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How to take dogwood cuttings

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How to take dogwood cuttings - trimming each cutting

How to take dogwood cuttings

BBC Gardeners' World Magazine

Published: Monday, 27 May 2019 at 11:02 am

Find out how to grow beautiful dogwood from hardwood cuttings.

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Dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, is typically grown for winter colour, when its red, leafless stems shine like beacons in the bare winter garden. It looks fantastic when planted with evergreen shrubs, and among spring flowers. However dogwood also makes a fantastic wildlife shrub and can be grown into a hedge alongside other wildlife-friendly plants such as hawthorn and hazel.

How to take dogwood cuttings

Take dogwood cuttings in summer so they can root outside in a cold frame and put on enough growth to be planted the following autumn. Choose strong shoots of the current season's growth and push them into gritty, moist compost. Keep them in a sheltered spot such as a cold frame and check them regularly, watering them occasionally to keep the soil moist. Plant the rooted cuttings out just over a year later, in autumn.

You will need:

A sharp pair of secateurs is the right tool for this task. If you're looking to update your kit, our experts have been busy testing the best secateurs, so you can buy with confidence. In a hurry? Here are some of the best buys from this tests:

Watch our video, above, where Joe Swift demonstrates how to prune and take hardwood cuttings from dogwoods. And follow our step-by-step demonstration, below, for detailed advice on taking dogwood cuttings.

You Will Need

Secateurs
Dogwood
Clean, sharp knife and cutting board
Multi-purpose compost with horticultural grit added

Step 1

How to take dogwood cuttings - taking dogwood cuttings

Cut the strongest shoots of this season’s growth and immediately put them in a polythene bag to protect them from moisture loss.

Step 2

How to take dogwood cuttings - trimming each cutting

Make each cutting with a bud at the base and the lower leaves removed.

Step 3

How to take dogwood cuttings - pushing the cuttings into gritty compost

Fill a pot with gritty compost and insert the cuttings around the edge. Water well before placing in a sheltered spot or cold frame, and keep just moist.

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