How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (2024)

Grow new plants from cuttings with these easy, fun (and practically free) steps. Just clip a length of stem and watch the roots grow.

By

Kate Carter Frederick

How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (1)

For 30 years, Kate Carter Frederick has served as an on-staff editor for the Better Homes and Gardens special interest magazines as well as a freelance editor, project manager, writer, producer, and garden/plant stylist for the magazines, books, brand licensing, and custom publishing groups of Meredith Corp. Her work for hundreds of magazines, books, and websites spans the realms of gardening, outdoor living, DIY, food, crafts, decorating, remodeling, building, and holiday celebrations.

Updated on January 11, 2024

Reviewed by

David McKinney

How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (2)

Reviewed byDavid McKinney

David McKinney is an experienced plantsman sharing his expertise in horticulture. His knowledge spans landscape management, growing plants indoors and in the greenhouse, ecological plant selection, and much more. With nearly 15 years in the industry, he is well versed in both herbaceous and woody plants with additional interest in entomology.

How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (3)

Project Overview

  • Working Time:20 minutes
  • Total Time:4 weeks, 2 days
  • Skill Level:Kid-friendly

Instead of trimming a plant and throwing away the debris, make mindful cuts and create new plants from the mother plant. Growing from stem cuttings is easy if you know the right steps to take care of cuttings. With enough water and humidity, stem cuttings can create new pots of favorite plants that can add to a personal collection or be given away to friends and family.

Equipment / Tools

  • Small knife
  • Chopstick or pencil

Materials

  • Small pots or cell packs
  • Soilless seed-starting mix, equal parts peat moss, perlite, vermiculite, sterilized coarse sand
  • Mother plant
  • Rooting hormone powder
  • Plastic bag and twist tie
  • Water

Instructions

  1. How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (4)

    Prep For Planting

    Prepare nursery containers by filling small pots or cell packs with premoistened soilless medium. Potting soil and regular potting mix hold too much moisture. Select healthy, nonflowering stems from the mother plant for cuttings. Use a clean, sharp knife to cut a 3- to 4-inch shoot below a leaf node (the spot where a leaf emerges from a stem as shown). Cut off the bottom leaves of the shoot and snip off any flowers or buds. This prompts the plant to use its energy for rooting rather than growing leaves or flowers.

  2. How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (5)

    Dip Into Rooting Hormone

    Encourage root growth by dipping the cut end into powdered rooting hormone. Rooting hormones can be found at most gardening stores, or can be ordered online. Cover any cut parts with the powder.

  3. How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (6)

    Create A Hole For Planting

    Use a chopstick or a pencil to poke a planting hole in the damp soilless medium. We recommend poking a hole 1 to 2 inches deep to keep the stem cutting sturdy. Creating a hole for the stem cutting prevents the powdered hormone on the end from being disturbed during planting.

  4. How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (7)

    Place Stem Cutting

    Slide the cutting into the planting hole without knocking off the rooting powder. If the hole is too narrow, use the chopstick or pencil to widen the hole. Gently press the medium against the stem to keep it sturdy and upright in the pot.

  5. How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (8)

    Create Humidity

    Slip a plastic bag over the nursery container and twist tie the bag shut to create a humid, greenhouselike environment that will boost the cutting's growth. If the pot is small enough, a zip-top plastic bag will work just as well. Set cuttings in bright, indirect light.

  6. How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (9)

    Check The Roots

    A few weeks after taking a cutting, check its root development by gently tipping the container on its side and tapping out the soil and rootball. Be gentle with the roots, so as to not tear or break them. A new plant will be ready for transplanting when roots appear strong and have begun to fill out the inside of the nursery pot.

How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps (2024)

FAQs

How To Make Stem Cuttings In 6 Easy Steps? ›

The major methods of asexual propagation are cuttings, layering, division, budding and grafting. Cuttings involve rooting a severed piece of the parent plant; layering involves rooting a part of the parent and then severing it; and budding and grafting is joining two plant parts from different varieties.

What are the steps in stem cuttings? ›

The steps for propagating from stem cuttings are:
  1. Step 1 – Assemble Materials. ...
  2. Step 2 – Prepare the Soil. ...
  3. Step 3 – Add Water to Soil. ...
  4. Step 4 – Take Cuttings. ...
  5. Step 5 – Remove Lower Leaves. ...
  6. Step 6 – Insert Into Soil. ...
  7. Step 7 – Place in Plastic Bag. ...
  8. Step 7 – Let Them Grow.
Jun 20, 2017

What are the 5 types of stem cuttings? ›

Types of Stem Cuttings
  • Softwood cuttings. The unripe tips of woody plants such as most of the ornamental shrubs and some trees. ...
  • Herbaceous cuttings. ...
  • Semi-hardwood cuttings. ...
  • Hardwood cuttings. ...
  • Terminal cuttings. ...
  • Heel cuttings. ...
  • Single or multiple node stem cuttings.
Jul 10, 2017

What are the 5 steps of plant propagation? ›

The major methods of asexual propagation are cuttings, layering, division, budding and grafting. Cuttings involve rooting a severed piece of the parent plant; layering involves rooting a part of the parent and then severing it; and budding and grafting is joining two plant parts from different varieties.

