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How to take clippings from a plant


How to Grow Plants From Cuttings

Grow New Plants at Home With This Easy Propagation Method

By

Marie Iannotti

Marie Iannotti

Marie Iannotti is a life-long gardener and a veteran Master Gardener with nearly three decades of experience. She's also an author of three gardening books, a plant photographer, public speaker, and a former Cornell Cooperative Extension Horticulture Educator. Marie's garden writing has been featured in newspapers and magazines nationwide and she has been interviewed for Martha Stewart Radio, National Public Radio, and numerous articles.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 10/25/22

Reviewed by

Kathleen Miller

Reviewed by Kathleen Miller

Kathleen Miller is a highly-regarded Master Gardener and Horticulturist who shares her knowledge of sustainable living, organic gardening, farming, and landscape design. She founded Gaia's Farm and Gardens, a working sustainable permaculture farm, and writes for Gaia Grows, a local newspaper column. She has over 30 years of experience in gardening and sustainable farming.

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The Spruce / Jiaqi Zhou

Project Overview

Garden plants can be propagated in many ways, but one of the easiest methods is taking stem cuttings. How to grow plants from cuttings is simple: Trim off a healthy portion of stem, place it in water or a growing medium until it develops roots, and then plant it in a pot or the ground.

Growing plants from cuttings is a common way to create new houseplants, but it can also work for many garden plants. In cold-weather zones, some gardeners take clippings of tender annuals and root them indoors to prepare a supply of new plants for garden planting in the spring.

Here's what to know about how you grow a plant from a stem cutting.

Watch Now: How to Propagate Dipladenia

When to Take Stem Cuttings

Stem cuttings can be taken and rooted at almost any time during the parent plant's active growth period. You also can take cuttings from many woody plants (plants with hard stems) during their dormancy. In cold climates, you can take cuttings in the fall before frost arrives, root them indoors, and then transfer them to pots. By springtime, you will have vigorous potted plants that can go back into the garden.

Types of Plants to Grow From Cuttings

Soft-stemmed herbaceous plants are the easiest to grow from cuttings, but many woody plants can also be propagated with this method. The following list includes examples of plants that grow from cuttings.

Before You Begin

The key to successful rooting of stem clippings is to find the moisture and temperature level appropriate for each type of plant. Do some research on the species you are trying to propagate to learn the conditions it likes best. You can make your plant cuttings grow faster not only by providing the conditions they like but also by applying rooting hormone to the cut end, which helps to encourage root production. It's also best to take several clippings to maximize your chances of success.

How long plant cuttings take to root varies widely depending on the type of plant. Many herbaceous annuals will quickly grow to maturity. But cuttings from perennials and woody plants, such as shrubs, can be harder to root and take longer to reach maturity.

Tip

It is possible to grow a plant from a cutting in water. Simply place the cut end down in a container partially filled with plain water, and refresh the water every few days until a substantial root system has formed. However, transferring a water-rooted seedling to soil is not always successful, so it's generally better to plant cuttings straight into soil.

Equipment / Tools

Materials

The Spruce / Loren Probish

How to Grow Plants From Cuttings

  1. Prepare a Container

    Fill a clean 6-inch-deep container with soilless potting mix to hold cuttings for rooting. A soilless mix drains well and provides suitably moist conditions that encourage the cutting to root. Don't use ordinary garden soil, as it might contain pathogens that can kill the cutting before it ever takes root.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  2. Choose a Parent Plant

    Select a healthy parent plant from which to take cuttings. Avoid plants with diseases or lots of drooping or dying foliage. The best specimens for cuttings will have plenty of new growth and be large enough that taking cuttings will not harm them.

    Tip

    Good green growth is more important in a parent plant than plentiful flower buds. Too many flowers can actually hinder the ability of a cutting to grow roots.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  3. Find the Best Stems for Cutting

    Choose green, soft (non-woody) stems for cuttings. Newer growth is easier to root than woody, older stems. Look for a stem with a node—a bump along the stem where a leaf or flower bud attaches.  This point is where new roots will emerge. 

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  4. Take the Plant Cutting

    Use a pair of scissors or a razor blade that has been sterilized in alcohol to make a clean cut just below a node. The cutting doesn’t need to be long, but it should contain at least two leaves and one node. A cutting that is 4 to 6 inches long is usually sufficient. Longer cuttings sometimes dry out when placed in their growing medium.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  5. Prepare the Cutting

    Place the cutting on a flat, hard surface, and make a clean, partial slice through the middle of the node with a sterilized razor blade. Scarring the node will increase the chances of roots emerging from this spot.

