hydrangea cuttings over winter

Question

While cleaning around my hydrangea plants this fall, I noticed that one of the plants had the name tag Mathilda, which is also the name of my mother-in-law who had recently passed away. When I mentioned this to the family, they all wanted cuttings, since hydrangea were also Mathilda’s favorite plant. Since I had never propagated any plant before, I executed a Google search and after reading the advice on this and other sites, I attempted to propagate my first three cuttings this fall. Two of the three cuttings now have roots. One of the two still has bright green leaves, while the other is starting to yellow. Hence my dilemma.

What do I do now? With outside temperatures in the low thirties and dropping, and our first snow fall of the season, I do not think it possible to plant the cuttings outside. Do I place the cuttings in a bigger pot and keep them indoors until spring? Do I place them in a partial sunny room, or in a darken garage? I think you get the picture that this city boy has no clue, please help.

Answer 1

I would plant the cuttings with roots into it’s own container, not too big. I would put the cuttings in a place that is well lit and cool, but not much below freezing for long periods of time. In the spring, check the root system, and if it’s filled the container, you could either plant in the ground after it warms a little, or repot into a larger container for transplanting later.
I have had great success rooting tip cuttings taken mid-June, sticking into a commercial peatlite mix and keeping under mist in bright light. I use a leaf-system mister, and get about 85% of the cuttings to root. This can be translated to city living by using a hand mister (spray bottle), plastic knives and a dry-cleaner bag or other thin clear plastic. Put your cuttings in moist soil in a container with at least 4 plastic knives in a square formation on the perimeter. Mist the cuttings, and drape with the thin plastic. Keep this in bright light, but not direct sunlight until rooted. Check every day or two to make sure the cuttings haven’t dried out and to mist them.