Taking Cuttings: The Complete Walkthrough

This guide covers taking cuttings, rated an easy to moderate task, typically taking 15–30 min.

Our printable card on taking cuttings covers the essentials at a glance — here's the fuller walkthrough, with the reasoning behind each step.

Before the step-by-step detail, here's why this is worth learning in the first place. At a glance, it's rated easy to moderate, with a difficulty of easy–moderate; time of 15–30 min; cost of free — details that matter more once you're actually planning around them than they do on a first read. The rest of this article works through exactly what each of those means day to day, in more depth than a single printable card has room for, and with the reasoning behind each recommendation rather than just the recommendation itself.

How This Applies Across Property Types

This skill applies whether you're working with a suburban block or a larger rural property, though the scale and specific materials will differ. Where climate or regional conditions change the approach, that's called out in the method above rather than assumed — but as a general rule, Australian conditions (heat, water restrictions in many areas, and UV exposure on materials left outdoors) are worth factoring in even where a source guide doesn't explicitly mention them.

Rooting a cutting

Most soft or semi-hardwood cuttings root readily in a free-draining mix kept consistently moist — many herbs and shrubs can be propagated this way at essentially no cost.

What You'll Need

The key things to get right:

• A healthy parent plant
• Sharp, clean secateurs or scissors
• Small pots and free-draining potting mix
• Optional: rooting hormone powder or gel

None of these are complicated on their own, but skipping one is a common source of trouble — a healthy parent plant Optional: rooting hormone powder or gel Treat this list as a routine to build rather than a one-off checklist, and it becomes second nature within a season or two.

The Method

A few things matter most here:

• 1. Take a 10–15cm cutting from healthy, non-flowering growth, cutting just below a leaf node.
• 2. Remove lower leaves, leaving just 2–3 sets at the top.
• 3. Dip the cut end in rooting hormone if using it.
• 4. Insert into moist, free-draining mix, firm gently, and water in.
• 5. Keep in a warm, bright but not direct-sun spot, and keep consistently moist until roots establish.

These aren't equally important, but all of them are worth building into your routine — 1. Take a 10–15cm cutting from healthy, non-flowering growth, cutting just below a leaf node. 5. Keep in a warm, bright but not direct-sun spot, and keep consistently moist until roots establish. Treat this list as a routine to build rather than a one-off checklist, and it becomes second nature within a season or two.

When Things Go Wrong

The key things to get right:

• Cutting rots before rooting — mix too wet or poorly drained; ease off watering, improve drainage.
• Cutting wilts and dies — too much direct sun or heat stress; move to a more sheltered spot.
• No roots after several weeks — try a fresh cutting, or check the plant is a suitable candidate for cutting propagation.
• Mould on the cutting — poor airflow; space cuttings out, reduce humidity slightly.

None of these are complicated on their own, but skipping one is a common source of trouble — cutting rots before rooting — mix too wet or poorly drained; ease off watering, improve drainage. Mould on the cutting — poor airflow; space cuttings out, reduce humidity slightly. Treat this list as a routine to build rather than a one-off checklist, and it becomes second nature within a season or two.

Ongoing Timing

Best time. Spring for most soft-wood cuttings; autumn for many semi-hardwood shrubs.

Duration. Roots typically establish in 3–8 weeks depending on the plant.

Maintenance. Keep consistently moist; check for rot or mould regularly.

Signs of success. A gentle tug meets resistance, indicating roots have formed; new leaf growth is also a good sign.

None of these are difficult individually — the value is in getting all of them right at once.

Tips & variations

A few notes worth having alongside the method above: Grafting Basics, Taking cuttings from flowering or stressed growth, Letting the mix dry out during the rooting period. These come from the same printable card and are easy to miss on a first read.

Related Guides

A few related guides worth reading alongside this one:

• Direct Sowing Basics
• Grafting Basics
• Hardening Off Seedlings
• Saving Seeds

That's the full walkthrough. The printable A4 quick-reference card for this is on the main guide page below. If something's already gone wrong, our Troubleshooting Directory indexes common problems by symptom across all 219 guides. As with every guide on this site, this is general information based on our own research and experience, not professional advice — your specific soil, climate, and circumstances will always vary from ours to some degree.

Our Companion Planting Checker is a useful companion to this specific skill.

Frequently Asked Questions

→ View the printable A4 guide for taking cuttings