Deciduous Flowering Shrubs - Part 6, Continued
For larger initial plants of easily rooted types, air layering also works.
There are about as many ways to "stick" hydrangea cuttings as there are gardeners. This is how I do it.
Cuttings can be taken from April to August. Earlier cuttings (softwood) will root faster than later ones, but will also wilt very quickly. Take material from the tip ends of non-flowering shoots with two or three pairs of leaves. The one pictured has four or five pairs of leaves before trimming.
If you're gathering cuttings from someone else's plants, take a small cooler, a large plastic bag and some damp paper towels with you. Take the cuttings and immediately put them in the plastic bag with the damp paper towel around the stem ends, seal the bag and put it in the cooler - ice is not necessary. This will keep the cuttings from wilting before you get a chance to deal with them. You can even hold them for a day or so when you get home by putting the bags in the refrigerator...but don't wait weeks or you'll have mush instead of cuttings.
Using a sharp blade, like this X-acto knife or a single edged razor blade, remove the bottom pairs of leaves - leaving only two to four at the top, and trim the stem to just below a node (the joint where leaves emerge from the stem). Trim cleanly, without leaving jagged edges or nubs that may rot.
Cut the remaining leaves in half and your trimmed cutting should look something like this - it could be shorter, with only two nodes to the stem. Roots will form mainly at the nodes. I've read that it's a good idea to scrape the bottom inch of the cutting to wound the stem tissue, which encourages it to form roots. I've not done this, myself, but it's an interesting idea, particularly for the harder to root species.
Pot and Medium
You'll need a clean pot - new is even better - deep enough to take your cuttings. Normally, I'll do four or five to a pot, depending on their size and the pot size. You need to be able to place them so that the leaves don't touch each other.
Fill your pot with new, clean, cutting medium (this is not the time to reuse some old potting soil) and tamp it in firmly. Sanitation is important, since you
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