Hi,
I have had climbing in Hydrangeas growing on my fence for 15 years. When the fence had to be replaced the Hydrangeas were destroyed. I did however salvage some long tendrils of branches. I placed these in water and they have leafed out. I watched a video of yours that showed pruning of climbing hydrangeas and the lady said there were aerial roots. Do you think I could plant these in the ground to get them to grow up my new fence?
Thank-you for contacting Toronto Master Gardeners with your question about your climbing hydrangea cuttings.
These climbers, botanically, Hydrangea anomala subsp. petiolaris, are wonderful plants and I can easily understand why you would like to grow them again. In general when making cuttings we aim to take small sections from actively growing plants and root them in soil rather than water. Your situation may not be ideal if you have had them in water for a while. Having said that, you have nothing to lose in giving it a try. Now that the cuttings are in water, you may want to select a couple of stems and wait to see if roots will develop before planting out in the soil. With the rest of the cuttings, you could opt for rooting in soil.
The following link is to a previous Toronto Master Gardener answer to a very similar question: Toronto Master Gardener query on climbing hydrangea cuttings . It gives detailed instructions on making the cuttings and planting them. At the end of the answer are some links to additional “how to” articles on the subject.
Good luck with propagating your hydrangeas!