How to Grow Hydrangeas From Stem Cuttings in Soil

By
Jamie McIntosh
Jamie McIntosh
Jamie McIntosh
Jamie McIntosh has written about gardening and special occasion flowers for the Spruce since 2011. She has more than 20 years of experience caring for flowers and plants. She was a feature writer for Organic Gardening at Suite101, where she won awards for her writing.
Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process
Updated on 10/18/22
Reviewed by
Debra LaGattuta
Debra LaGattuta
Reviewed by Debra LaGattuta

Debra LaGattuta is a Master Gardener with 30+ years of experience in perennial and flowering plants, container gardening, and raised bed vegetable gardening. She is a lead gardener in a Plant-A-Row, which is a program that offers thousands of pounds of organically-grown vegetables to local food banks. Debra is a member of The Spruce Garden Review Board.

Learn more about The Spruce's Review Board
In This Article
Project Overview
  • Working Time: 30 mins - 1 hr
  • Total Time: 10 - 12 wks
  • Skill Level: Beginner
  • Estimated Cost: $15

Hydrangeas are spectacular deciduous flowering shrubs that are usually sold as well-developed plants in 1-gallon or 2-gallon pots at a premium price—$25 to $50 is not an uncommon price for nursery hydrangeas. Thus, there's an incentive to save money by propagating your own hydrangeas by taking stem cuttings and rooting them. A mature plant can yield dozens of new hydrangeas to fill your garden, potentially saving you hundreds of dollars.

Hydrangea shrub with large cluster of pink flowers in garden

The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

Hydrangeas are especially well-suited to this method. Unlike many other woody plants, they grow quickly and can become mature flowering shrubs within a single year.

Warning

It is technically a violation of the law to propagate plant varieties that have been patented by their developers. Plant patents remain in effect for 20 years after they are first granted, so older varieties of plants can generally be propagated without a problem. But a plant whose nursery tag includes a "TM" or "®" is probably patented and should not be propagated without permission. Plant patent law is rarely enforced against private homeowners who are merely cloning plants they already own, but there is still the potential for legal difficulties if you are caught violating a plant patent.



When to Grow Hydrangeas From Cuttings

Theories abound regarding the best time to take cuttings from the various types of hydrangea (big-leaf, oak-leaf, smooth, and panicle), but most experienced gardeners find it best to take cuttings in spring in order to grow them into viable plants for planting in the garden a few months later, in the fall. In spring, the plant's metabolism and growth rate are peaking, and spring propagation allows for a full growing season for rooted cutting to mature into a full-sized plant.

It's best to take cuttings during the cool of the day, in the early morning or evening. This way, heat stress won't affect the vulnerable stem once it's been removed from the parent plant.

While it is possible to take hydrangea cutting in late summer or fall to root and grow indoors, most growers find this to be a trickier method with a lower success rate.

Before Getting Started

There are several popular species of hydrangea, each with slightly different needs and growing characteristics:

  • Hydrangea macrophylla (big leaf hydrangea): Growing 6 to 10 feet tall with flowers in blue to pink to white, this species is hardy in USDA zones 5 to 11. Some growers believe that early fall is the best time to take cuttings from this type, which seems to be more accepting of indoor growing, but spring cuttings also seem to work fine.
  • Hydrangea arborescens (smooth hydrangea): Growing 3 to 5 feet tall with white flowers, this species is hardy in zones 3 to 9. This type is often propagated by root cuttings, though stem cuttings can also work.
  • Hydrangea quercifolia (oakleaf hydrangea): Growing to about 8 feet tall with white blooms, this species is hardy in zones 5 to 9. Take cuttings from non-blooming stems in early spring, then root it in a pot until a good network of roots has developed.
  • Hydrangea paniculata (tree hydrangea, panicle hydrangea): Growing 8 to 15 feet tall with white to pink flowers, this variety is hardy in zones 3 to 8. These, too, are best rooted in spring to produce new garden plants for the fall.

It's worth reading up on the various types of hydrangea to make sure you understand the needs of the new plants you are creating. Be aware that each species has many different cultivars, each with its own unique characteristics.

