How do I take cuttings from plants?

A cutting has no roots and continues to lose water through its leaves. Everything about the technique is aimed at reducing that loss until roots form — which is why humidity matters more than any rooting hormone.

What you'll need

• Sharp knife or secateurs
• Small pots
• Gritty compost
• Clear bag or propagator (optional)
• Rooting hormone (optional)

Step by step

1. Take cuttings in the morning from healthy, non-flowering shoots.The plant is fullest of water then. Flowering shoots put energy into flowers rather than roots.
2. Cut a 10cm length just below a leaf joint.The node is where rooting hormones concentrate. A cut mid-stem roots much less reliably.
3. Remove the lower leaves, keeping two or three at the top.Fewer leaves means less water loss. Large leaves can be cut in half to reduce the surface further.
4. Dip in rooting hormone if you have it.Optional for easy subjects, helpful for woody ones. Tap off the excess — more is not better.
5. Insert into gritty, free-draining compost around the edge of a pot.Half compost, half perlite or sharp sand. The edge of the pot drains best and is warmest.
6. Water once, then cover to keep humidity high.A clear bag held off the leaves with sticks, or a propagator lid. This is the step that decides success.
7. Keep somewhere warm and bright but out of direct sun.Direct sun inside a bag cooks the cutting within an hour.
8. Check for roots after three to six weeks.A gentle tug that meets resistance means roots. Then remove the cover gradually over a week before potting on.

Tips

• Take more cuttings than you need. Even with good technique some will fail, and they cost nothing.
• Softwood cuttings in late spring root fastest. Semi-ripe cuttings in late summer are slower but more reliable for shrubs.
• Some plants — willow, mint, pelargonium, rosemary — root readily in a glass of water on a windowsill and need no equipment at all.

Common mistakes

• Letting the cutting wilt before it is potted — It cannot replace lost water without roots. Take cuttings into a bag and pot them within minutes.
• Leaving all the leaves on — Every leaf loses water the cutting cannot replace. Two or three at the top is the balance.
• Keeping cuttings in direct sun under a bag — The temperature inside rises very fast and cooks them. Bright but indirect is what you want.

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