For years I have rooted the macrophylla without any problem-------------but, I do not find the paniculata, quercifolia or arborescens so easy. Does any one have any suggestions?
Shirley D.
Rooting hydrangeas other than macrophylla
I've had no luck with the paniculata family. I haven't tried the quercifolia or arborescens.
I'd suggest you try cuttings (and label them) for each month and see which ones do work. I'd also scratch the whole stem for the bottom two nodes (double the chance of success). Good luck, Shirley.
I've found that Paniculata family roots a fair amount slower than my mac's. I have to be much more carefull giving it the "right" conditions and still have a higher % of loss. The tip cuttings root the best and I've almost given up trying to root a non-tip cutting as the % of loss is..well, a lot. I have to be very particular with the moisture level, they require root horomone (my mac's don't require it. It helps, but not required) I've had to be very careful with location of the cuttings...just lots of experimenting to find the "right" conditions.
I like Pirl's suggestions and will be trying them this year... lets see if I can get my % up a little more!
As for Quercifolia, I haven't tried it yet, but I hear that the best way is hardwood cuttings in winter because they are much tougher than the mac's. One of these years I will be trying it.... well, at least that's what I keep telling myself.
Oh, I suppose that layering is always a good thing to try! I don't think I've had much of anything fail with layering. It takes a while but it's a pretty safe way to at least get one or two extra plants.
Layering is a sure fire success.
When I have to trim back some odd (too tall) stems of the mac's I automatically put them in the earth by the mother plant and no matter what the season they always root.
OT: Last November/December I took cuttings (tip and internodal) of Crape Myrtle and put them in my indoor little greenhouse. For a long time I didn't see anything change but then they turned green in a hurry. I love when things work out on the first try. I did not use rooting hormone or give them any special treatment other than a deep terra cotta pot.
Speaking of crepe myrtles, do they all exhibit root propagation? I dug up 3 Tonto plants a couple of years ago and moved them. The remaining roots of the 3 locations I dug them from all sent up new shoots and are almost as big as the mother plants. The odd thing is there is a ring of plants as though the cut roots sent up new shoots so that I have several new plants with the middle not showing any new shoots.
I've only moved a Powhatan but no sprouts came from where it had been planted. Sorry, I can't be of more help to you.
All suckers are easily rooted (cut them into sections and put in moist soil in greenhouse environment), even the ones that are tall can be used.
Thanks for all your suggestions. In years past I have had great success with the paniculata----and then lost my touch. This week I will try again!!!!
Shirley D.
By the way, I have never used root stimulator-------just good potting soil and a spot with filtered light--------------and have grown multitudes of macrophyllas (and used to get paniculatas-------and will again!)
Shirley D
I think you can start cuttings in pure perlite too but it has been a lot of years since I started cuttings of P.G. using this method.
The only Hydrangea I grow is old arborescens, not even Annabel, I don't know what it is, but, I layer it all over the place and I'm at it again as I want a solid wall of it next to my road where the salt trucks spill salt--sometimes four inches deep. In front of it I'm trying to get ditch-lily to grow as nothing is really happy where the snow plow and salt trucks turn around. I have huge clumps back by the woods where I just pin down the old branches in the spring, then mulch the shoots when they grow up. Hard wood cuttings were very slow for me; they rooted but formed smaller plants than the layers. The only problem is ending up with these huge clumps that are a tangle of roots and branches on the ground. I wander about the yard some days placing branches of any thing from roses to shrub dogwood on the ground and layering anything that I think will root just to amaze and amuse myself---polyanthus rose The Fairy ended up in the middle of the lawn from layers and now I don't know what to do with it as I had intended some civilized border of boxwood and roses. May layer some wild vibernums behind the H arborescens then if I can afford it some white cedar. I'm dreaming, I have to get the blasted daylilies to fill in first. Why is it they invade in the places I don't want them and sulk where I want them??-----------------------------------------------Weedy