    Then, remove all but one or two leaves on the cutting. The cutting needs some leaf growth to continue photosynthesis, but too many leaves will consume energy that would otherwise go to root creation. If the leaves are very large in proportion to the stem, cut off the top halves of the leaves.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  6. Apply Rooting Hormone (Optional)

    Wet the node end of the cutting, and then dip it in a small container of rooting hormone. Tap off any excess hormone; too much actually hinders chances for success. This step is optional. Some plants root easily on their own, but rooting hormone can help others by stimulating the cutting into sending out new roots.

    The Spruce / Candace Madonna

  7. Bore a Planting Hole

    Use a pencil or similar pointed object to poke a planting hole into the potting mix, rather than planting the cutting straight into the soil. Make the hole slightly larger than the stem diameter. Doing so will prevent rooting hormone from being wiped away when you embed the stem in the pot, and it's also gentler on the stem.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  8. Plant the Cutting in the Soil

    Carefully plant the cutting in the hole you made in the potting mix, and gently tamp the soil around it. You can fit several cuttings into one container, but space them so the leaves do not touch one another.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  9. Cover the Pot With Plastic

    Place the container with the cutting into a plastic bag. The bag will keep the humidity high and hold in heat. But don’t seal the bag completely because some airflow is necessary to prevent fungal rot.

    Keep the container in a warm spot in the house, ideally in an area that has indirect bright light. Don’t put the cutting in full sunlight until new leaves begin appearing along the stem.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

  10. Monitor the Cutting

    Until roots form, keep the soil slightly moist but not so wet that condensation forms on the inside of the plastic bag. Check regularly for signs of rot, and remove any suspect cuttings as soon as you spot trouble.

    After two to three weeks, begin checking for roots by tugging gently on the cutting. When you begin to feel resistance, it means roots have developed.  At this point, you can transplant the cutting into its own pot or the ground.

    The Spruce / Loren Probish

30 Plants That Grow From Cuttings in Soil

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Article Sources

The Spruce uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.

  1. Plant Propagation. University of Maine Extension.

How to take plant cuttings: grow more of your best plants

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

Learn how to take plant cuttings, and you will be able to fill your pots and borders with an unlimited supply of your favorite varieties.

Not only is taking plant cuttings one of the most frugal and sustainable garden ideas, but it is also one of the most enjoyable. There is no greater pleasure than propagating and nurturing new plants – watching them grow large enough to eventually take pride of place in your garden.

‘It will take time to grow new plants from cuttings, but it won’t cost you anything, and you will be able to replicate the specific plant,’ says Period Living’s gardening expert Leigh Clapp.

‘There are many plants that can be grown from cuttings. It is like a little bit of magic that with a few careful cuts you can create a new plant. It takes practice, preparation and patience, but rewards with the results.’

Bear in mind that cuttings are not the only way of propagating plants – as well as sowing seeds, learning how to divide plants will also allow you to recreate many varieties. So it’s worth checking what the most reliable method is for your individual plant.

How to take plant cuttings – a step-by-step guide

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

‘Taking cuttings from plants, or propagating as it is technically called, is easy once you know how to do it,’ says Sarah Raven, plantswoman and founder of the Sarah Raven gardening brand. 

‘We tend to take cuttings each year to give us plants for next spring and as insurance in case we need to replace any frost-killed plants. ’

Different plants benefit from having cuttings taken at different stages – for example, when learning how to take rose cuttings, is often recommended that taking hardwood cuttings (from more mature growth) is more reliable, while softwood (fresh) and semi-ripe cuttings work best for other plant types. Check before making the cut.

1. Choose the best places to cut

The most important part of knowing how to take plant cuttings, is choosing the best possible growth. Always select healthy, straight growth – it should be a non-flowering stem, so check there are no buds present.

With softwood and semi-ripe cuttings, examine the plant for the most vigorous growth. ‘Try to select plant growth that has toughened up a little, so it is not too soft or bendy,’ says Clapp.

If you are taking cuttings from hardwood plants, then you are looking for growth produced this year that has had time to mature. ‘Ideally you are looking for material the thickness of a pencil,’ says Charlene Chick-Seward, propagator at the National Trust’s Nymans , a well-known Grade II-listed garden in West Sussex, England.

2. Take your cuttings

Ideally take plant cuttings in the morning – ‘this is when the plant is turgid, or full of water,’ says Clapp.

Always use clean tools, to minimize the risk of disease transference.

‘Using a very sharp knife, take a short piece of stem from the main plant,’ says Sarah Raven. ‘Trim to just below a leaf joint, so the cutting is 2 inches (5-6cm) long. Just below a leaf node is where there is the highest concentration of natural rooting hormone.'

If you aren’t able to immediately plant your cuttings, then you can temporarily put them into a polythene bag to keep in the moisture. But you must plant them within a few hours.

3. Prepare the cuttings for planting

To prepare your cuttings for planting, strip off all the leaves, leaving only the top pair. 

