Yews, thujas, cypresses, junipers… conifers compete in beauty and charm to structure your garden or bring a holiday feel to your balcony. Just lie in the sun near your favourite resinous tree to breathe in the refreshing scent of resin and feel as relaxed as by the seaside! Conifers also have other assets: they offer an impressive palette of shapes and colours. Blue, green, yellow, ball-shaped, parasol or pyramidal, pruned to a point or into cloud shapes… they give free rein to your creativity.
Very easy to maintain, some types of conifers can be easily propagated through cuttings, allowing you to obtain an exact replica of the original tree. Discover our tips for successful conifer cuttings and enhance your garden with their elegant forms.
Ball-shaped, pyramidal, cloud-pruned, green or blue, conifers have many appealing features.
Which conifers can be propagated from cuttings?
For large conifers like pines and cedars, the sowing technique is preferred over cuttings, but propagation by cuttings can be used with firs (preferably dwarf varieties), yews, chamaecyparis, thujas, cryptomerias, cypresses, and junipers.
Chamaecyparis pisifera 'Filifera' (Wikipedia photo), Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' and Cryptomeria japonica 'Vilmoriniana' (Photo Denolf)
When to take conifer cuttings?
The best time to take conifer cuttings is late summer to early autumn, around August and September.
What equipment will you need?
- A knife
- Rooting hormone
- Compost or soil
- Sand
- A pot at least 20 cm deep
- A plastic bag, bottle or film
- Wire or hoops if needed
How to take conifer cuttings?
- Take healthy, semi-hardwood shoots 10-15 cm long, keeping a 1-2 cm heel of bark at the base to create heel cuttings. This will help the cutting establish better in the soil and develop roots more easily. You can remove the shoot by gently pulling it from the trunk or by cutting it with a sharp, sterilised knife.
- Remove the needles or leaves from the lower part of the shoot so that the remaining foliage does not touch the soil.
- Prepare a mix of half peat or compost and half sand and fill a sufficiently large pot with this substrate.
- Water thoroughly to moisten the mix well.
- Optionally dip the tip of the stem in rooting hormone.
- Make a hole in the prepared compost and insert the cuttings two-thirds deep, spacing them sufficiently so they do not touch.
- Firm the soil around the cutting.
- Place the pot in a bright spot but out of direct sunlight.
- Cover with a plastic bag or film held in place with wire or hoops to create a humid environment (closed propagation).
- Water moderately and regularly to maintain moisture and ventilate occasionally.
- Remove any cuttings that turn brown.
- Once the cuttings have rooted, separate them and plant them under a cold frame to protect them from frost over winter.
- In spring, or even the following autumn depending on the conifer type, you can transplant your cuttings into the ground in a mix of compost and sand. Some slow-growing conifers may need more time before being planted in their final position.
Explore our full range of conifers!
Large-scale conifer cuttings
Comments