You can't get enough of hydrangeas - and if neighbors or friends have a particularly beautiful shrub in their garden, then just ask for some cuttings. Hydrangeas, like geraniums, begonias and fuchsias, are very easy to propagate from cuttings.
How to propagate hydrangeas?
Plate hydrangeas can be easily propagated by cuttings or division. Cut shoot tips without flower buds and plant them in nutrient-poor potting soil. For large bushes, you can dig up the plant including the rootstock and divide it.
Propagation of hydrangea cuttings
If you want to propagate plate hydrangeas, you can do this using so-called head cuttings. The experienced gardener understands this as shoot tips with several pairs of leaves, which, however, must not have any flower buds. Most gardening guides recommend propagating in the summer, preferably June or July. Basically, it doesn't matter when you cut the cuttings - you can also take the cuttings in spring or autumn, for example when repotting.
Planting cuttings – step-by-step instructions
The freshly cut cuttings are then immediately planted in nutrient-poor potting soil.
- Remove all but the top pair of leaves.
- Cut the remaining leaves in half with a sharp knife.
- The cut at the rooting point should be made across the last leaf node.
- The cells that promote new rooting of the cutting are located here.
- Be careful not to squeeze the interface.
- Dip the rooting site in rooting powder (€9.00 on Amazon) or wood ash.
- Plant the cutting several centimeters deep in potting soil.
- Press it lightly.
- Water the cutting and keep the substrate evenly moist.
- Place the potty in a bright and warm place.
- However, avoid direct sunlight.
- Put a disposable glass over the young hydrangea.
- Covering with transparent foil is also sufficient.
- Air the cuttings once a day.
After a few weeks, the cutting will take root and, once it has grown vigorously, it can finally be transplanted into a larger pot with suitable substrate.
Easily divide large bushes
If the hydrangea is large enough, you can also propagate it by division. To do this, you should dig up the plant including the rootstock, which is slightly smaller than the above-ground part and consists more or less of one block. Divide the desired part of the hydrangea by either breaking it in half with a strong spade blow or, if the root block is too solid, sawing through. The now isolated plate hydrangeas are planted as normal.
Tips & Tricks
Basically, you don't actually have to go to all the trouble of cutting the cuttings: just cut a few hydrangea flowers as vase decorations and place them in the water. After a few weeks, the first roots have formed on some of these flower stems.
