My father had a strange habit… He used to take “twigs” from plants he found everywhere, out of gates, in the countryside etc. Why? He filled our half acre garden virtually using only soft wood cuttings! And spring is the ideal season to do it.
Yes, because soft wood cuttings are what is written on the can; they are from new (this year’s) growth, and it comes in spring and in this season these branchlets and shoots are at their most vigorous and strongest time. Early summer is good as well for most varieties.
I suppose you know that all cuttings save you money and they are a great way to propagate plants, but let me tell you why soft wood ones are better than hardwood ones…
Soft wood cuttings are very easy to take, they snap easily, but always remember to give them a good cut with a sharp and sterile (pruning) knife afterwards, in case they break off badly. So, always take them longer than what you need.
They also tend to grow roots faster, as they are full of energy. To give them a helping hand, dip the bottom in apple cider vinegar and / or cinnamon; they are both natural rooting agents.
Soft wood cuttings adapt to both water and soil propagation, while hardwood ones prefer the latter.
But remember, soft wood cuttings need constant humidity and temperature (18 to 22°C or 64 to 71° Fahrenheit) , so you can’t just stick them in the ground and wait; they need a nursery style place (indoors, in your greenhouse, shed etc.)
Unlike with hardwood ones, you need to leave the top leaves on with softwood cuttings; however, you need to remove the bottom ones, and for two reasons: they can grow roots from where you have taken off the foliage, and they would lose too much water otherwise.
Finally, soft wood cuttings are usually much better for perennials, shrubs and climbers. I know very few trees that can grow from them.
So, shall we see 10 of the best plant varieties you can grow from soft wood cuttings?
1. Hydrangea (Hydrangea spp.)
Maybe one of your hydrangeas looks sickly, or maybe you want to grow that very nice variety your neighbor has? If you are in no hurry, instead of getting a young shrub, you can easily grow it from soft wood cuttings.
Of course, you will not enjoy its large, romantic blooms this season – but you won’t even need to wait too long, only 2 to 3 years, because it’s a fairly fast-growing flowering shrub. However, climbing hydrangeas usually take 5 to 7 years before they regale you with their massive floral displays.
I also suggest you take at least three, because you never know what may happen in this time; your new shrublets may get sick and die when young, so, better safe than sorry.
Did I say that most soft wood cuttings are suitable for both soil and water propagation? Well, hydrangea is definitely the exception – I usually find that in water, it tends to rot, because it has very “juicy” new growth.
The cutting should be quite long, 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm), and make sure that it only has the very top leaves (2 maximum) on, because they are big, and they will lose lots of water!
Do this and in 2 to 4 weeks, your “piece of hydrangea” will start growing roots!
2. Lavender (Lavandula spp.)
Did you know that you can also “propagate perfume” with softwood cuttings? Just take the new growth from a lavender shrub!
It sounds counterintuitive, because lavender has such woody branches, but Nature can be quirky sometimes: in soil, it tends to rot! One thing though, take the cutting when this magnet for pollinators has no buds yet, it will have more energy to grow new roots.
While it can grow in water, I would suggest you put your lavender cutting in soil. On the other hand, because the leaves are so tiny, you can leave about an inch at the top…
You will need your cuttings to be 3 to 4 inches long (7.5 to 10 cm) but you will also have to be a bit patient, because it takes 4 to 6 weeks to grow new roots.
3. Fuchsia (Fuchsia spp.)
I would love to have a whole corner of my garden packed with fuchsias of all sorts! There are so many color combinations and varieties, so I am collecting them by softwood cuttings – or it would cost me too much.
And the great news is that it can grow new roots almost overnight! Ok, usually 1 to 3 weeks maximum…
You also need very short cuttings, only 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 cm) and, while it grows in soil as well, fuchsia definitely prefers water.
Of all the plants you can grow from softwood cuttings, fuchsia is one of the best: easy, small, you can put a few twigs in the same jar and with a very high success rate indeed!
4. Lilac (Syringa spp.)
Did I tell you that you can also “propagate” butterflies by softwood cuttings? Yes, just take them from the tips of lilacs!
Actually, lilacs have a very low success rate with hardwood cuttings, so I definitely advise you to use softwood ones instead.
Each cutting should be 4 to 5 inches long (10 to 12.5 cm), and they must definitely only have the top 2 leaves on top.
I would suggest you do use a rooting agent with lilac, which prefers soil propagation to water, but manages with both, and you will need to wait 4 to 5 weeks for this stunning beauty to grow new roots.
Of course, don’t expect it to bloom this season. In fact, you will have to be very patient – 5 to 7 years, because it’s a big shrub, but the massive blooms (and butterflies) are surely worth the wait!
5. Rose (Rosa spp.)
You didn’t expect to find roses on the list, be honest… Yes, you can grow the queen gardens from soft cuttings, but she is a bit special, as usual.
