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Gardening Know How has published a guide to propagating seven shrubs from hardwood cuttings in November, including roses, dogwood, butterfly bush, mock orange and viburnum. The method uses dormant-season stems planted in free-draining containers and sheltered over winter; success is not guaranteed, and the source provides no measured success rates.
Gardening Know How has published a guide to propagating seven shrubs from hardwood cuttings in November, outlining how to select and prepare stems, pot them in free-draining soil and shelter them over winter. The advice offers gardeners a way to try growing more shrubs from existing plants, but the article does not report trial results or guarantee that every cutting will root.
The plants named in the guide are roses, butterfly bush, dogwood, forsythia, spirea, mock orange and viburnum. Gardening Know How says to take cuttings after a deciduous shrub has dropped its leaves or lost most of its foliage in a mild autumn. It recommends current-year stems from the sunnier outer part of the shrub, roughly pencil-thick and mature enough to snap rather than bend softly.
The article advises cutting sections about 6 to 12 inches long, with several nodes. Make the lower cut just below a node and the angled upper cut just above one, it says, and remove any remaining leaves with pruners. The cuttings should be placed base-first into holes in containers filled with potting soil mixed with a similar volume of grit, sand or perlite to improve drainage.
According to the guide, dogwood, forsythia, butterfly bush and spirea may root without added hormone. It recommends rooting powder for roses, while mock orange and viburnum may benefit from scoring a narrow strip of bark at the base before applying powder. It says to keep the pots in a sheltered position, such as against a south-facing wall. These are the publication’s gardening recommendations; results will vary, and the supplied report does not give a complete care schedule or comparative success data.
A Low-Cost Way to Grow Shrubs
For gardeners who want more shrubs without buying additional plants, hardwood cuttings provide a low-cost method to try. The approach can also help multiply a shrub already growing in a garden, although the source does not address permission when taking material from someone else’s plant. Because the cuttings are prepared in late fall and kept through winter, the work fits into a period when many deciduous shrubs have lost their leaves.
The guide’s practical value is its focus on plant selection, drainage and winter shelter, rather than a promise of guaranteed results. Its own instructions acknowledge that not every cutting succeeds. Gardeners may need to take several cuttings and wait until spring to see which have rooted; no specific success rate is provided.
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Why November Suits Hardwood Cuttings
Hardwood cuttings are pieces of mature, dormant growth, unlike soft, leafy cuttings taken during the growing season. Gardening Know How says late fall is a suitable time because deciduous stems have stored energy before winter and their outer bark has become tougher. It advises using stems from the current year and waiting until leaf fall is under way.
The source recommends containers rather than planting directly in the ground so gardeners can use a sharply draining mix and place cuttings in a sheltered spot. The cuttings are intended to develop roots over winter and be ready for planting in spring. The supplied material does not include a publication date beyond its November framing or explain whether the advice was tested across different climates.
““cut plenty as not even expert gardeners get a 100% success rate from hardwood cuttings.””
— Gardening Know How
Rooting Rates and Local Conditions
No measured success rates are reported, and the guide does not establish that November is the best time in every climate. It says timing should follow leaf fall, which can vary with local weather and plant condition. The supplied material also does not give details on how often containers should be checked or watered after planting, or how to confirm that roots have formed before spring.
The source lists seven shrubs, but its detailed discussion of hormone use focuses on four groups: some are described as likely to root unaided, while roses, mock orange and viburnum may benefit from extra treatment. It does not offer quantified comparisons between treated and untreated cuttings. Gardeners should treat the recommendations as guidance to try, not a guarantee of free, established plants.
Check the Cuttings in Spring
The next step for gardeners following the advice is to leave the pots in a sheltered position through winter and monitor them as conditions change. The guide says rooted cuttings should be ready for planting in spring, but it does not specify a date or a test for readiness. Any assessment of how well the method worked will depend on observing the plants after winter and confirming which stems have established roots.
Gardening Know How’s report does not announce a follow-up study or provide an update on results. The practical outcome remains with individual gardeners: take multiple cuttings, label the containers by plant, and assess their growth in spring before moving them into the garden.
Key Questions
Which shrubs does the November guide recommend?
It names roses, butterfly bush, dogwood, forsythia, spirea, mock orange and viburnum as candidates for hardwood cuttings.
When should I take hardwood cuttings?
Gardening Know How advises waiting until a deciduous shrub has dropped its leaves, or lost most of its foliage during a mild autumn. It frames November as the target period, but local conditions may differ.
Do all seven shrubs need rooting hormone?
No. The guide says dogwood, forsythia, butterfly bush and spirea may root without it. It recommends rooting powder for roses and suggests scoring the base of mock orange and viburnum cuttings before applying powder.
Will every cutting grow?
No. The source explicitly cautions that even experienced gardeners do not achieve a 100% success rate. It gives no numerical success rate, so gardeners should take several cuttings and wait to assess them after winter.
How should the cuttings be kept over winter?
The guide recommends containers with a well-draining mix and a sheltered position protected from harsh winter weather, such as beside a south-facing wall. Its supplied instructions do not set out a detailed ongoing watering schedule.
Source: gardeningknowhow.com
