Azaleas are staples in flower gardens around the world, and for good reason! They are easy to grow, and once they’re established, they take very little input from a gardener. If you have an Azalea that you’ve fallen in love with, you might be wondering how to duplicate your beloved shrub. Luckily, you can get exact genetic copies of your Azaleas by propagating them from cuttings. All you need is patience and a few gardening items.
One of the easiest ways to propagate Azaleas is with cuttings. Cuttings should be taken in the early summer from new growth. Place cuttings in a blend of sphagnum and perlite, give them warm, moist conditions with plenty of indirect light, and in a few weeks, they’ll root. The cuttings should winter indoors and can be planted outside the following spring or fall.
This guide includes everything you need to know to get started propagating Azaleas from cuttings. Scroll down for step-by-step instructions.
Can You Grow an Azalea From a Cutting?
Growing Azaleas from cuttings takes time but is pretty easy to do, as long as you have evergreen Azaleas. Deciduous Azaleas can also be propagated from cuttings, but the process is more challenging and best attempted by experienced gardeners prepared for some trial and error. Not sure if your Azaleas are deciduous or evergreen? Check out this guide here.
Cuttings give you an exact genetic copy of the parent Azalea, which you wouldn’t get from a seed. Growing Azaleas from seeds is like having kids – they may resemble either parent or even a grandparent, and you don’t know which traits they’ll get. If you want a duplicate of an Azalea you have, you need to use cutting, grafting, or layering.
What You Need To Propagate Azaleas From Cuttings
A Healthy Azalea: Choose healthy, thriving Azaleas to take your cuttings from, and make sure they’ve had plenty of water recently. Younger plants will work better than old ones.
Shears or pruners: You’ll use these to take your cuttings, or you can use a knife instead.
A sharp knife or razor blade: This is for trimming leaves off of your cuttings and wounding them so that the cambium layer under the bark is exposed since this is where roots will grow from.
Bleach or fungicide/insecticide (optional but recommended): The bleach is for cleaning your containers, shears, knife, and the cuttings themselves, or you can use fungicide and/or insecticide on the cuttings. You’ll be rooting your cuttings in a moist environment with limited airflow – perfect for mold growth – so it’s helpful to start with sanitary materials.
Containers with drainage holes: You can use separate containers for each cutting or put several in a container together. They don’t need much space, so a six-inch pot will hold about six cuttings; a gallon flat will hold ten or twelve. You’ll also need containers to pot up your cuttings once they’ve rooted.
Sterile rooting medium: This is the soil you’ll be rooting your cuttings in. It needs to allow in plenty of oxygen as well as facilitate water to drain. The most widely recommended rooting medium is 50% sphagnum and 50% perlite or vermiculite. You can also add a little sand or pine bark to the mixture. This isn’t a good time to reuse old potting soil – we want it to be sterile.
Rooting hormone (optional): Evergreen Azaleas root well without rooting hormone, but it may be helpful if you have trouble getting your cuttings to root. For deciduous Azaleas, using rooting hormone is recommended.
Clear plastic bags, bottles, or storage containers: You’ll be creating a sort of mini-greenhouse for your cuttings by enclosing them in plastic.
When is the Best Time to Take Azalea Cuttings?
Azalea cuttings are usually taken in the early summer. If possible, you should take your cuttings first thing in the morning.
Take evergreen Azalea cuttings when the new spring growth is partially but not completely hardened off. You’ll need to keep an eye on your Azaleas to know when they’re ready.
To tell if the new growth is ready for cutting, check flexibility and color. Your cuttings should be bendable but not too rubbery. If they can bend just to 90 degrees without breaking, that’s about right. The wood, in most cases, should be pale or green, not brown.
Deciduous Azalea cuttings need to be taken earlier when the new growth is still very green. This is often around bloom time. The cuttings should be extremely flexible.
How To Take Evergreen Azalea Cuttings
Now that you have your supplies gathered up, you’re ready to get started. Follow the tips below for the best shot at a healthy, growing evergreen Azalea cutting. (If you have a deciduous variety, read through this section, then scroll to the bottom for some extra info on propagating deciduous Azaleas.)
Cleaning and Sanitizing
To protect your cuttings from fungus and diseases, it’s a good idea to sanitize your pruners, knife, and containers before you start by soaking them briefly in a 5-10% bleach solution. Be sure to rinse them thoroughly afterward.