'If the top pair of leaves is large, cut these in half across-ways,’ says Raven. ‘This seems brutal, but they will stay alive and continue to photosynthesize, and with half the surface area they won’t place as much demand on the stem to draw up water to support them. This makes the cutting more likely to root than flop.’

Next, remove the stem tip. ‘It’s at the top that the growth hormone concentrates, so by pinching it out, there’s nowhere for it to go but down, in order to encourage root formation,’ adds Raven.

For hardwood cuttings, make a diagonal cut at the top, above a node. ‘Make sure your top cut is on a slant to help avoid the top of the cutting rotting through the winter months,’ says Chick-Seward.

(Image credit: Mariia Boiko / Alamy Stock Photo)

4. How to plant cuttings in soil

Plant your cuttings in free-draining compost. ‘Use a 50/50 mix of peat-free propagation compost and coarse grit,’ advises Chick-Seward. 

Fill up your pots and then water your potting mix, prior to planting the cuttings. When researching how to take plant cuttings, you will often be advised to dip the cuttings into hormone rooting powder before planting them, to encourage growth. However, this is not strictly necessary.

Clapp also suggests that honey is a natural alternative, due to its anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties. ‘Put a few cuttings in each pot, as success is not always guaranteed,’ she adds.

‘Insert your plant cuttings, well spaced, around the edge of the pots, about 2 inches (4-5cm) apart,' says Sarah Raven. 'By placing them around the edge, you encourage quicker root formation as the new roots quickly hit the side of the pot, break, and then branch into more lateral rootlets.’ 

However, if using long pots, you can plant the cuttings in a row. ‘We place 8-10 cuttings in a long pot – but a small trench in the ground will also do,’ adds Chick-Seward.

Push your cuttings into the compost nice and deep. ‘Each cutting needs to have at least one node underground and one above,’ says Clapp.

Water the compost again, as it’s vital that the cuttings aren’t allowed to dry out.

5. Protecting your cuttings

How much protection your cuttings require will depend on how tender they are – softwood cuttings are much more delicate than hardwood cuttings.

‘Cover the pot with a plastic bag supported on small canes to enclose the moisture,’ says Sarah Raven. ‘Pelargoniums are the exception of the tender perennials and don't need covering, but most things benefit from enclosure. If you have one, put them in a propagator with a bit of basal heat.’

Hardwood cuttings don't need much protection, although you should make sure the potting mix doesn’t dry out. ‘We find hardwood cuttings do best outside in a sheltered position,’ says Chick-Seward.

'During the summer months, make sure you keep your cuttings moist, and by late summer into early fall, you can pot your cuttings on.’

Cuttings need good light but not direct sun.

(Image credit: The National Trust Photolibrary / Alamy Stock Photo)

How long do plant cuttings take to root?

‘Plant cuttings should root within two to three weeks,’ says Raven. ‘You'll know they have taken when you see new growth at their tips. Turn over the pot and check for new white roots. 

‘Take them out of the propagator and, if it's before October, pot them on. Water only when the compost is dry when you poke a finger down 2 inches (5cm) below the compost surface. ’

Bear in mind that hardwood cuttings will take a lot longer to root, and you may find there isn’t much progress until early the following spring.

Your cuttings should be ready to plant out in the spring.

How to take softwood cuttings

A key aspect of learning how to take plant cuttings is to know the right stage for your chosen plant. Softwood cuttings are taken from fresh growth, when the stems are fairly soft and flexible. This method works best with plants that produce lots of new growth in the spring.

‘Softwood cuttings are generally taken in spring or early summer,’ says Clapp.

Though the cuttings will be more delicate than semi-ripe or hardwood cuttings, softwood cuttings are quick to root. However, they can easily die off, so work quickly and give them as much protection as possible.

How to take semi-ripe cuttings

Semi-ripe cuttings are taken from plants in late summer or early fall, once the current season’s growth has had more time to become established.  

The method works well with almost any type of shrub, and has a high success rate.

The cuttings may take root during the fall, otherwise they will come along quickly the following spring.

(Image credit: Future)

How to take hardwood cuttings

Hardwood cuttings are taken from this year’s growth, which has had a chance to develop and mature into a strong ‘woody’ stem.

‘Late fall into winter is a great time for hardwood cuttings – it's a reliable method to help bulk out the shrubs in your garden,’ says Chick-Seward. 

‘Here at Nymans we take many hardwood cuttings of dogwood (Cornus) – their beautiful colored stems make this a fun January or February job to help beat the winter blues.’

Hardwood cuttings are slow to root, but have a high success rate, and need little care or protection. It’s a great method for many shrubs, fruits and trees.

