7 Shrubs You Can Propagate From Hardwood Cuttings in November
November may seem like a quiet month in the garden, but it offers an opportunity to grow more shrubs. Once the leaves have fallen and the stems have matured, suitable plants can provide hardwood cuttings for next year’s garden.
You do not need an elaborate setup. Sharp pruners, deep pots, a freely draining growing medium, and a sheltered position are enough to get started.
Forsythia, shrubby dogwood, flowering currant, mock orange, deutzia, weigela, and many shrub roses are suitable candidates for dormant-season hardwood cuttings. November works when the parent plants have entered dormancy and conditions are not severely frosty.
This is a patient gardener’s project. Cuttings need months to develop roots and establish, rather than producing mature flowering shrubs within weeks.
What Are Hardwood Cuttings?
Hardwood cuttings are sections of mature woody stems taken during a plant’s dormant period. For many deciduous shrubs, the preferred material is healthy growth produced during the current year.
The general collection window runs from mid-autumn to late winter, after leaf fall and before spring growth begins. Avoid taking cuttings during severe frost.
Use the plant’s condition as your guide. If a shrub is still growing actively in a mild November, wait until its shoots have matured and it has entered dormancy.
1. Forsythia
Botanical name: Forsythia species and hybrids
Forsythia is a useful choice for gardeners who want more early spring color. Its yellow flowers brighten bare branches, making it popular for informal hedges and mixed borders.
The RHS recommends hardwood cuttings from mid-autumn to late winter as one way to propagate it. Cuttings reproduce the parent variety, which is helpful when filling gaps in an existing hedge.
Choose healthy, mature young shoots rather than thick, old branches. Label the variety if you know it, especially if you grow both compact and full-sized plants.
Collect selectively. Forsythia is normally pruned after flowering, so removing large amounts of growth in autumn can reduce the following spring’s display.
Best garden use: Flowering hedges, sunny borders, and repeating a favorite variety.
2. Shrubby Dogwood
Botanical examples: Cornus alba and Cornus sericea
Dogwoods grown for colorful winter stems are excellent plants to consider when planning a repeated planting.
Their red, yellow, or orange stems, depending on the variety, can create a striking winter display. Taking cuttings allows you to reproduce a plant with the stem color you particularly enjoy.
Select healthy young stems that have matured during the growing season. Keep different varieties separately labeled.
This advice applies to shrubby dogwoods grown for winter stem color. Do not assume that flowering dogwood trees have the same propagation requirements.
Cornus alba can be propagated from hardwood cuttings in late autumn or winter, making it a suitable candidate for this seasonal project.
Best garden use: Winter-interest borders and groups of colorful stems.
3. Flowering Currant
Botanical name: Ribes sanguineum
Flowering currant brings clusters of flowers to the spring garden. It is an ornamental shrub, distinct from blackcurrants grown mainly for their fruit.
The RHS lists winter hardwood cuttings as a suitable propagation method for Ribes sanguineum.
Wait until the shrub is dormant, then collect healthy, mature shoots. Avoid damaged stems and material from plants that have been struggling.
Check the parent variety’s mature size before producing several new plants. Flowering currant cultivars vary in size and foliage characteristics, so choose one that suits the space available.
Best garden use: Informal flowering borders and mixed shrub planting.
4. Mock Orange
Botanical name: Philadelphus species and hybrids
Mock orange is worth propagating when you have a favorite established specimen. Many varieties are valued for their fragrant flowers, although fragrance, size, and growth habit differ.
Philadelphus is among the deciduous shrubs suitable for hardwood propagation.
Choose healthy, mature shoots and prepare them promptly. Keep each variety labeled so you can track which plants root successfully.
Take a modest amount of material rather than cutting back the whole shrub. Mock orange is generally pruned after flowering, so collecting autumn cuttings should remain a selective task.
Best garden use: Flowering borders, informal screening, and preserving a favorite shrub.
5. Deutzia
Botanical example: Deutzia scabra
Deutzia produces clusters of white or pink flowers, depending on the species and variety. It is a useful option for adding variety to a flowering shrub border.
For Deutzia scabra, the RHS specifically lists hardwood cuttings in late autumn as a propagation method.
Choose firm stems with several healthy buds. Discard weak or damaged portions rather than trying to make every piece into a cutting.
If you grow another deutzia species or cultivar, check its specific propagation guidance. Rooting success can vary, even among closely related plants.
Best garden use: Mixed borders and informal flowering displays.
6. Weigela
Botanical name: Weigela species and hybrids
Weigela is grown for its funnel-shaped flowers and, in some varieties, colorful foliage. Hardwood cuttings taken in late autumn or winter are a recognized propagation option.
