With Dogwood Tree Cuttings Shorter Cuttings Work Best

A couple months ago I managed to root a dogwood tree from cuttings. Only 1 of 3 cuttings rooted but I still considered it a success. After all it was the first time I had managed to root a dogwood tree from a cutting. You would be happy to! Since then I did another experiment. These are the cuttings I took in the how to propagate dogwood video (YouTube Link) I put together. Today I’m very happy to share the results. Keep in mind this is for Cornus florida but other tree dogwoods should root similarly. Red twig or yellow twig dogwoods are in fact a lot easier than tree dogwoods to root.

I may earn a small commission if you purchase through some of the links in this post at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products I use and trust!

Smaller Cuttings of 3-4 nodes rooted better than a longer 5 node cutting.

Cutting Size Matters

We’ve all heard the saying “Size matters Not” but actually, it might! Sorry Yoda! The cuttings I took in this batch were different sizes. The smaller ones were all successful while the larger one failed. the smaller ones were 3-4 nodes and only 3-4 inches long. The longer cutting was 5 nodes and was about 6-7 inches long.

I believe the smaller dogwood cuttings rooted because they had less vegetation to maintain and the energy could go into the roots and keep the cutting alive at the same time. This was a very small sample size with only 4 cuttings, getting a 75% rate, but I’ll take more cuttings in the future and observe how they do.

The cuttings were taken in June and took just under 8 weeks to get to the point you see in the picture.

Dogwood Tree rooting tips

  • Take shorter 3-4 node cuttings no more than 4 inches long
  • Use Hormodin 3 rooting hormone
  • Keep under lights if possible out of direct sun
  • Root in 6-8 weeks.

These young dogwoods are now ready to be potted up and grown on, and I’m looking forward to planting them in the yard next year.

The complete how to post is here if you would like more info: How to Propagate Dogwood Trees from Cuttings.

Russian Sage Propagation through Hardwood Cuttings Results

Russian sage (Perovskia atriplicifolia) is indeed easy to propagate from hardwood cuttings.  In fact taking hardwood cuttings may prove more reliable than from softwood cuttings.  I’ll continue with both methods at the appropriate times of the year but the hardwood cuttings have not had any…

Read More

Garden Shed Plant Propagation Update

This year was the first year I’ve been able to house my cuttings in the garden shed. It’s been great so far. There’s no heat but the plants have been protected from the coldest of the winter lows. Essentially I’ve moved them 1-2 heat zones…

Read More

Plant Propagation Bench for Seedlings and Cuttings

I’ll continue with the Seed Starting 101 Series tomorrow but I thought I would use today’s post to share with you a related project. Recently I purchased a seedling heatmat that I’ve been testing in the garage to see how seedlings will grow out there. …

Read More
1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 10

Discover more from Growing The Home Garden

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Discover more from Growing The Home Garden

Subscribe now to keep reading and get access to the full archive.

Continue reading