In fact, you can propagate roses like the other varieties, but the gold standard is “air rooting” (technically layering). With this method, you will get a much higher success rate. It allows the “daughter” to “breastfeed” from the mother – and you know what roses are like…
What’s air rooting? Basically, first you get the new plant to grow new roots, then you take the cutting.
Start 4 to 6 inches from below the tip (10 to 15 cm), and make sure there are some leaves with 5 leaflets at the top (if they are only 3-part ones, they will die!)
Remove the other leaves, brush with apple cider vinegar, then take a small transparent plastic bag, cut the bottom and slide it onto the branch, where you have removed the leaves.
Tie it to the branch at the bottom, fill it with moist (not wet) potting soil or sphagnum moss, then tie the top too.
That’s it. In 4 to 8 weeks, and when you see the roots growing, take the cutting and you have a new rose!
6. Azalea (Rhododendron spp.)
Azaleas and rhododendrons can be fairly expensive, and how many times do people buy one, plant it in their garden and in a year or so it does? Save money, have fun and grow it yourself by softwood cuttings!
You will have to propagate it in soil, and that’s the key. The growing medium needs to be acidic soil with pH from 4.5 to 6.0. I suggest you use peat or volcanic soil, but an organic rich potting mix will do.
The cutting needs to be 3 to 5 inches long (7.5 to 12.5 cm), remove all the lower leaves apart from the 2 to 6 upper ones, and wait for 4 to 6 weeks…
If it is a small azalea variety, you may be lucky and see the first blooms next year, with bigger ones and rhododendrons you’ll have to wait for 3 or even more. However, it’s an excellent way to save sick or dying shrubs.
There’s an odd thing about azaleas, they preserve the color better by softwood than hardwood cutting.
7. Sage (Salvia spp.)
Whether you want to propagate a decorative variety or the aromatic herb, you can have many more plants of salvia (or sage) if you take some softwood cuttings.
They literally root aggressively from the tips, so, sage has a very high success rate, but it prefers water to soil.
On top of that, you will only need to wait 2 to 3 weeks to see the first roots and you will most probably enjoy the first blooms this year.
How long should the cuttings be? 3 to 4 inches (7.5 to 10 cm). Easy-peasy!
8. Boxwood (Buxus sempervirens)
Of course you can buy boxwood plants from stores and nurseries. Or you can even grow it from seed, but in this case, it will take ages for the shrub to grow. A middle and cheap way is to grow it from softwood cuttings.
The only thing is getting it to root well and as fast as possible. And by “fast”, I mean 6 weeks minimum, so, don’t panic if your cuttings don’t seem to respond to your tender loving care. You may even need to wait for a whole 10 weeks!
Yes, boxwood is the slowest variety I have picked for you.
But I have a suggestion for you: dip it in apple cider vinegar as soon as you cut the branch with the knife; it will speed up the rooting time.
I have a warning for you as well: you can only propagate boxwood in soil, because in water, given the long wait, you will get algae and bacteria and it may rot.
You only need a small cutting, 3 to 5 inches (7.5 to 12.5 cm). Strip the bottom half of the foliage and leave the top half (they are small).
Then, when it grows, fill in that gap in your hedge or practice topiary without having to buy a new plant when “it doesn’t go as you had expected”…
9. Clematis (Clematis spp.)
One of the climbers with the most striking flowers ever, generous and easy to grow, you can propagate clematis very safely from softwood cuttings!
In fact, the nodes on the softwood of clematis are very meristematic – big word? It means that they grow new roots very willingly. They even do it spontaneously in the air sometimes…
You will need fairly longish cuttings, 4 to 6 inches (10 to 15 cm) with one or two leaves on top.
Within 4 to 5 weeks, your clematis softwood cutting will grow new roots, and soon after even new leaflets. Let it stay in the pot till you get 3 to 5 new ones, or when it grows to about 8 inches tall (20 cm) and then you can transplant it.
I am talking about checking the leaves because you won’t see the roots. Why? Because you will have to grow it in soil – the vines are prone to getting mushy in water.
How long to wait for new showy clematis blooms? You will certainly see them next year!
Come on, let me give you a bonus variety… You can do the exact same with passion flower (Passiflora spp.) if you have a taste for exotic blooms (and sweet fruits)!
10. Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
We have come to the last plant on our list, butterfly bush. It is a really excellent variety to grow from softwood cuttings, because the new wood is really vigorous, so you will get a very, very high success rate.
The cutting should be 3 to 5 inches long (7.5 to 12.5 cm), and with a few leaves (2 to 4 at the top).
Butterfly bush grows equally well in water or soil – yet another advantage, and it will also grow new roots very fast, within 2 to 4 weeks.
Of course, if you propagate butterfly bush by soft wood cuttings, you will also attract many more pollinators to your garden, but hurry up! Yes, because you may as well see its big conical blooms this year!
