August is supposed to be the lazy month in the garden. Supposed to be… The deck chair is waiting, the tomatoes need eating and, after all the watering we have done, surely we deserve a rest?
But take your pruners outside one cool morning and look properly at the plants. Not at the flowers this time—look at the stems.
The soft, pale shoots of spring have changed. They have filled out, darkened a little and become firm under your fingers; yet they still bend, and there is green tissue beneath the skin. This is the moment we want. A few weeks earlier they may have collapsed before forming roots, and a few weeks later they may be too woody and stubborn. August catches them somewhere in the middle…
And what a waste it would be to throw them all away! That piece of lavender hanging over the path, the vigorous tip of your favorite salvia, the hydrangea shoot growing three feet taller than everything around it—they are not rubbish. Well, some of them are badly behaved, certainly, but they are also possible new plants.
“During the hottest month?” you may be wondering. Yes, though we must use a little sense. Take the stems early, while they are cool and full of moisture; do not leave them on a sunny table while you go indoors looking for a pot. We have all done that sort of thing, and the poor cutting usually looks like cooked spinach when we return.
The compost must stay moist, but not wet enough to grow frogs. Give the pots light without fierce afternoon Sun, leave the leaves enough air around them, and resist checking for roots every second day. Some plants root quickly and make us feel wonderfully clever; others sit there looking exactly the same for a month.
So, before August growth becomes September pruning, let us make use of it. The following 10 plants can all be propagated from cuttings now—and one small stem may be enough to give you a full, flowering plant for next year’s garden.
1. Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum Jasminoides)
I know what you are thinking… “Take cuttings of a climber in the middle of an August heatwave?” You may say I am crazy, but Star Jasmine is tough! This magnificent plant wraps your trellises in rich, deep green, leathery leaves and blesses you with brilliant white, star-shaped flowers that smell absolutely divine. Our gardens fill up with little winged visitors just to get a taste of that nectar!
Now, taking cuttings in August is all about timing and understanding the wood. We want semi-hardwood pieces. These are the stems that grew fresh this spring and are just starting to turn a bit woody and firm at the base, but are still green and flexible at the tip. Head out early in the morning before the sun gets fierce and the plant loses moisture. You want to use sharp secateurs to snip a piece about 4 to 5 inches long, making the cut right below a little bump on the stem called a leaf node.
Strip off all the leaves on the bottom half of the cutting so they do not rot under the soil, leaving just two or three leaves at the top. If the top leaves are huge, cut them in half to reduce water loss. Dip the cut end into rooting hormone powder, and sink it into a pot filled with a mix of fresh compost and plenty of grit for drainage. The trick in our hot US weather is keeping the soil moist but keeping the pot completely out of the baking midday sun. Just tuck it in a dappled shade spot on your patio. In about four to six weeks, you will see fresh green growth, and you have a brand new, expensive-looking vine for completely free!
2. Verbena (Verbena Officinalis)
And off we go to something completely different but just as exciting! If you have a sunny border that looks a bit tired by late summer, Verbena is the airy, vibrant splash of purple and violet you need. Its slightly spiky, green leaves form a sprawling mat that keeps blooming and blooming, bringing hummingbirds right up to your porch. It is a stunning sight! But buying flats of these at the garden center to fill a large space? That can really hurt the wallet.
Thankfully, propagating Verbena right now is incredibly easy. For this one, we are going to take softwood cuttings. Look for a healthy, green, fleshy stem that does not have a flower bud on it. Snip a piece about 3 inches long, making your cut just above a set of leaves. Gently pull off the bottom foliage, leaving just a couple of small leaves at the very top.
Because August air can dry out soft, fleshy cuttings incredibly fast, we need a clever little trick. Fill a small pot with straight perlite or a very light, well-aerated potting mix, stick the cutting in, and water it gently. Then, place a clear plastic bag over the whole pot, holding it securely in place with a rubber band around the rim. You just built a tiny greenhouse that traps the humidity! Keep it in a bright spot indoors or in full shade outside. In just two or three weeks, it will strike vigorous roots. Once you see new leaves pushing out, remove the bag and let it acclimate to the fresh air.
It is really that simple!
3. Clematis (Clematis Spp.)
We all know the jaw-dropping beauty of a mature Clematis climbing up a mailbox or rambling through a large shrub! Those massive, star-like flowers in radiant pinks and velvety crimson tonalities are a true garden treasure. Our gardens fill up with bumblebees just to roll around in those incredible blooms. But let’s be honest… buying several of these gorgeous vines can really eat into your budget. So, why not propagate your own right now?
In the thick of August, the vines have produced the absolute perfect semi-hardwood stems. The fresh green growth from spring is just starting to ripen and turn slightly woody. But there is a very special trick here! Unlike most plants where you cut right below a leaf node, Clematis cuttings are taken exactly halfway between two nodes. Many of us gardeners call this an internodal cutting! You want a piece of stem with just one leaf node at the very top. Snip the stem an inch or two below that node, and then carefully cut off one of the two leaves at that top joint to stop the cutting from sweating out all its moisture in our intense late-summer heat.
