Propagating Hydrangea Cuttings Directly In Ground

7 years ago

I know about the standard propagation methods for hydrangeas, but I'm wondering if anyone has tried propagating clippings directly in the ground. Anyone done it and gotten it to work?

I want to try this either in early fall (zone 8) or possibly next spring when the new growth starts coming out on the plants I want to get clippings from.

Thoughts?

Featured Answer

hc mcdole

7 years ago

I'm sure it can be done but your chances are going to be significantly better using sterilized potting media. Too many pathogens in the ground to contend with but worth a try if you don't have pots, potting mix, time to tend to cuttings, etc.

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Comments (20)

kinlaw (Zone 7b/8a, GA)
Original Author
7 years ago
Ah ok, I get that. Well, seems pretty low-risk so I may just give 'er a try in a few weeks or so.
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Brooks23
7 years ago
I did a clipping in the groud under a fruit jar last fall and this sping I had a new hydrangea
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
7 years ago
Get some ground layering started and you won't have to wait for them nearly as long.
kinlaw (Zone 7b/8a, GA)
Original Author
7 years ago
cearbhaill, can you explain what that means? Sounds like a good idea.
FADI (Zone 5b)
7 years ago
I did the ground propagating method by making a small cut through a lower branch and digging a small hole and burring this branch under the soil. I followed these steps from YouTube and i was successful to propagate Annabelle and Incrediball .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlhIVYEejP0
hc mcdole
7 years ago
If you can't bend the branch close to the ground for layering then you can still "air layer" by wounding the bark close to a node and wrapping soil in plastic wrap/aluminum foil around the wounded area. Keep the soil damp and check for roots periodically and cut the limb off when you deem the roots are enough to pot up or put in the ground.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Layering
mmp01
7 years ago
When is the best time to start layering in MD zone 7? Can I start now, cut it from the mother plant in Fall, then transplant in Spring? Thanks!
hc mcdole
7 years ago
Yes, start now. I started some a couple months ago. You can let it go until you want to transplant in spring.
cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
7 years ago
"cearbhaill, can you explain what that means? Sounds like a good idea."

Basically I just clear away the mulch, put a rock on top of a lower stem so that it is wedged in the soil underneath, and put the mulch back. OK, you can notch the stem and apply some rooting hormone, but I have never found that to be necessary. Roots form on the buried portion and next year you have a new plant you can dig up and move after you sever the stem.

I like this method purely because it requires so little attention, plus the timetable for moving the new plant is 100% flexible.
ophoenix
7 years ago
Kinlaw, I do this type of propagation in the spring. I just fill a large pot with soil, potting soil if I have a bag handy, get it real wet. Do not cover drainage holes or layer rocks or anything on the bottom - just pour in the soil. Use at least a 2 1/2 gal pot - a little deeper is good. Take cuttings - some I have used are brown branches, green branches, with or without flowers - around 15 inches or so. Make sure you have the branch cut to there are at least two leaf nodes in the dirt. I pull off the lower leaves - the ones under the soil and sometime up the stem. Use a dibble - or piece of wood to make the hole for the branch and stick in the branches. Some will have a few and some pots will have up to 15 branches. These are from trimming the bushes in the spring that are too close to the ground or just not where I want them to be. Or, any time that I am rescuing plants under the hydrangeas from being smothered by the drooping branches.

Keep moist - out of sun for the first couple of months and watch for slugs- at least here in the PNW. I will take some pics tomorrow - but have given away tons of starts at a garden tour recently. The ones from this spring actually have blossoms. OH, don't forget to label the container! Sometimes they wilt, look really horrible and will lose the leaves at the top of the soil, but be patient - within a month or two, you will start to see new little green leafs and in a couple months - they will be just fine and ready for new pots or new homes. Note.... I keep them quite moist. If the pot has good drainage they will not be over watered. I revive forgotten or just dried out hydrangeas all the time by putting them in buckets of water - one to two inches deep - and leaving them there for days or even a week or so! Try it and let is know how it works. I will post some pics tomorrow.
kinlaw (Zone 7b/8a, GA)
Original Author
7 years ago
ophoenix, excellent--thank you! And thanks to everyone for the great input. I'll come back here and post photos of the progress.
ophoenix
7 years ago
Kinlaw, I should probably be embarrassed by these pics! lol Not very elegant - but you can see that it works. Please do not point out that the labels are missing - I must have been sort of spaced out but when the first one blooms, then I will know what it is. Actually I do usually know what they are by the leaves. I also do the cuttings, rooting stuff, heat mat and all that - but in the winter and that also works for me. I read about doing cuttings this way and found an article and decided to try it - and it worked!

One and three are the same pot - three is about one month later.

Have fun.
hc mcdole
7 years ago
I water rooted a small broken sprig of Pistachio this spring in a bud vase - just had to make sure I kept it filled every other day or so. Finally put it in a pot a week or so ago after the roots got 2 to 3 inches long.
luis_pr
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Wow, how big of a vase are you talking about... that you needed to fill it every other day? A 6-8" tall one?
hc mcdole
7 years ago
last modified: 7 years ago
Bud vase. Yes, maybe 6 to 8 inches tall. Here is what the one I used looks like but used for a begonia in earlier years. Put it in the kitchen windowsill.

Well thought I had at least one photo of the actual vase (maybe I do but not labeled)

Here is another example using small bottles (probably syrup from a restaurant) Well forgot I cannot post a photo from IE for some strange reason so back to this post in FF to post a photo.

The bud vase I had the hydrangea in looks similar to this except the base is heart shaped, not infinity symbol shaped

http://www.loveisarose.com/IV.html

PS - I am now using the same vase to water root Cissus discolor and Cissus amazonica.
ophoenix
7 years ago
Update on cuttings. Here are some pics that I took later this afternoon. The ones posted above were taken in May and June. The first photo is of the same container - one of the cuttings is blooming and another will be soon.

Another pot of cuttings.
These are Ayesha - looks like I labeled this pot! You can see that some look great and other branches look pretty bad, but they will do just fine.
This is not a Hydrangea but Bamboo Iris". Iris confusa 'Chengdu' - Stuck in in one of the Hydrangea pots and it is sending out branches. All the literature says that they are easy to divide, but this was from some branches that had to be trimmed off the plant. It worked!
This poor pot of cuttings was lost under the deck. It is pretty dark under there and it got watered from the runoff when we watered the plants on the deck. Looks pretty bad but they rooted all by themselves.
Same pot from the top - looks much better. Notice that the stems with the dried up leaves are still green and will probably leaf out. We have had just a few hot days in the PNW so I am sure that helped keep them alive.

The advantage over starting in water is that the roots are growing in soil - no shock when going from water to soil and only need an occasional watering.
garyz8bpnw
7 years ago
I live in 8A area and sometimes need to trim big hydrangeas in Nov to shape them. If I take a cut branch and jam it into the ground, with nothing else added, just outside of the dripline, I get about 20% to root (if you do this Feb or Mar get little or no success). I've given away so many hydrangeas to family and neighbors!
kinlaw (Zone 7b/8a, GA)
Original Author
7 years ago
gfleatham I just trimmed back all the big overgrown branches about two weeks ago. I thought I read that it was okay to do once blooms start to fade. Did I do it too early?
garyz8bpnw
7 years ago
Best to do it now if bloom next year on old wood! If want to propigate, then place in water or moist soil in pot out of tbe sun.
kinlaw (Zone 7b/8a, GA) thanked garyz8bpnw