What is the traditional stem cutting method? ›

Stem cuttings, in which a piece of stem is part buried in the soil, including at least one leaf node. The cutting is able to produce new roots, usually at the node. Root cuttings, in which a section of root is buried just below the soil surface, and produces new shoots. Scion cuttings are used in grafting.

What materials are needed for stem cuttings? ›

Answer: Materials needed to make hardwood stem cuttings include a pruning shears, rooting hormone, plastic bag, and sphagnum moss or wood shavings. Use the pruning shears to collect cutting material and also cut the shoots to the proper length. A rooting hormone promotes rooting of the cuttings.

What are the 4 types of cuttings? ›

Softwood and herbaceous cuttings are the most likely to develop roots and become independent plants, hardwood cuttings the least likely.
  • Herbaceous. Stem cuttings from herbaceous plants can be taken any time the plant is actively growing.
  • Softwood. ...
  • Semi-hardwood. ...
  • Hardwood.

Which type of stem cutting is the easiest to root? ›

But across the board, softwood cuttings are the simplest, easiest and fastest to root, so stick with them for the greatest success. Remember, time your cuttings based on the plant's growth, not the calendar.

What are the 7 methods of propagation? ›

These seven methods include: seed propagation, cutting, layering, division, grafting, budding, and tissue culture technique.

What are the 6 main methods for propagating plants asexually? ›

The major types of asexual propagation are cuttings, layering, division, separation, grafting, budding, and micropropagation. Advantages of asexual propagation include: It may be easier and faster than sexual propagation for some species.

What are the 4 stages of propagation? ›

To maximize success in propagation, producers modify environmental conditions and cultural practices to accommodate crop needs throughout the stages of rooting: stage 1 cutting arrival and sticking; stage 2 callusing; stage 3 root development; and stage 4 toning.

How to propagate from stem cuttings? ›

There are many ways to do this, but one of the easiest is by snipping off a piece of stem, placing it in a potting medium, and nurturing the cutting until roots develop. At that point, you can transplant the rooted cutting into a pot or directly into the garden.

What is an example of a stem cutting? ›

The cuttings of a healthy young branch of a plant having leaf buds, which is planted in moist soil is called stem cutting. The cutting develops roots and grows into a new plant. Examples: Chameli, Bougainvillea, rose and sugarcane.

How to make cuttings root faster? ›

They'll root faster with plenty of sunlight, but avoid setting them in direct sun. Temperature is also important, the warmer the better to speed things up. For cuttings that are more valuable or difficult, adding a little aquarium pump to oxygenate the water will help a lot. Roots need the extra oxygen to grow well.

What are the four steps of propagation? ›

  • Step 1: Look for Roots. On a mature vine, look right below the leaf or stem/vine juncture for a tiny brown root node. ...
  • Step 2: Clean up around the roots. ...
  • Step 3: Prepare Glass Jar for Cuttings. ...
  • STEP 4: Keep an eye on your plant cuttings.

Can you put cuttings straight into soil? ›

Can you put cuttings straight into soil? You can put a cutting into a fresh pot of soil or try rooting them in water, but it's often best to put the cutting straight into soil.

How do you root stem cuttings in water? ›

So, hard as it is, remove any flowers or buds from the cuttings. After cutting back to a node and stripping off the lower leaves and flowers, the cutting is now ready for rooting in water. Several cuttings may be placed together in one container. Be sure to add fresh water as needed until the cuttings are fully rooted.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Article information

Author: Nicola Considine CPA

Last Updated:

Views: 6184

Rating: 4.9 / 5 (69 voted)

Reviews: 84% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Nicola Considine CPA

Birthday: 1993-02-26

Address: 3809 Clinton Inlet, East Aleisha, UT 46318-2392

Phone: +2681424145499

Job: Government Technician

Hobby: Calligraphy, Lego building, Worldbuilding, Shooting, Bird watching, Shopping, Cooking

Introduction: My name is Nicola Considine CPA, I am a determined, witty, powerful, brainy, open, smiling, proud person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.