Dip that bottom stem into your rooting powder and slide it into a deep pot filled with a loose, well-draining mix of sharp perlite and potting soil. Give it a good drink of water and tuck it in a shady, sheltered spot on your patio out of the baking sun. In about four to eight weeks, you will have strong roots pushing down, getting perfectly established before winter arrives!
4. Rhododendron (Rhododendron Spp.)
And what about our towering spring bloomers? The massive, leathery, deep forest green leaves of Rhododendrons give our gardens incredible structure all year long. And when they explode into whopping clusters of pink, white, and ruby blossoms, it is a magnificent sight. But multiplying them? You may think it is an impossible task, something reserved only for professional growers!
It is a bit of a challenge, I will admit, but taking semi-hardwood cuttings in late August is the absolute best way to do it. The intense summer heat has hardened the soft new spring growth just enough to survive the process. Head out early with your sharpest secateurs and take a cutting about 4 to 6 inches long from the tip of a healthy, vigorous branch. Now, strip off all the lower leaves, leaving a little crown of three or four leaves at the very top. If those top leaves are gigantic—and they usually are—simply take your pruners and cut them in half horizontally so the cutting does not exhaust itself trying to keep them hydrated.
But wait! Here is the secret to making these stubborn, beautiful shrubs root. You absolutely must wound the cutting. Take a very sharp, clean knife and carefully slice away a thin sliver of bark—about an inch long—right at the base of the stem on one side. This exposes the inner green layer and tells the plant it needs to push out roots immediately! Dip that wounded section into a strong rooting hormone and plant it in a highly acidic mix of peat moss and perlite. Slip a clear plastic bag over the pot, secure it with a rubber band, and place it in a bright spot entirely out of direct sunlight. Now, you just need a bit of patience! Rhododendrons are famously slow, and they might take three or even four solid months to strike roots. Just keep the soil slightly damp, let them sit quietly through the fall, and you will eventually be rewarded with a priceless, stunning shrub ready for your borders!
5. Bigleaf Hydrangea (Hydrangea Macrophylla)
And here is a spectacular favorite! Those massive, lush leaves and whopping floral heads exalting your summer borders are a true garden treasure. Whether you have coaxed those bigleaf beauties into stunning blue or brilliant pink blossoms by carefully managing your soil pH, they are truly exquisite! Our gardens fill up with little winged visitors just to rest on those incredible flower heads. But buying these premium shrubs at the nursery? That is quite an expense.
So, take advantage of the August warmth! Right now, the semi-hardwood stems are absolutely perfect for rooting before our Midwest winters freeze the ground solid. Head out early and snip a vigorous, non-flowering shoot about 5 inches long. And – let’s be honest – you must carefully strip off the bottom leaves. Because those top leaves are massive, simply cut them in half horizontally to prevent the cutting from losing precious water in the thick summer heat.
Dip the cut end into rooting hormone and nestle it into a small pot filled with a well-draining mix of potting soil and perlite. Slip a clear plastic bag over the pot, secure it with a rubber band, and set it in a bright, shady spot on your patio! Keep it beautifully moist, and in just four weeks, it will strike strong roots, ready to grace your garden next spring!
6. Rose (Rosa spp.)
“Roses from cuttings? Isn’t that for the professionals, with grafting and greenhouses?” I hear this all the time — and no, not at all! August is actually the easiest moment of the whole year, because the plant itself tells you when the wood is ready: a stem that has just dropped its last petals is perfectly semi-ripe. Too soft rots, too woody sulks, but a just-finished bloom stem roots like it means it!
Take 6 to 8 inches with three or four leaf nodes. Off come the flowers, the little hips, and every leaf on the lower two-thirds. Then — this is the step people skip, and then they wonder why nothing rooted — shave a thin strip of bark about an inch long from one side of the base. That little wound is where the callus forms, and the callus is where your roots are born. A dip in rooting hormone powder costs a few dollars and roughly doubles your luck, so treat yourself!
And now for the surprise: bury the cutting deep, a full two-thirds of it! Those buried nodes root, the depth anchors everything against winter frost-heave, and your success rate climbs. Sandy compost, a tall narrow pot, one good watering, then out to a sheltered shady corner — no plastic bags for roses, they love moving air and sulk under cover.
After that… patience, my friend! Six to ten weeks, and the worst thing you can do is tug the stem to check on it. Fresh growth in October is your answer. Leave the pots outside against the house wall all winter, plant out next June, and give it two seasons before judging the flowers. And here’s the sweet part — an own-root rose can never sucker rootstock at you, and if a brutal winter kills the top, what grows back is still your rose!
7. Forsythia (Forsythia x intermedia)
“Propagation takes skill and years of practice!” Oh, does it? Then nobody told the forsythia… This shrub roots with such cheerful eagerness that we sometimes suspect it would grow from a dropped twig. If you’ve never taken a cutting in your life, this is where we start — and you are in for a confidence boost!
