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Rooting powder for hardwood cuttings: trench and wait

Updated: October 2026

You are looking at a leafless hedge, a currant, or a grape vine in November and wondering whether the 75 g tub from summer still applies. Rooting powder for hardwood cuttings is a different job from a 5–10 cm windowsill stem. The wood is 15–30 cm, the season is mid-autumn to late winter, and you wait until the following autumn, not ten days. This page owns that outdoor, months-long sequence. The products sit on the [rooting powder comparison](/hub/fertiliser-soil-and-bark-mulch/rooting-powder). The method follows the RHS hardwood page and the National Botanic Garden of Wales. We did not lift a trial trench. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You are looking at a leafless hedge, a currant, or a grape vine in November and wondering whether the 75 g tub from summer still applies.

Our top picks

Westland Westland organic rooting powder 100 g

Best overall

Westland Westland organic rooting powder 100 g
9.2/10about £6.32
View offer
Doff Doff natural rooting powder 75 g

Best value

Doff Doff natural rooting powder 75 g
8.8/10about £5.16
View offer
Clonex Clonex rooting gel 50 ml

Alternative

Clonex Clonex rooting gel 50 ml
8.8/10about £8.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.Timing and wood
  2. 2.How to cut and dip
  3. 3.Where they live all winter
  4. 4.What to buy for this job

Timing and wood

Take hardwood cuttings after leaf fall and before bud-burst, from this year's ripe shoots. In most of the United Kingdom that window runs from mid-autumn into late winter. The wood should be pencil-thick and dormant, not the soft tip you pinched in June. If the shrub still holds leaves, wait. If the buds have broken, you are late for that shoot. RHS length is 15–30 cm. A sloping cut at the top, just above a bud, sheds water and shows which way is up. A straight cut at the base, just below a bud, goes into the soil. Do not expect roots in ten days. You lift many subjects the following autumn. Softwood and semi-ripe dips stay on how to use rooting powder.

How to cut and dip

Use clean secateurs. A sloping top and a straight base stop you planting a row upside down in January. Strip any remaining leaves. The National Botanic Garden of Wales sets two-thirds of the stem below soil and about 10 cm between pieces. The RHS hardwood method names a hormone compound such as Clonex, not a supermarket seaweed talc. In this set that gel is Clonex 50 ml (B00LI6ZSMU, £8.99, 4.4 from 2,692 reviews). Decant a little, dip the basal 10–20 mm, and plant. Do not dunk the stored bottle. Doff and Westland listings still name hardwood. That does not make them IBA. You may dip a currant in Doff 75 g if that is the tub you have. An old unlabelled NAA tin is not a shortcut. Doff Hormone Rooting Powder, MAPP 11986, expired on 30 June 2017. If you want the clinging coat, see rooting powder or gel.
Westland Westland organic rooting powder 100 g

Testsieger

Westland Westland organic rooting powder 100 g
9.2/10about £6.32
View offer

Where they live all winter

A sheltered trench in a well-drained bed is the default. Dig a slit, add grit if the soil holds water, set the cuttings so two-thirds sit below the surface, firm, and label the row. A deep pot outdoors works when you have no spare ground. Do not keep the pot on a warm kitchen windowsill. Indoor heat in December pushes buds before roots. The National Botanic Garden of Wales leaves the row until the following autumn. Failure is usually waterlogging, an inverted stem, or wood that was not ripe. Changing from Doff to Clonex in March will not rescue a rotting trench.

What to buy for this job

Clonex is the gel in this comparison that matches the hormone compound the RHS names. It is still an amateur bottle. Read the pack. Professional IBA exists — Chryzopon Rose 0.1 %, MAPP 17566, 1 g/kg indolylbutyric acid, ornamental propagating material, expiry 15 September 2028 on the HSE register — and that is a trained, labelled use, not an allotment default. Doff 75 g and Westland 100 g are reasonable if you already own them and the wood is a straightforward currant, gooseberry or willow. They do not become IBA because a listing mentions hardwood. ZINNIAUK reprints and thin Vitax files are not a hardwood pick. If you want the compound the RHS names, buy the gel and plant outdoors in a trench or a deep pot. If you only have a seaweed tub and the subject is easy, use that tub and still wait until next autumn.

Common questions

When do I take hardwood cuttings in the UK?
After leaf fall and before bud-burst, mid-autumn to late winter for most gardens. Use this year's ripe shoots. If leaves are still on, wait. If buds have broken, choose a shoot that is still dormant or wait until next autumn.
How long should the piece be?
RHS length is 15–30 cm. That is trench wood, not a 5 cm houseplant cutting. Sloping cut at the top, straight cut at the base, heel on pithy stems.
Do I need hormone, or will seaweed powder do?
RHS names a hormone compound such as Clonex on the hardwood method. Doff and Westland still list hardwood and can be used if that is the tub you have. They are not IBA. Easy subjects often root without any dip if the wood and the drainage are right.
Trench or pot?
A sheltered outdoor trench is the default. A deep pot outdoors is fine when you have no ground. Do not keep hardwood cuttings on a warm indoor windowsill through winter.
How long until I lift them?
Plan for the following autumn. Some subjects show top growth earlier; slow ones, including the RHS examples Cornus and Laburnum, may need a sand stage until spring. Ten-day roots belong to softwood, not this page.
Which end is up?
The sloping top cut is up. The straight basal cut is down. In a winter trench that mark is the only way you avoid planting a row backwards.
Can I use a professional IBA powder at home?
Professional products such as Chryzopon Rose 0.1 % (MAPP 17566) need the training and the label that go with a professional PPP. They are not the default 75 g garden-centre tub. If the cultivar is too costly to lose, use a professional bench rather than guessing a trade powder.
Will I see roots in ten days?
No. Hardwood is a months-long outdoor job. If you need a result this month, you are on the wrong wood and the wrong page.

Related pages

Best rooting powder

Rooting powder

Rooting powder buying guide: what the tub actually is

How to use rooting powder on compost, not in water

Rooting powder vs gel: compost dip or clinging coat

Sources

Public UK sources from the research digest, used for this page in October 2026. Prices, stars and review counts are from the eight amazon.co.uk listings captured on 21 October 2026. A seaweed or organic line is the listing's wording, not a MAPP. A hormone line on a box is not a current authorisation unless the HSE record says so. This is not a laboratory test and not a strike-rate trial.

  1. HSE, using pesticides in your garden, home or allotment (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  2. HSE, biostimulants and plant protection products (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  3. HSE garden database, Doff Hormone Rooting Powder MAPP 11986 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  4. HSE register, Chryzopon Rose 0.1 % MAPP 17566 (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  5. GOV.UK, register as a seller of amateur plant protection products (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  6. BBC Gardeners' World, how to use hormone rooting powder (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  7. RHS, softwood cuttings (retrieved 21 October 2026)
  8. RHS, hardwood cuttings (retrieved 21 October 2026)