Taking cuttings in autumn is also a good way of increase your stock of your favourite plants. At this time of year, you can take semi-ripe cuttings, from this year's growth. They are woody at the base and soft at the tip. In autumn, hormone levels are high, so plants should root and grow well.
Collect Gunnera and Juniper seeds. Divide Aconitum, Alchemilla mollis, Alliums, Aquilegia, Blueberry, Billberry, Campanula, Convallaria, Cranberry, Dicentra, Echinops, Hypericum, Lilies, Polygonatum and Sedum. Take Celastrus, Clerodendrum, Hedera and Laburnum cuttings.
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.
Softwood cuttings are ideal for many tender plants like pelargoniums, petunias, verbena, argyranthemums and osteospermums. You can also take softwood cuttings from many deciduous shrubs, including lavender, rosemary, forsythia, fuchsias, hydrangeas, lavatera and buddleia.
If you wonder what you can take cuttings from at this time of year, there are many to choose from. Most deciduous shrubs are ideal for taking winter cuttings, such as dogwood, flowering currants, roses, honeysuckle, gooseberries and figs.
Herbaceous cuttings can be taken throughout the growing season (spring to late fall), while softwood cuttings should be taken in spring or early summer. Cuttings can be taken as long as the parent plant is healthy and in active growth.
Hardwood cutting are taken in the dormant season (mid-autumn until late winter) after leaf fall, avoiding periods of severe frost. The ideal time is just after leaf fall or just before bud-burst in spring. Although this type of cutting may be slow to develop roots and shoots, it is usually successful.
As you are conducting a winter dormancy pruning, have you ever wondered “Can you propagate plants in winter?” Yes, winter propagating is possible. Normally, the cuttings would go in the compost pile or yard waste bin, but try propagating plants in winter from the cuttings.
Now just cause it's winter doesn't mean the cuttings aren't vulnerable. Wind can quickly dry cuttings out even cold winter winds. Frosts will also dry your cuttings out. During a frost the moisture within the stem of a plant is drawn out and freezes, this can cause a small stem like a cutting to shrivel up and die.
From early fall through most of November is one of the best times of year to plant spring-blooming bulbs, cool-season annuals and vegetables, as well as many trees, shrubs, and perennials. On this page: WHY PLANT IN FALL. SPRING-BLOOMING BULBS.
“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.
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.
Root cuttings are best taken in mid-to-late autumn or early winter when plants are dormant.
Preparing cuttings
The plant material should be semi-mature, i.e. semi-hardwood. The best time, therefore, to take cuttings is late spring or early summer. Cuttings taken at other times will often root but may take much longer, although there are many exceptions.
You can take softwood cuttings at any time after the new, fresh, green and flexible growth appears. Softwood cuttings are generally the quickest to form roots, and do so most easily. Semi-ripe cuttings are taken in late summer or very early autumn. These are usually taken after blooms have faded.
Cuttings from many annual plants will keep over winter, sprout roots, and be ready for planting in spring. You may place them in pots or cups without drainage filled with moist perlite or vermiculite. Locate them at first in bright light, away from the sun. Move later to an area where they receive morning sun.
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.
To root a rose cutting you need to take either softwood cuttings in late spring or summer or hardwood cuttings in early fall to late winter. If taking hardwood cuttings, plant these into a narrow trench in a prepared bed.
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.
The date that your ground actually freezes varies from year to year, of course, and some areas won't have frozen ground at all. If you're unsure, mid-November is a safe planting deadline for nearly everyone. - Get everything in the ground before the ground freezes.
You can propagate houseplants at any time of year. This being said, the best time to do it is during their growing season – which is typically spring-summer. They will grow more slowly during the dormant months of autumn-winter.
Once the weather gets colder and you have experienced at least one good hard freeze, the deciduous plants should be dormant and will have dropped their leaves, and you can now propagate them. Just make cuttings about 4” long, dip them in a rooting compound and stick them in the bed of sand.
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.
Some plants will root in water, but cuttings will develop a better root system when rooted in a soil-less potting mix. Sand or perlite can also be used, especially for cuttings that need good drainage and may rot if kept too wet.