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greenguy1

Propagating Climbing Hydrangea

greenguy1
15 years ago

My neighbor has offered me cuttings of climbing hydrangea - he is selling the house, so I don't have the option of weighting a stem down with a rock until it roots. Will the holdfast roots that are holding the hydrangea stems to the house (lots of new growth with pliable green/white holdfasts) do the job if I put the cuttings in a glass of water or a pot of growing medium?

Thanks.

- Steve

Comments (17)

  • hanabi
    15 years ago

    If you can go rummage around the plant yourself see if there are branghes close to the ground. These may already have real roots and will transplant easily. I transplanted my own climbing hydrangea this spring and got three potfuls of new young plants from branches that had layered naturally. I am not sure if the upper branches will root as easily but it is worth a try.

  • morz8 - Washington Coast
    15 years ago

    Climbing hydrangea, propagation :

    "Hydrangea anomala ssp. petiolaris is more difficult to root than h. macrophylla especially after the wood has ripened. Non-flowering shoots of soft wood have root initials along the stem that serve as aerial roots to enable the vine to cling to a vertical support. These shoots should be placed in a well-drained rooting medium and roots will develop at the site of the initials."

  • greenguy1
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Thanks, both of you. I will check to see if there are some branches already rooted, and certainly (now) try to root some of the soft branches.

    - Steve

  • ego45
    15 years ago

    Of course, already rooted brabches will be good and I'm sure you'll find plenty of them, but just in case you don't here is the method which I used in the past with 100% success.
    Find a 12-15" long branch/stem and cut it the way that you'll have some old AND new growth on it. It should be pliable enough to make a loop out of the old wood.
    Make a loop from the bottom part of the cutting, but leave at least 6-7" of new wood free. Place the loop at the bottom of container, fill by potting medium, but let 3-4" of the soft wood sticking out. Water and put in full shade.
    That's it. In 2-3 weeks it will be rooted.

  • greenguy1
    Original Author
    15 years ago

    Very interesting. What is the purpose of making a loop?

    - Steve

  • ego45
    15 years ago

    To have as many pair of buds as possible buried in the soil.
    If you plant cutting straight up number of buds in a soil will be limited by the height of container. By making a loop you'll be increasing number of buds under the soil thus roots will fill the container faster and plant will be ready for open ground sooner.

  • queeenbee
    10 years ago

    my hydrangea was growing on my wall quite well however, we had a terrible storm and it fell off the wall. It did not split or anything but I don't know it tying it up ( as I have for now) will work as the air roots ripped off the wall and not sure if it will grow new ones on old wood
    Hate to have to lose nearly half of the whole plant
    any suggestions please

  • Lisa Lebeau
    5 years ago

    There is nothing you can do to save the part that has fallen, but if you prune it back and protect the cut surfaces it will regrow nicely over time. It is definitely worth the trouble to save it!

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    5 years ago

    This is a 10 year old thread and the last question was posed more than 5 years ago!! I would assume both the OP and second query have dealt with the issue a long time ago ........ :-)

  • timothy_dobson
    5 years ago

    old or not, the topic is still valid and info worthwhile. I need fool-proof hydrangea cuttings to root.

  • Cordy Brown
    4 years ago

    still valid thread to me! I just found and it answered many of my questions.


  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    4 years ago

    My remark was directed at the response preceeding mine re: the fallen vine. Making suggestions on how to correct or deal with an issue that occurred 5 years previously is unlikely to be very helpful to the person with that issue........assumedly they dealt with it long before that response occurred.

  • ophoenix
    4 years ago

    I tried the loop at the bottom of the bucket when I read the original comment. Did not work for me at all. Tried again - this time several branches/cuttings and still did not work. If it ever roots, please post.

    timothy_dobson, I do many hydrangea cutting and there is no fool proof methods of propagation. There are recommend techniques - some are easier than others but none are fool proof! I would suggest to check under the shrub - as suggested in previous comments and find a branch that has roots and use that one taking as much of the branch from the ground roots to the main plant. Curve these into a container and cover with soil. This may give you a better chance of striking more roots.

  • twyattwa
    3 years ago

    I have several cuttings I took from our plant last year..mine also fell from a wall and I only had time to put cuttings in a water bucket and they stayed there all winter. They are still alive (actually budding out!) but life is crazy and they are still in water..no roots though! They are all fairly woody stems. Does anyone have any experience with rooting hormone? I’m open to any and all advice!! Since they have lived this long I’d love to see them survive and thrive!!!

  • Sheila Riach
    2 years ago

    twyattwa, I am in the exact situation with cuttings in water and budding with no roots!!! Will you please share what you finally did with your cuttings and the outcome??? I can't tell you how much everyone would appreciate it!

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