Rinse your cuttings to remove any dirt, or soak them in a 5% bleach solution for about three minutes and then rinse them thoroughly. This will kill any insects or fungus on the cuttings. Alternatively, you can use fungicide and/or insecticide on your cuttings. Spray or dip them, depending on the product you’re using.
Where To Cut
Your cuttings should be between two and five inches long and taken from the new growth at the end of a branch. Cut just below where a leaf attaches (or right below a node).
Prevent Wilting
If your cuttings wilt between the time you take them and the time you stick them, they won’t root. If you don’t have time to take care of your cuttings immediately, or if you’re collecting them from a friend and have to transport them home, etc., treat them like you would cut flowers.
You can stick the ends of your cuttings in water, put them in a cooler, or refrigerate them for up to 24 hours. Before refrigerating Azalea cuttings, rinse the cut ends, shake off excess water, and pop them in a plastic bag. Some gardeners say that refrigerating cuttings first helps them root.
Trimming
Your cuttings should be between two and five inches long. Carefully trim the leaves off of the bottom half of your cuttings, leaving a cluster of at least three leaves at the top. Some gardeners cut the remaining leaves in half, especially if they are large. Also, remove any flower buds on the cuttings.
Wounding
To trigger root growth, you need to expose the cambium layer just under the bark on the bottom half-inch or so of the cuttings where they’ll be underground. You’ll need a sharp knife or razor blade for this. There are a few ways to do it:
- Option 1: Strip the outer bark from the bottom half-inch of the cuttings.
- Option 2: Make one or two vertical slits in the bottom inch of the cutting, through the bark and cambium into the inner wood.
- Option 3: Remove the bark in a couple of half-inch vertical strips starting at the bottom edge of the cutting.
Rooting Hormone
Rooting hormone is optional but can be helpful to encourage the cuttings to root. Dip the bottom end of the cuttings in the hormone to a depth of about an inch and then shake off any excess. Some rooting hormone products contain fungicide, which can also be helpful.
Don’t leave cuttings sitting in the hormone – just dip briefly to avoid injuring them. Some liquid rooting hormones are too strong to dip your cuttings in and could damage the plant, so it’s best to use rooting hormone in powder form or dilute liquid with water if it’s concentrated.
Rooting Evergreen Azalea Cuttings
Now you’ve taken and prepared several cuttings from your Azalea bush, it’s time to root them out in soil.
Preparation
Fill your containers with about five inches of damp rooting medium. Some gardeners recommend getting the containers and rooting medium ready a few days before you take your cuttings and watering several times to make sure the soil is thoroughly moistened but also well-drained.
Stick the Cuttings
Stick your cuttings about one inch deep in the rooting medium. Make sure none of the leaves are touching the soil.
If you’ve used rooting hormone, especially powder, make a hole for each cutting in the soil before sticking it in. A large nail or a chopstick works well. The purpose is to avoid brushing off the rooting hormone as you push the cutting into the soil.
If necessary, press the soil lightly around the cutting so that it stands up. Water the cuttings immediately but not too much since your rooting medium is already moist – just enough to settle the soil around them.
Cover With Plastic
The next step is to cover your containers with plastic to keep in the moisture. You can put them in clear plastic bags and tie the tops above the cuttings or place the containers in clear plastic storage bins. Another option is to cut the bottoms off of plastic jugs or bottles and cover the containers with them. Whichever option you choose, make sure the leaves aren’t touching the plastic.
Sunlight
Keep your cuttings in a spot where they’ll get a lot of light but no direct sun. Direct sunlight is too hot for cuttings, especially in their little “greenhouses.” Some good locations are:
- Under grow lights for 12-16 hours a day
- On a warm north windowsill
- In a spot where the sunlight doesn’t hit directly in a room with plenty of windows
- If you have warm weather (including nights), outside in a spot that is always shaded
Warmth is important, as well as light. Ideally, the soil should be 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s a good idea to move or rotate the containers every week or two to give your cuttings even exposure to light and warmth.
How Long Do Azalea Cuttings Take to Root?
Cuttings can take anywhere from four weeks to four months to root. The most common is six to ten weeks. After at least four but preferably eight weeks, you can start to check for roots. If you see new growth, that doesn’t necessarily mean you have roots.
One way to check is to gently pull the cuttings upward to see if there is resistance. Resistance indicates roots. Be careful not to pull too hard because it doesn’t take much pressure to break baby roots that are just developing. You can also check for roots by gently brushing soil away from the cuttings and taking a look.
