Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.) When added into the landscape provide an amazing bounty of interest and flowers. White bigleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea macrophylla) blossoms are usually selected for decorative bouquets or used as cut flowers. These plants are easy to disperse, allowing gardeners to increase their number of blossoms. Hydrangea can be propagated from cuttings, by layering or by branch. They root making them plants on which to learn an assortment of propagation techniques.
Seed
Another hydrangea will be produced by any hydrangea seed, but only those that come in non-hybrid forms can be relied on to be identical to their parents. Hydrangea seeds planted immediately without preparation and can be shaken from flower heads that were dried. They should be scattered over the top of a moistened seed starting medium and placed in a secure, but glowing, location. Seedlings emerge after 10 to 14 days in a temperature around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. Keep from washing off the medium moist, but not wet, being careful to water from underneath to protect against the seeds.
Softwood Cuttings
Softwood cuttings are made early in the season, as new shoots begin to harden. Examine the plant for openness by bending it sharply and selecting a take that is green. The shoot is prepared to be used for propagation, if it pops like a green bean. Remove of a non-flowering take at least three leaves, with rooting hormone, dust and push it into a pot of moistened peat. Capping the pot using a plastic tote can promote rooting and simplify care since the cuttings must remain moist so as to trigger successfully.
Simple Layering
Accidents that occasionally occur in nature, making it an effective method to propagate a wide selection of shrubs are mimiced by layering. The drawback of this process is that only a few plants may be propagated in a time due to space constraints. Dig a trench about 4 inches deep near enough to the hydrangea that you want to clone that a branch can be bent and partly buried in it. Remove a ring of bark about 1 inch wide prior to burying the section that is injured from the trench, but allow the branch to stick from the soil’s end. Leave the coating set up until the hydrangea goes dormant, then carefully remove the dirt from the area. Provided that roots have formed, cut at on the plant that was about 1 inch below the rootball and replant it immediately.
Division
Many hydrangea may also be propagated by clump division. Use a sharp shovel to slice through the center of the plant in two directions, making four bits that are equal, After a plant is dormant. This is significantly easier if your hydrangea dies back to the ground every year, but you can cut back the plant to no longer than 18 inches above the floor before dividing. Replant the clumps away after branch and water thoroughly.