Best time to take cuttings from plants

‘Many gardeners take cuttings in spring – we do our dahlias and chrysanths then,’ says Sarah Raven.  

‘In summer, when plants like nemesia, arctotis, osteospermums and lavender start their main growth spurt, we find that’s when they root the fastest. 

‘We take salvia cuttings a bit later, in September or October, along with cobaea, fuschias and heliotropes. Pelargoniums are one of the easiest plants to propagate from and a good place to start. 

List of plants that grow from stem cuttings

There is a huge range of plants that will grow from cuttings.

(Image credit: Leigh Clapp)

Can you take cuttings from any plant?

While it is not possible to take cuttings from every type of plant, it is certainly a successful method for a large number of them.

Research the best method of propagation for your chosen plant, and if unsure, it’s worth having a go to see if the cuttings will take.

Though delicate, softwood cuttings offer the best chance of success for more difficult-to-propagate plants.

Can you put cuttings straight into soil?

You can put cuttings straight into soil as long as you have prepared them correctly. ‘Cut under a node at the bottom and above a node at the top,’ says Chick-Seward.

You must also remove the lower leaves, leaving only two or three at the top.

Bear in mind the soil needs to be well draining, so if your garden soil is heavy clay, for example, then you need to create a good potting mix. ‘Fill small pots with compost mixed with about one part grit to two parts compost,’ says Raven.

How to grow a plant from a cutting in water

It is possible to grow some plants from cuttings that are simply placed in water. This method works best for common herbs, as well as some vegetables such as pak choi and celery, which will regrow from scraps. However, it is also a suitable method for some house plants, such as pothos, English ivy, philodendron, and even begonias.

Simply place the base of the cutting, or root section if growing a vegetable, into a bowl of water. Within a few days, the cutting should have grown roots. Make sure you change the water regularly, so that it does not stagnate.

Once you can see signs of growth, plant the cutting into well-draining potting mix.

As editor of Period Living, Britain's best-selling period homes magazine, Melanie loves the charm of older properties. I live in a rural village just outside the Cotswolds in England, so am lucky to be surrounded by beautiful homes and countryside, where I enjoy exploring. Having worked in the industry for almost two decades, Melanie is interested in all aspects of homes and gardens. Her previous roles include working on Real Homes and Homebuilding & Renovating, and she has also contributed to Gardening Etc. She has an English degree and has also studied interior design. Melanie frequently writes for Homes & Gardens about property restoration and gardening.

Simple houseplant pruning guide for beginners

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12/28/2020

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We understand the types of pruning, when it can be done and how to do it right. nine0003

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1 Select the type of pruning

The first thing that houseplant owners need to know is that pruning comes in four types and performs different functions.

Sanitary

This is the most common pruning and the one that needs to be done the most. During this procedure, all dried leaves, branches, aerial roots, faded flower stalks are carefully removed. Sometimes it is carried out urgently if some kind of disease or decay has begun. nine0003

If part of the leaf is damaged, you can not cut it to a healthy green part, but leave a thin strip of dried tissue.

This pruning is often combined with topsoil replacement to renew and improve the soil.

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Shortening

This trimming is also known as pinching or pinching. This is a shortening of the growth point. It is carried out when they do not want a large plant to grow too much. After that, it begins to build up the leaf mass and becomes more lush, without wasting energy on growing in height or width. This pruning is very useful for vines, which often stretch out in length and do not release new leaves. nine0003

This procedure is also worth doing if you have a young, weak plant that has released too many buds. If you reduce their number, flowering will be longer, and the flowers will be larger and brighter.

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Shaping

This is a decorative procedure to give an aesthetic appearance. The branches are shortened by no more than two-thirds, and at least two buds are left on them. At the same time, it is important to pay attention to the fact that the cropping is symmetrical and not aggressive. nine0003

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Rejuvenating

It is applied to all rapidly aging or old flowers in the house. This primarily applies to roses, hydrangeas, pelargoniums and fuchsias. Old branches, on which there are no leaves or there are very few of them, are cut off, leaving 5-7 cm from the trunk. After that, the plant is protected from direct sunlight and often sprayed with a spray bottle. This provokes the growth of new kidneys.

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2 Determine when plants can be pruned

Pruning is carried out during the active growing season - in late February and early March. This is a period of active growth. It is not worth starting it immediately after flowering, as the plant has spent too much energy on it, it goes into a dormant period and is not ready for new stress. After flowering, you can only carefully remove dried flower stalks and leaves.

Broken and damaged branches may be cut at any time if the plant is healthy and not flowering. At the same time, you need to wait until the juice that stands out dries up, and sprinkle the cut with charcoal. nine0003

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3 Remember the Rules for Trimming

There are several basic trimming principles that apply to all types of trimming. Don't forget to stick to them.