It's all I'm any good at. I have very little success with planting them straight into compost. They just remain as dead sticks until I accept the truth and toss them. It's all about watery minimalism for me, it seems. I honestly can't claim any special skill. All I do is cut below a bud, strip off flowers and the lower leaves and bung them into a jar. I recommend those reed room scent diffuser bottles for the job because they have a narrow neck to support the cutting a bit, and they are usually attractive bottles you are prepared to look at for the (sometimes) months it takes for the roots to appear. I consider I've done well if I get a 10% strike rate, but some things are much easier, and hydrangea is really entry level. I do recommend it for a quick horticultural fix. Of course, then you have a lot of hydrangeas...
I forgot to add ivy to the list, and miniature roses, senecio and lamium. Basically, if I see a plant I can steal, I will have a go. I came back from a walk today with a small handful of bits from people's hedges... (Embarrassed and guilty emoji again.)
Just done my weekly check on the cuttings in the spare room and am pleased to be able to add callicarpa and hardy hibiscus to the list. Nice set of roots.
Salvia Amistad and Gaura. Already knew gaura rooted easily in water but I wanted some extras as they seem to be short lived in my garden! I lost the parent plant over winter.
Pleased that the Salvia is another easy one to replace. Must remember to take some Argyranthemum cuttings too.
I've also started some Chocolate Cosmos in water just to see.
Not in water, but earlier this year I used some weigela prunings to support another plant. The branches had been cut off the weigela a couple of weeks earlier and were sat in the garage all that time. Now, a brand new weigela!
Hydrangeas root really well in water. I have taken literally dozens, just for the easy gratification.
Kind of funny that you've had such success with them! That's the one plant that always fails to root for me. I have a climbing one that I've tried to propagate for years now and it never works. Probably just as well since I don't know what I'd actually do with a second plant.
Got to admit that I have some climbing hydrangeas in a glass at the moment and they aren't doing anything, which is odd because they already have roots of a sort to begin with. They are looking very healthy, though, no sign of dying off, so I'll leave them a while longer. I haven't tried climbers before, so maybe it's going to end in tragedy. I am having no success with salvias, which other people seem to have no difficulty with. It's a mystery.
I had a few sprigs of the climber in a glass on the windowsill for at least a year and it just stayed exactly the same. Eventually i got bored with looking at it. Even the bits that had been touching the ground and started to root died once I tried potting them up separately.
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I forgot to add ivy to the list, and miniature roses, senecio and lamium. Basically, if I see a plant I can steal, I will have a go. I came back from a walk today with a small handful of bits from people's hedges... (Embarrassed and guilty emoji again.)
I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
Salvia Amistad and Gaura. Already knew gaura rooted easily in water but I wanted some extras as they seem to be short lived in my garden! I lost the parent plant over winter.
Pleased that the Salvia is another easy one to replace. Must remember to take some Argyranthemum cuttings too.
I've also started some Chocolate Cosmos in water just to see.