than medium temperatures retards shoot growth while promoting root development. Excessive heat can damage cuttings.
Cuttings use energy to form new roots. If the cutting has leaves, most of the energy comes from photosynthesis. Expose these cuttings to bright light, but not direct sunlight, during the rooting period. If you use hardwood cuttings that have no leaves, the energy will come from reserves stored in the woody stem.