Cuttings
Clones of the parent. Fast, cheap, reliable.
Hardwood. Take in late autumn or winter from this year's ripened growth. Pencil-thick stems, 15 to 25 cm. Flat cut below a node at the base. Angled cut above a node at the top. The angle tells you which end is up.
Push two-thirds deep into a sandy trench outdoors. Water in. Leave them alone until next autumn. Willow, currant, gooseberry, fig, grape, dogwood: all root with no hormone and no fuss.
This is how food forests get built on no budget. One currant becomes twenty.
Softwood. Late spring through early summer, from the season's new growth. Roots form in 2 to 4 weeks, but the soft stems wilt fast without water.
Cut 10 to 15 cm. Strip lower leaves. Dip in rooting hormone. Insert into perlite or a 50/50 peat-sand mix. Cover with a clear bag to hold humidity. Mist daily. Works for rosemary, sage, lavender, mint, hydrangea.
Semi-ripe. Late summer, growth firm at the base and soft at the tip. Strip lower leaves. Wound the base by shaving a thin sliver of bark. Hormone. Gritty compost. Cold frame over winter.
This is the standard for evergreen shrubs and many fruit tree rootstocks.
Layering
Some species refuse to root from a detached cutting. Layer them instead. The branch stays attached to the parent while it grows roots.
Simple layering. Bend a low, flexible branch to the ground. Scrape a strip of bark on the underside. Pin it down with a wire staple or a stone. Bury under 5 to 10 cm of soil. Leave the tip exposed.
Roots form over several months. Tug gently to test. Sever, lift, transplant. Hazel, rhododendron, clematis, jasmine, and most fruit tree guild shrubs respond well.
Air layering. For branches too high or too stiff to bend. Ring-bark a 2 to 3 cm strip to expose the cambium. Dust with hormone. Wrap in a fistful of damp sphagnum. Seal with plastic wrap, tied at both ends.
Check monthly. When a thick root ball is visible, cut below it and pot up. Two to six months, species depending. This is the go-to for citrus and difficult tropicals.
Layering is slower than cuttings. Success rates are much higher for reluctant species, because the parent feeds the wound the whole time.
Grafting
Top of one plant on the roots of another. Scion above, rootstock below. The scion sets the variety. The rootstock sets the size, vigour, and soil tolerance.
Nearly every fruit tree you buy was grafted. Every Granny Smith on Earth descends from one tree, cloned by grafting for over a century. The perennial fruit varieties you grow exist because someone grafted.
Whip-and-tongue. Late winter, both partners dormant. Pencil-thick one-year wood. Matching diameters.
Long sloping cut on each. Cut a thin tongue into each slope. Interlock so the cambium layers line up. Cambium alignment is the whole game. Bind tight with grafting tape. Seal cuts with wax. Fusion happens in weeks.
Bud grafting. Summer. A single bud slipped under the bark of the rootstock. Uses one bud per tree, so a single twig of a rare variety can start a hundred trees. Most nursery fruit stock is bud-grafted.
Division
The easiest method. No hormone, no tape, no waiting on roots.
Clump-formers. Hosta, daylily, ornamental grasses, rhubarb, comfrey, most companion planting herbs. Lift the clump in early spring or after autumn flowering. Split into sections with roots and shoots intact. Replant.
Sharp spade for big clumps. Two back-to-back forks levered apart for tough crowns. Aim for 3 to 5 growing points per division.
Bulbs and corms. They multiply underground. Garlic is the classic: one clove planted in autumn returns 6 to 12 cloves by summer. Pure seed saving economics, no actual seed required.
Rhizomes. Iris, mint, Jerusalem artichoke, comfrey. Cut underground stems into sections, each with at least one bud. Comfrey is so vigorous that a thumbnail of root will regrow a whole plant. Once it is in, it is in for good, which is why it anchors chop-and-drop systems.
When it goes wrong
Cuttings rot before they root. Cause: too wet, no airflow, or a dirty knife. Use clean blades, free-draining mix, and lift the bag once a day.
Grafts fail. Cause: cambium misalignment, loose binding, or scion dried out. Match diameters. Wrap tight. Seal every cut.
Layered branches break at the wound. Cause: too sharp a bend. Use young, flexible wood and pin it before you bury it.
See also
- Seed Saving. The other half of self-reliance: keep your own genetics.
- Perennials First. Why the time invested in propagation pays back for decades.
- Food Forest Design. Where a hundred free plants actually go.
- Pruning Basics. Every cut is a potential cutting.
- Fruit Tree Guilds. Communities you can clone into existence.