Hydrangea propagation by cuttings and layering: high survival rate, easily fills a pot

Hydrangeas come in a great many colors, and after blooming they form a big, ball-shaped hydrangea head, a mass of blooming flowers, very beautiful. They are deeply loved by many people, yet many do not know that when taking hydrangea cuttings there are several methods that can let them root easily, and they will quickly grow full of shoots and bloom all over the pot.

1. Using the cutting method

When propagating hydrangeas by cuttings, you can use either old wood or softwood, but branches from young mother plants root most easily; old-wood cuttings should be taken in mid-March, and softwood cuttings in July-August. When taking cuttings, just leave 2 leaves on the branch. If you want the branch to root quickly, you can also soak the branch in a nutrient solution, let it dry, and then insert it; it will root in about a month.

2. Mound layering

You can choose different layering methods according to the different tree forms of your hydrangea. If it is shrub-like, you can use mound layering to propagate it; if it is tree-like, you can use the air layering method.

For mound layering, choose the time before the hydrangea sprouts, cut a wound near the ground, then pile up soil into a cone shape, press it down, and keep the soil moist while caring for it. Wait until the spring of the next year, scrape away the soil, and you will find that shoots have grown from the wounded spot; cut them off, replant them in other pots and care for them normally.

3. Propagation by air layering

As mentioned above, if the hydrangea is tree-shaped you can propagate it by air layering. When layering, choose a good position, remove the bark by girdling, then add loess plus some moss and fix it onto the branch fork, keep the soil moist, wait until new shoots grow, cut them away from the mother plant and plant them in a pot.