Collect mature shoots after leaf fall. Choose a parent plant whose flower color, foliage, and growth habit you want to repeat.
Take several cuttings if suitable material is available. Propagation is not guaranteed, and a small batch gives you more opportunities for success.
Weigela flowers on the previous year’s wood, so avoid removing excessive growth simply to obtain cuttings.
Best garden use: Flowering borders and repeating a favorite variety through the garden.
7. Shrub Roses
Botanical name: Rosa species and suitable cultivars
Many roses can be propagated from hardwood cuttings during the dormant season. The RHS identifies mid-autumn to late winter as a suitable collection period.
Select healthy, mature stems from the variety you want to reproduce. On a grafted rose, avoid taking rootstock suckers instead of the desired rose.
A rooted cutting grows on its own roots. It may therefore perform differently from the parent plant if that parent was grafted onto a particular rootstock.
Rooting success varies between roses. Allow successful cuttings time to develop before expecting a substantial flower display.
Best garden use: Growing suitable own-root roses and preserving favorite varieties.
How to Prepare Hardwood Cuttings
Have your pots, labels, and growing medium ready before collecting stems.
For the general method:
- Select healthy, mature growth from the current season.
- Cut sections approximately 6–12 inches (15–30 cm) long, with several buds.
- Make a straight lower cut just below a bud.
- Make an angled upper cut above a bud.
- Remove any immature, soft tip.
- Label each batch immediately.
Cambridge University Botanic Garden describes this approach for preparing hardwood cuttings.
The different cuts help you distinguish the ends. Keep the original orientation: the end that was closer to the parent plant’s roots goes into the growing medium.
How to Plant Hardwood Cuttings in Pots
Use deep containers with drainage holes and a freely draining propagation mix.
Make holes with a pencil or dibber before inserting the cuttings. Firm the medium around each stem and water to settle it.
For the general hardwood-cutting method, place approximately two-thirds of the stem below the surface, leaving buds above the medium. Keep containers in a sheltered cold frame or unheated greenhouse and prevent them from drying out.
Avoid cramming too many cuttings into one container. Separate labeled batches make later care and identification easier.
A heated living room is not the default location for this project. Choose conditions appropriate to dormant outdoor shrub cuttings.
How to Care for Cuttings Through Winter and Spring
Check the growing medium periodically. Keep it moist enough to prevent drying, while allowing excess water to drain.
Watch for pots drying during windy weather or beneath shelter where rainfall cannot reach them. Continue checking moisture as spring growth begins.
Avoid repeatedly lifting stems to inspect the bases. Developing roots need time to establish, and unnecessary disturbance can damage them.
Maintain labels throughout the process. A pot of bare sticks may be easy to recognize in November, but identification becomes less certain several months later.
How Long Do Hardwood Cuttings Take to Root?
The RHS school-gardening guide gives a general rooting period of around three to five months, although the plant, temperature, and growing conditions influence the timing.
Root formation is only the first stage. A cutting needs a sufficiently developed root system before it can be moved and grown on successfully.
Auckland Botanic Gardens notes that hardwood cuttings commonly take about a year to become ready for planting. Plan for a growing season of care rather than expecting an instant garden shrub.
Common Hardwood Cutting Mistakes
Choosing unsuitable material. Thick old branches and damaged shoots are not interchangeable with healthy, mature young growth.
Planting upside down. Marking the top with an angled cut helps avoid this mistake.
Letting pots dry out. Leafless stems still need suitable moisture conditions.
Keeping containers waterlogged. Drainage is essential throughout the rooting period.
Losing the labels. Record the plant name and collection date when preparing each batch.
Taking too much from the parent. Collect selectively, especially from shrubs carrying next season’s flower buds.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is November always the best month for hardwood cuttings?
No. November is suitable in many gardens, but dormancy and mature stems matter more than the date. Collection can continue through the appropriate dormant-season window.
Do I need a heated propagator?
Not for the general method described here. These cuttings are commonly grown in sheltered outdoor conditions or an unheated structure, with protection adjusted to the climate.
Can every shrub grow from hardwood cuttings?
No. Propagation methods differ between species and cultivars. Some plants root more successfully from softwood or semi-ripe cuttings at another time of year.
Will the new plants match the parent shrub?
Cuttings are used to reproduce the parent plant’s characteristics. However, a cutting from a grafted plant grows on its own roots, which can affect its performance.
When should I move the cuttings into the garden?
Wait until they have a sufficiently established root system. Many hardwood cuttings are grown on until the following autumn rather than moved as soon as shoots appear.
