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Hardwood cuttings are always taken from deciduous shrubs during their leafless, winter dormant period. It’s an ideal propagation technique to increase numbers of shrubs like dogwoods (cornus), pretty pink and white flowered deutzia, buddleia to attract butterflies, flowering currants (ribes), scented philadelphus or viburnums. You can also try it on some climbers such as vines (vitis) and honeysuckle, and fruit bushes, too.
The process of taking hardwood cuttings is really straightforward, and they need very little care afterwards. Once you’ve taken them, you can just leave them to it. Plus, they take up little room.
They are slower to root than other kinds of cutting, so they need to be bigger – to provide the cutting with enough food to survive until it has rooted and can fend for itself. As a general rule, aim for cuttings that are around 20cm to 25cm (8-10in) long, and roughly the same thickness as a pencil – not spindly, and not too thick.
By autumn, your cuttings should have rooted (if not, throw them away) and you can plant them out or pot them on.
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