Hydrangea Cuttings: How to Propagate Hydrangeas

Not only are hydrangeas one of the most loved flowers in the world, but they’re reliable and best of all, easy to grow. They come in a huge range of colours and even styles. Charlie will show you how to get a sensationally colourful hydrangea display in summer, but it means putting some work in now.

WATCH: Charlie shows you how to propagate hydrangeas

Hydrangeas are some of the most popular shrubs to grow from cuttings. And the good news is, that you’ll get a new plant which is identical to the mother plant – for free! Here's our step-by-step guide for how to grow hydrangeas from cuttings.

Gather your supplies

Rooting hormone powder or gel
Quality propagating mix

You’ll also need

Clean bypass secateurs
Clean plastic pots

How to propagate hydrangeas

Step 1

Start with a fresh green stem, taken in spring or early summer. If you haven’t done so already, deadhead the flowers down to where you get living stems.

Step 2

Cut healthy pieces of stem about 15–20cm long, positioning the top cut above a pair of emerging leaves, close to the node, and the bottom cut also just above a node.

Step 3

If lower leaves are mature, remove all but the top 2 and cut these in half to reduce water loss as roots eventually begin to form.

Step 4

Dip the cuttings into rooting hormone gel or powder and insert into pots filled with propagating mix so about a third to a half of the cuttings are buried.