There are many benefits to taking cuttings in winter. It is a really reliable and simple method of propagation, and gives you additional plants for free! Nick Turrell from the RHS explains more:
'Plants are mostly dormant in winter, so they don’t have the energy to produce new roots. Cuttings are therefore generally taken while plants are growing in spring and summer. However, some cuttings are taken in the dormant season, ideally shortly after leaf fall or just before bud-burst in spring, avoiding periods of severe frost.”
Winter cuttings fall under the category of ‘hardwood cuttings’, as ‘softwood’ types are those that are cut from soft, new growth in the spring. The winter period mentioned here is between mid-autumn and late winter, but do make sure the plants have entered their dormant state, particularly if we’ve had a warm autumn and the plants are still in leaf. Equally, it is a good idea to avoid periods of severe frost, as the cuttings can tolerate cool but not frozen conditions.
It isn’t just a beneficial time for the plants, though – garden journalist Kim Stoddart adds, 'This is also a quieter time of year for gardeners, away from spring and summer when we have so much to keep us busy. Now, there is more availability to potter, plan, and take cuttings for more plants for free. It's nice to find excuses to get outside and to think about ways of saving money when it's such an expensive time of year otherwise.'
Kim is an award-winning environmental journalist and editor of Amateur Gardening magazine. She is a leading authority on climate change resilient gardening and author of the newly published, The Climate Change Resilient Vegetable Garden, RRP £22 at Amazon.
What you'll need
- These Japanese secateurs, £21.95, at Amazon will make a clean cut on plants
- Use a Spear & Jackson dibber, £6.94, from Amazon to help with transplanting your cuttings
- Rooting compound to help protect new roots as they grow, £9.71, Amazon
5 easy and successful winter cuttings to take
1. Roses
Taking winter cuttings from roses is a simple, reliable way to propagate your favourite varieties of these stunning blooms.
Choose healthy, pencil-thick stems from the current year’s growth and take cuttings about 20-25 cm long, cutting just above a bud at the top and just below a bud at the base.
Remove the soft tip and any remaining leaves, then insert the cuttings two-thirds of their length into a trench of gritty, free-draining soil or into pots of sandy compost.
Position them in a sheltered spot outdoors where they can stay cool and moist, but not waterlogged. Over the coming months, they’ll quietly develop roots, and by the following autumn, they should be ready to lift and plant into their permanent positions.
Nick Turrell is a horticultural advisor with the RHS. He has presented gardening programmes on BBC television and radio and designed gardens across the UK. Find out more about the work the RHS does at rhs.org.uk.
2. Fruit bushes (blueberries, currants and gooseberries are particularly suitable)
Once you’ve got a taste for these beautiful little fruity jewels, you will be keen to add to your collection. Thankfully, fruit bushes are extremely easy to propagate, and also make great gifts for garden-loving family and friends, too!
Once again, choose a healthy specimen to take cuttings from, and these should be taken in the dormant period, which is generally November to February.
Choose a vigorous, healthy stem from the current year’s growth and remove the soft tip. Cut into pieces approximately 15-25cm long, cutting on a slant, dip the end in a rooting compound to give it a little boost, and place the cutting in a small pot filled with good-quality potting medium.
Once the cuttings have rooted, they can be planted out – usually the following autumn is a good time to do this.
3. Butterfly bush
It probably doesn’t come as a surprise that butterfly bushes are good candidates for taking winter cuttings – it is a plant we often see triumphing against the odds, growing on railway tracks, through cracks in concrete, and often seeding furiously in gardens.
These are really fantastic plants, offering a food source to a variety of beneficial pollinators, as well as creating a beautiful and low-maintenance screen in the garden.
As with the other types of plants we have discussed, choose a mature and healthy plant to start with, selecting a stem from the current year’s growth. Once you have snipped your cuttings off, remove the leaves from the bottom half of the cutting.
You can use rooting hormone like Clonex liquid, £9.71 at Amazon, but this isn’t essential. Pop your cutting into a pot or tray of good-quality potting medium and keep it moist but not waterlogged.
4. Honeysuckle
These stunning, fragrant plants feel somewhat whimsical – mentioned in children’s story books, painting pictures of lazy summer picnics and beautiful sprawling gardens. But in terms of cuttings, the story once again begins in late autumn to mid-winter.
Select firm, dormant stems from the current season’s growth and cut lengths about 15-20cm long, making a straight cut at the top and a slanted cut at the base so you can tell them apart.
Remove the soft tip and any remaining leaves, then insert the cuttings into a pot of gritty, free-draining compost so that about half their length is buried. Keep them in a sheltered, unheated spot such as a cold frame, ensuring the compost stays just lightly moist.
5. Fig
Taking cuttings from fruit trees such as figs may sound tricky, but it really isn’t – and what could be more satisfying than creating a whole new tree! You will need to be a little patient and wait slightly longer for harvests than you would if you bought a young specimen, but it is so worth it, we assure you!
Choose healthy branches from the previous year’s growth, and cut sections 15-20cm long. After trimming just below a node, you can dip the base in rooting hormone if you like, though figs often root easily without it.
Plant the cuttings in a well-draining potting medium, then keep them cool but not in freezing conditions, allowing them to slowly form roots. With a bit of patience, you’ll be rewarded in spring with sturdy new fig plants ready to pot up or plant out.
What to do with cuttings over winter?
Once your cuttings have been taken and are cosy in their new pots, there isn’t much more you need to do; they pretty much look after themselves. Keep them in a frost-free environment and give the soil an occasional spritz of water, ensuring they don’t get waterlogged. Then, it is a case of waiting and watching.
Rooting can start to happen within the first six weeks, and you can pot them on from here, but they generally won’t require planting out to their final growing spots until the following autumn.
As you can see, although propagating your own plants might initially sound overwhelming, it is, in fact, really simple, and makes for the perfect project in these slightly slower-paced months in the garden.
So, take a cup of tea out to the greenhouse and get started – it is a process you will soon be hooked on, and the rewards are more than worth the effort!
What’s more, Nick has one more speedy tip: 'If you want quick results, snip a few stems off your supermarket herbs and put them in a glass of water. Keep them in your kitchen and they’ll soon produce roots. Then pop them in some compost and you’ll have new herbs for free!'