Why Propagate From Dormant Hardwood Cuttings

Cuttings taken from dormant before budding mature woody stems in late fall winter or early spring.

Why propagate from dormant hardwood cuttings.

In iowa hardwood stem cuttings should be collected in late february or early march. Most of the time they are done during the winter months when the plants are dormant. Cut in late winter from the mother plant. Hardwood propagation is the most common method though there are a select few types of grapes that cannot be propagated using hardwood cuttings like muscadine grapes.

Early spring cuttings may be more fun for the family since the weather is warmer and it is before yard or garden work. Last winter i did my hardwood cuttings on 3 31 with great results and will probably always do them that way from now on. Hardwood cuttings are fun to try if you want to propagate woody shrubs like willows dogwoods and currents. Just watered when temps are warm.

Cuttings taken in the late fall and winter are known as hardwood cuttings because just as it sounds the wood is much harder during the fall and winter than it is during the growing season. Hardwood cuttings are taken from dormant mature stems in late fall winter or early spring. Hardwood stem cuttings are collected in late winter when the plant material is dormant from wood of the previous season s growth. Spring and summer is when most people think about propagating garden plants but caring for tender cuttings through the heat of summer can be challenging.

Plants generally are fully dormant with no obvious signs of active growth. There are 3 types of stem cuttings. How to propagate plants from dormant hardwood cuttings. Grape plants are easy to propagate from cuttings.

Fortunately a number of popular trees and shrubs can be rooted easily in the dormant season via hardwood cuttings see table and require much less attention. Hardwood cuttings are used most often for deciduous shrubs but can be used for many evergreens. Keeping em moist but not soggy. The wood is firm and does not bend easily.

Softwood cuttings are done in the summer semi hardwood cutting are done in the fall and hardwood cutting we do in the winter when the plant is dormant. This is my favourite way to propagate plants in my plant nursery. Hardwood cuttings are even simpler to prepare than softwood or herbaceous cuttings as we use cuttings from dormant deciduous trees and woody plants and this technique is very useful for propagating fruit trees such as figs pomegranates mulberries and quince. Using a sterile medium perlite vermiculite helps to ensure there aren t any critters to nibble on the new growth.

Propagating grapes from hardwood cuttings. I ve had a lot of experience with dormant hardwood cuttings. Each year during the dormant season grapes should be pruned to ensure a healthy crop the following year. They worked best when pruned before the sap starts flowing up.