How to Make a Cutting of a Holly Plant
- 1). Wait for your holly plant to reach the proper stage of growth in the spring before taking a cutting. Holly is a softwood and should be cut when the branches snap easily when bent, when the first leaves are mature but there are still some new leaves that are small in size. Depending on your growing zone, this stage will occur sometime between May and July.
- 2). Cut your plant in the morning in order to reduce the stress on the holly bush. Set your clippers, garden pot filled with sand and watering can near the bush.
- 3). Cut one of the branches on your holly bush from an inconspicuous area of the plant so that it does not readily show. You should cut at a 45-degree angle in order to reduce the stress to the host plant.
- 4). Dip the end of the holly clipping into rooting hormone, water the sand in your gardening pot and then stick the end of the holly clipping into the sand. Keep the cutting well watered and ensure that it receives sunlight. Over the next month, your cutting will begin to develop roots and within six months, your cutting should develop a sturdy enough root ball in order to be replanted in potting mix or placed in the ground.
