5 plants to take cuttings from in November to fill your garden for free

Wooden garden furniture and potted hydrangea plants on block paving patio area in garden — (Image credit: Future PLC/Colin Poole)

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When and how to take hardwood cuttings
What you'll need
1. Hydrangeas
2. Forsythia
3. Dogwood
4. Roses
5. Fruit bushes

The end of the gardening season, with everything quietening down outside, gives the opportunity to start thinking ahead and planning what to plant in our gardens the following year. And if you want to save money and propagate new plants for free, then now’s the perfect time to take cuttings.

When it comes to choosing which plants to take cuttings from in November, ‘hardwood cuttings’ taken from fruit bushes, roses and deciduous shrubs and trees are one of the easiest winter cuttings to try, taken while the plants are in their dormant state in late autumn/winter, as opposed to ‘softwood cuttings’ which are cut from soft, new growth in the spring.

Once taken, hardwood cuttings can then be put in a sheltered spot and pretty much left alone until the following year, making it one of those low-effort November gardening jobs that can be completed while pottering around and tidying up the garden. With the cuttings quietly developing roots over the months that follow, they’ll then be ready to lift and plant into their permanent positions come the following spring or autumn, depending on the variety.

When and how to take hardwood cuttings

Deciduous shrubs are those that lose their leaves in the winter and just after the leaves have fallen in November is the ideal time for when to take hardwood cuttings, before any winter frosts hit.

Choose healthy pencil-thick stems from the current year’s growth, cutting into sections roughly 15-30cm long. Make the base cut just below a bud or leaf node, cutting straight across the stem. And make the top cut just above a bud or leaf node, cutting at a slanted angle (this is so you know which end is the top when potting-up and also allows water to slide off the tip instead of pooling on the surface).

Root your hardwood cuttings in all-purpose potting mix in deep pots or trenches with two-thirds of the cutting below the surface. Roots will form along the stem, while the buds above the ground grow into shoots. Then simply leave your pots in a sheltered spot spritzing with water occasionally to ensure the soil doesn't get too dry, while also checking that the pots don’t get waterlogged after rain.

What you'll need

Spear & Jackson

Razorsharp Titanium Garden Secateurs

Hardys

60l All-Plant Multi-Purpose Compost

Navoys

Wooden Plant Labels, 11cm Sticks, 100

1. Hydrangeas

‘Woody-stemmed hydrangeas are the perfect plant to take hardwood cuttings from in November,’ says Craig Wilson, Co-founder and gardening expert at Gardeners Dream. ‘The hardy attributes of this type of hydrangea make it the ideal option to propagate over the colder months.’ Woody-stemmed varieties include, hydrangea paniculata (panicle hydrangeas), hydrangea arborescens (smooth hydrangeas) and hydrangea anomala (climbing hydrangeas).

‘To take a successful cutting of your hydrangea, simply cut around six inches of a healthy stem, removing any excess leaves from the bottom. Then place the stem in a fresh pot of compost, ensuring that at least one leaf node is covered in the soil and leaving about four inches of the stem above the compost.’

‘For hydrangeas in particular, they need lots of humidity to help them propagate. Therefore, covering the pot with a plastic bag can help with this, and placing it in a warm spot, but not in direct sunlight. It’ll take about four to six weeks for the cutting to take root. When this happens, repot your cutting into a bigger pot and keep out of any frosty weather. When spring arrives, you can either keep your hydrangea pot bound or plant in your garden,' adds Craig.

Where to buy hydrangeas

2. Forsythia

Yellow flowering forsythia shrub in spring

Forsythia is one of the first spring-flowering shrubs to put in an appearance after winter, with its cheery, bright yellow blooms that signal spring is here.

A shrub that thrives in full sun, forsythia is also one of the easiest shrubs to take hardwood cuttings from, so it is certainly one to add to your list when taking cuttings in November if you want to boost your garden borders with free plants.

Once forsythia has dropped its leaves, simply choose a healthy stem from the current year’s growth - look for one which is firm, light and tan brown, rather than very old, dark, thick wood. Cut lengths 20-30cm (as described above) and if you want to speed up rooting, you could dip the end in rooting compound, such as this Clonex rooting hormone, £10.49, from Amazon, before placing the cutting in potting compost. Rooted cuttings should be ready to be transplanted the following autumn.

Where to buy forsythia

3. Dogwood

Dogwood (cornus) is another deciduous shrub that is easy to take hardwood cuttings from. Often grown for its winter colour, it has dark green foliage that takes on reddish-purple tones in autumn before revealing brilliant bare red stems when the leaves drop off in winter.

To take hardwood cuttings from dogwood, again, choose healthy vigorous stems from the current season’s growth, cutting them to a length of around 20-30cm. Plant into gritty compost and then place the pots in a sheltered spot or inside a cold frame, like this Wooden framed polycarbonate cold frame, £37.98, B&Q.

Where to buy dogwood (cornus)

4. Roses

No summer garden is complete without a colourful display of roses and the good news is that how to take rose cuttings to propagate is relatively easy too, meaning that you can multiply your rose plants for free to fill garden flower beds with more beautiful blooms.

Choose a healthy stem to take your cutting from, removing all the leaves and stripping the thorns. Sink two-thirds of the stem in your soil and firm around it, then leave until the following autumn when it will have developed roots. Not every stem will root, so it's always worth taking more cuttings than you need.

Where to buy shrub roses

5. Fruit bushes

Gooseberries growing on gooseberry bush in garden

While propagating cuttings from flowering shrubs is an inexpensive way to provide colour and foliage for beds and borders, if you grow your own fruit in your garden, then taking cuttings from fruit bushes is also worth doing too, so you can reap the rewards with tasty fruits and berries.

Fruit bushes suitable for propagating in November include gooseberries, blueberries, blackcurrants, redcurants and figs. Again, choose a mature and healthy plant, selecting a vigorous stem from the current year’s growth and removing the soft tip. Cut the stem into pieces between 15-25cm long, cutting them on a slant and dipping the ends into rooting compound (try Westland Organic Rooting powder at B&Q) before popping in a pot.

As with other hardwood cuttings, patience is key, as it generally takes until the following autumn for cuttings to be ready for planting out, but being rewarded with a batch of plants that have cost nothing is worth the wait.

Where to buy fruit bushes

So taking your own hardwood cuttings in winter, is certainly worth considering, with the reward of free plants to add to the garden the following year.

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Lisa is a freelance journalist who has written about interiors for more than 25 years. Previously editor of Style at Home magazine, she has worked on all the major homes titles, including Ideal Home, Country Homes & Interiors, 25 Beautiful Homes and Homes & Gardens. She has covered pretty much every area of the home, from shopping and decorating, crafts and DIY to real homes and makeovers and now regularly writes gardening stories for Ideal Home.