Softwood cuttings: timing and aftercare

Softwood cuttings are taken from actively growing, non-woody shoot tips -- the actively elongating new growth of spring and early summer. This is the fastest and highest-percentage propagation method for a large group of perennials, shrubs, and tender plants. Per NC State Extension, softwood.

Softwood cuttings are taken from actively growing, non-woody shoot tips — the actively elongating new growth of spring and early summer. This is the fastest and highest-percentage propagation method for a large group of perennials, shrubs, and tender plants. Per NC State Extension, softwood cuttings root more rapidly than semi-hardwood or hardwood types but are more sensitive to desiccation and require higher humidity during rooting.

What "softwood" means

Per Penn State Extension, softwood is current-season growth that has not yet hardened. It is:

• Easily bent or flexed without snapping
• Green throughout (no brown, corky bark)
• Actively elongating

The window is typically May—July in temperate North America, depending on species. Earlier spring growth (April in zone 6) may still be too soft and fragile; midsummer growth on some species begins transitioning to semi-hardwood.