What You'll Need

Equipment / Tools

  • Sharp pruners
  • Gardening gloves

Materials

  • Rubbing alcohol
  • Cotton ball
  • Powdered rooting hormone
  • 8- to 10-inch terra cotta pot
  • Sterile seed-starting soil

Instructions

Materials and tools to grow hydrangea from stem cuttings

The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  1. Sanitize Your Pruners

    Sanitize your pruners by dabbing a cotton ball into rubbing alcohol and wiping down the blades and handle. Taking this precaution will help to prevent fungal diseases in your new plant. 

    Garden pruners sanitized with cotton ball and rubbing alcohol

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  2. Take a Cutting From a Green Stem

    On a mature hydrangea plant, make a cut about 2 inches below a leaf node on a green, healthy branch that has not yet formed flower buds. Avoid older, woody stems. The cutting should be 6 to 8 inches long, overall.

    Hydrangea shrub stem being cut with pruners

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  3. Trim Leaves From the Cutting

    Remove all but the top two to four highest leaves on the cutting with your pruners, being careful not to damage the stem in the process. When cutting the leaves, leaving some room between the main stem and the cut. This allows the integrity of the main stem to remain undamaged.

    Remove half of each of the remaining upper leaves, using pruners or scissors.

    Leaves trimmed from bottom of hydrangea cutting

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  4. Dip the Stem Into Rooting Powder

    Dip the cut end of the stem into rooting hormone powder. This can be viewed as an optional step, but most growers find that success rates are improved by using rooting hormone.

    Hydrangea cutting stem dipped in cup with rooting power

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  5. Prepare a Pot

    Choose a pot that meets your space needs and the number of hydrangea cuttings you are starting. An 8- to 10-inch terra-cotta pot should hold several cuttings.

    Add a seed-starting potting mix to your pot, then moisten the mix thoroughly. Other sterile growing media can also work, such as vermiculite or coarse sand.

    Seed-starting potting mix prepared in pot near hydrangea cuttings

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  6. Plant the Cutting

    Embed each cutting into the growing mix all the way up to the base of the remaining leaves. Pack the mix down around stems and moisten thoroughly.

    Place the potted cuttings in a loosely secured clear plastic bag and set it in a location that gets bright indirect light, but not direct sunlight, which can bake the cuttings and cause them to rot.

    Monitor the potting mix and add moisture when it begins to dry out to the touch. The growing mix should be consistently moist, but not soggy.

    Hydrangea cuttings planted in round pot with growing mix

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  7. Repot as Needed

    Within a month, your hydrangea cuttings will form new roots. Once they do and new green growth begins, you can carefully transplant individual cuttings into their own pots filled with ordinary potting mix to continue growing into larger plants. Or, well-developed cuttings can be transplanted directly into the garden at this time.

    You can now begin treating the new specimens as mature plants, watering them weekly.

    Hydrangea plant with roots held with gloves over small pots

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

  8. Transplant Into the Garden

    When planting new hydrangeas into the garden, follow proper spacing guidelines for by allowing a 4- to 6-foot gap between plants. If planted in the fall, the new hydrangeas will grow into flowering bushes during the next growing season.

    Tip

    With big leaf hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) careful control of the soil pH, achieved through adding different soil amendments, can control the color of the blossoms. Acidic soils tend to produce blue flowers, while alkaline soils tend to produce pink blossoms.

    Hydrangea transplanted into garden with fresh soil

    The Spruce / Randi Rhoades

FAQ
  • How long does it take to grow hydrangeas from cuttings?

    Roots will begin to form within roughly a month. You can tell that a root system has developed if you feel resistance when you gently tug on the stem.

  • Can you root hydrangeas in water?

    Shrubs with woody stems like hydrangeas do not easily root in water. It is best to encourage their rooting with rooting hormone and then planting the stems in soil.

  • Can you propagate hydrangeas from a bouquet?

    It is possible—though not always successful—to root cut hydrangeas from a bouquet, as long as the stem is healthy. Simply prepare the cutting in the same way you would if you were taking it from the plant.

How to Prune Hydrangeas