August bushes are loaded with long, whippy shoots, and the treasure sits near the base; that’s where the growth has turned semi-ripe, firm and faintly browned, but still full of sap. Cut 4 to 6 inches, snipping just below a leaf joint, strip the lower leaves, and keep two or three pairs up top. Push them two inches deep into gritty compost, water once, and walk away! No hormone, no plastic tent, no ceremony — this plant needs none of it.
Bright shade and a little patience; roots arrive in three to four weeks, faster in warm spells. And here’s a bonus for the lazy among us — you can skip pots entirely and stick the cuttings straight into a nursery row in the garden, as long as the soil drains and you keep them watered through September. By spring you’ll have sturdy shrubs ready for their permanent homes…
But one warning before you plant, and it comes from watching too many sad, butchered forsythias! They flower on last year’s wood, so the golden explosion of April is already sitting on those stems by autumn. Prune right after bloom, never in fall — or you’ll be staring at a green bush next spring, wondering where the sunshine went!
8. Pelargonium (Pelargonium spp.)
Call them geraniums like the rest of us — the botanists forgive you! One plant on your porch in August becomes a whole windowsill of them by Christmas, and the method is so simple it feels like cheating. But there is one tiny step that decides everything, and most beginners skip it…
Snip 3 to 5 inch tips from healthy shoots without flowers, cutting just below a node. Now — do not plant them yet! Lay the cuttings on newspaper in the shade for two to four hours and let that cut end dry and seal. These stems are juicy; a fresh wet wound rots in compost, a callused one roots. Such a small pause, such a big difference!
Then strip the lower leaves and slide them an inch deep into a lean, gritty mix — half compost, half perlite or sand — and water once, lightly. And now comes the part that feels wrong: neglect them! No plastic bag, no misting, no daily kindness. Pelargoniums root best in dry air and bright light, and overwatering kills more cuttings than cold ever will. In two to four weeks, a gentle tug meets resistance — rooted!
Grow them on a sunny sill through winter; anywhere outside zones 9 to 11 they can’t take frost, but honestly, a bright window suits them fine. Plant out after your last frost and they’ll bloom their heads off until autumn. And the scented types — rose, lemon, peppermint — root just as fast, perfuming every room they pass through!
9. Salvia (Salvia spp.)
Walk past a salvia border on a warm August afternoon and count the bees — go on, we’ll wait! These plants are pollinator magnets of the highest order, and the good news keeps coming; the side shoots they’re producing right now root faster than almost anything else on our list.
Look low on the plant for non-flowering side shoots, fresh and firm, 3 to 4 inches long. Cut them cleanly below a node, strip every leaf from the bottom half, and pinch out any little flower buds — a cutting making blooms is a cutting not making roots! Insert them around the edge of a pot (drainage is sharpest there, an old trick worth stealing) in a compost-and-perlite mix, water once, and give them bright shade with a loose bag over the top if your air is dry.
Two to four weeks and you’ll feel resistance at a gentle tug; rooted! Now the overwintering depends on which salvia you took. Hardy types like the meadow sages can go straight into the garden this fall in zones 5 and warmer. The tender beauties — the black-and-blue types, the pineapple sage — need a frost-free windowsill until spring, but they reward you by blooming their hearts out the very first summer. And every single one will have hummingbirds and bumblebees queuing from June to frost!
10. Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera Sempervirens)
If you want to orchestrate a true biological spectacle and bring hummingbirds right to your porch, this native vine is unmatched. Climbing vines demand a specific, slightly aggressive approach to propagation, and the heavy ambient humidity of late summer provides the perfect environment to root your own sprawling climbers without spending a fortune at the garden center. You are looking for a section of vine that has lost its floppy spring softness and firmed up into semi-ripe wood.
Measure out an eight-inch section of this firm vine and use your secateurs to snip it cleanly, just below a swollen node. First, you need to severely limit the moisture loss, so use a sharp knife to completely slice away the foliage on the bottom four inches of the stem, and cut the remaining upper leaves exactly in half.
Now, take your blade and gently scrape a one-inch vertical sliver of the outer bark away from the very base of the stem, revealing the pale green cambium layer underneath. This physical wound triggers an emergency response, sending natural rooting hormones flooding down to the base.
Roll that wounded inch thoroughly in a hardwood rooting powder. Sink the stem into a narrow pot filled with heavily aerated perlite and potting soil, burying the bottom four inches deeply so it is completely anchored.
Because massive vines transpire water rapidly, invert a clear plastic bag over the pot, propping it up with a few twigs so the plastic never touches the leaves. Nestled in dappled shade, this tiny high-humidity greenhouse will coax out a sprawling root system by late October.
Written By
Amber Noyes
Amber Noyes was born and raised in a suburban California town, San Mateo. She holds a master’s degree in horticulture from the University of California as well as a BS in Biology from the University of San Francisco. With experience working on an organic farm, water conservation research, farmers’ markets, and plant nursery, she understands what makes plants thrive and how we can better understand the connection between microclimate and plant health. When she’s not on the land, Amber loves informing people of new ideas/things related to gardening, especially organic gardening, houseplants, and growing plants in a small space.