Last year, I had some limited success in rooting hydrangea cuttings. But it was a long, painful process, I lost about half, and the ones that survived took a long, long time to really get going. I planted them in the ground and they looked like weak sisters for most of last year. I'm pleased this year that they are still alive and doing much better - they are all pushing out lots of new leaves and stems. (I think the old "sleep, creep, leap" phenomenon is in effect). But I need a few more hydrangeas around the yard and this year, I'm trying simple layering.

Simple layering is easy to do if you have low, flexible branches. The advantage of propagation by layering vs. with cuttings is that you end up with a much larger plant - the size a rooted cutting would be after the second or third year!

Take a long, low, flexible branch. Do NOT remove it from the mother plant. Dig a trench along which you will bury the midsection of the stem. Strip off all of the leaves of the nodes that will be in the ground. (The new roots will form at the nodes.) Leave the leaves at the tip of the branch. Using a knife or your clippers, scrape off some of the bark on the underside. Make sure at least one node will be under ground. Add rooting hormone if you wish (I did not). Lay the branch into the trench and cover with soil. Use a brick (or some people use old wire clothes hangers to form an upside-down, u-shaped pin) to keep the branch in place. Water in well. Keep it watered regularly. In 4 weeks - 8 months, it should have developed roots. (I can't find good info on the time-frame. I know it is zone-dependent and I'm thinking/hoping, in Florida, we are probably on the shorter end of that time-frame.)

When roots have formed, cut the branch off of the mother plant but leave it in the ground for awhile longer so it can become accustomed to growing on its own. Then, transplant it. Leaving it to adjust on it's own before transplant will reduce shock.

This was a newly-purchased hydrangea last year. (It is not one of last year's rooted cuttings, LOL!). The layered branch was started on April 4. I will check around May 4 and post an update.

(The little pinkish-red flowers are False Freesia (Anomatheca laxa).