Hardwood cuttings taken in November is a very simple and effective way to produce new soft fruit bushes such as black, red and whitecurrants, and gooseberries. Cuttings taken now will root over the winter and next spring the dormant buds will come to life and produces new shoots to form a young bush. From taking the cutting to having a new bush to plant into the garden takes one year and the percentage of cuttings that root is usually very high.
To take cuttings from your fruit bushes you need to select this season’s new growth and the plants need to be healthy and vigorous. Never take cuttings from weak or diseases plants.
The stems are trimmed to length and are simply inserted into a prepared area of the garden or you can root them in pots in a cold frame. No heat is needed at all and the cuttings will sit happily outside in the garden.
To help a good root system form, preparing the soil by forking it over and mix in some well-rotted garden compost, but do not apply any fertiliser. In pots, use a well-drained multipurpose compost as a growing media.
As well as fruit bushes, many ornamental shrubs such as buddleja, forsythia, spiraea, deutzia and weigela can also be propagated now by hardwood cuttings.