Cuttings and layering, step by step
Interactive lesson: dozens of new plants of the same variety from one healthy bush — hardwood and softwood cuttings, layering, mound layering and dividing clumps.
Free sample Chapters 1 and 2 (8 steps) are free. The full lesson comes with the Cuttings, layering and division module. Already bought? Unlock
This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.
The whole lesson as text
1. Clone and stock plant
A plant from a cutting is a clone: the same plant as its mother.
- The same plant as its mother — A currant twig pushed into the ground in autumn has roots by spring. The new plant has the same fruit, the same resistance and the same ripening time.
- Diseases pass on — Viruses, canker and some fungal diseases pass from the mother to all her cuttings. One infected stock plant means twenty infected young plants.
- Mark a healthy mother — Take cuttings only from healthy, productive plants of a known variety. Mark them between June and September.
- Sharp, clean tools — Keep your tools sharp. Clean them with alcohol between one plant and the next.
Why: Propagating from part of a plant involves no pollination and no mixing of traits. The new plant carries the same fruit and the same resistance, but also the same diseases. That's why choosing the stock plant is the most important step.
- Apples, pears, plums and cherries are hard to root from cuttings at home. Their varieties are grafted (H12-04 and H17-05).
- Giving away or selling cuttings of a protected variety (PBR, PVR, plant patent) is not allowed. Rules differ between countries: check with the relevant authority.
2. Hardwood cuttings
The easiest start: a leafless twig, cut when dormant and planted outdoors.
- A shoot as thick as a pencil — Once the leaves have fallen, choose last year's shoot as thick as a pencil. Currants are cut in October–November.
- Flat base, slanted top — Cut the base just below a bud and the top at a slant above a bud. Currants and gooseberries 20–25 cm (8–10 in), figs and quince 20–30 cm. A cutting planted upside down won't root.
- Two thirds in the ground — Push 2/3 of the cutting into loose soil, with 2 buds above. 10–15 cm apart in the row, 30–40 cm between rows.
- Firm, water, mulch — Firm the soil round the cutting with your foot, water and add 5 cm of mulch. In heavy soil line the bottom of the trench with 3–5 cm of sand.
Why: A hardwood cutting is a piece of one-year-old shoot, cut after leaf fall. It has no leaves, so it doesn't wilt and doesn't need a greenhouse. Currants, gooseberries, figs, quince and willow propagate easily this way.
- Frost can lift cuttings out of the ground. When the soil thaws in February–March, firm every cutting back in with your heel.
- Leaves often start before the roots. If the soil dries out in May, the cutting wilts: water it all the first summer.
3. Softwood cuttings · Locked
Buy the Cuttings, layering and division module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.
4. Layering · Locked
Buy the Cuttings, layering and division module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.
5. Clumps and suckers · Locked
Buy the Cuttings, layering and division module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.
6. Care and labels · Locked
Buy the Cuttings, layering and division module and you get the PDF to download and print, plus lifetime access to this interactive lesson: all 6 chapters, 24 steps.