Caring For Azalea Cuttings
Once you’ve followed the steps above, now it’s time to wait. But there are a few things you should know when it comes to caring for your new propagations.
Before They Root
While you wait for your cuttings to root, check them periodically. You probably won’t need to water them, but do so if they get dry. As long as they aren’t dry, you’re more likely to get problems from too much moisture than not enough.
If you see mold growing, spray it with a fungicide. If any of your cuttings die, take them out to protect the remaining cuttings.
After They Root
Once your cuttings have roots, you can take the plastic off, but do it gradually. Start by just opening it, and work up to removing it completely over a few days.
At this point, you can also start exposing the cuttings to direct sunlight, but don’t do too much at once. Give them a little morning sun at first and work them up.
Now that there are roots, it’s also time to stimulate the cuttings to produce new growth. This requires more nutritious soil than the rooting medium. You need to either transplant them into a more nutritious potting mix or apply fertilizer.
How to Transfer Your New Propagations to Pots
Once your cuttings have rooted and gotten used to being out of the plastic, you can separate them and pot them individually. There’s no rush, though, unless your cuttings are getting crowded. Some gardeners wait until late winter to transplant their Azalea cuttings.
To pot your cuttings, fill containers that have plenty of drainage holes with any potting mix appropriate to Azaleas (more on that here). Peat and perlite mix is also fine as long as you use fertilizer. Carefully plant each cutting in a container.
You need to wait until the following year to plant your cuttings outside, as they won’t be able to survive a freezing cold winter yet. If you have a greenhouse or cold frame, you can keep them there over the winter.
As your cuttings grow over the winter, you may want to pinch the tips of the branches (terminal buds) to encourage fuller growth.
Planting New Azalea Propagations Outside
After a winter inside, Azalea cuttings can be planted either in the spring or fall. If you plant in spring, wait until after your last frost day, or let new growth on your cuttings harden off before planting them outside. Plant them just as you would any other Azalea.
If your propagations over-wintered inside, make sure to transition your new Azaleas to the outdoors slowly. Take these small plants out in the morning for a few hours, then bring them back in before the hottest part of the day. Leave your plant out for a little bit longer each day until you believe it can survive outside all day and night.
Can Azalea Cuttings be Rooted in Water?
Like most woody plants, Azalea cuttings can’t be rooted in water. You’ll need to use potting soil of some kind.
Propagating Deciduous Azaleas From Cuttings
While evergreen Azaleas are pretty easy to propagate from cuttings, deciduous Azaleas are tricky. It can be challenging to get them to root, and if you do, it can then be hard to get them to produce new growth. You’ll need to be prepared for some trial and error, and you may find that some Azalea plants simply won’t work. To have success with deciduous Azalea cuttings, you’ll need to follow all the best practices for evergreen Azalea cuttings, with a few changes.
First, take cuttings from newer growth than you would for evergreen Azaleas. They should still be quite green and flexible.
To get deciduous cuttings to root, you will probably need to use rooting hormone. However, while rooting hormone increases the chances of getting the cuttings to root, cuttings without rooting hormone are quicker to produce new growth. You can try it both ways.
If you have a greenhouse where you can control temperature and water conditions, this can help. The ideal temperature for the rooting medium is around 75 degrees (heated from below) to promote root growth. A misting system is also a good idea to keep humidity high.
Once you get your deciduous Azalea cuttings to root, start applying diluted fertilizer regularly and give your cuttings lots of light. You may need to use a grow light up to 16 hours a day. The combination of fertilizer and light is intended to get foliage growth. If you don’t get new growth before they go dormant, they may never wake up.
You don’t need to let them go dormant for this first winter, especially if you haven’t seen much new growth yet, but do if they’re doing well. A controlled environment is best during their first cycle of dropping their leaves to go dormant and then waking up and growing new leaves.
Putting It All Together
Azaleas are relatively straightforward to propagate. You simply need to take cuttings in spring or early summer and allow six weeks to four months for them to root. Then separate and pot the cuttings. Keep them inside or in a cold frame over the winter, then plant them outdoors in spring or fall.
For best results, take your cuttings in the morning. Clean the cuttings, remove lower leaves, wound the bottom ends, dip in rooting hormone (optional), stick in rooting medium (not water), and cover with plastic to keep in moisture. Use sanitized materials.
And remember, propagating from cuttings has a high success rate with evergreen Azaleas but a low success rate with deciduous Azaleas.