The quiet season is never really “quiet” on the homestead. Winter is when we rebuild soil, sharpen tools, look back on what worked, and plan for what’s next. It’s also one of the very best times to multiply your favorite figs, elderberries, and more with almost no effort at all.
Winter hardwood propagation is a skill every grower can learn. With a pruner, a bucket, and some patience, you can turn one plant into many, supporting your own food resilience, sharing abundance with neighbors, and practicing a kind of plant sovereignty that gardeners have relied on for centuries.
Below is a simple guide to hardwood propagation, the plants that root best this time of year, and why late fall through early winter is your highest-success window.
Why Hardwood Cuttings?
Hardwood cuttings are pieces of fully dormant, woody stems taken from perennial plants. During late fall and winter, these stems are packed with stored carbohydrates and not actively growing. This makes them:
- More resilient to moisture fluctuations
- Less prone to rot compared to greenwood cuttings
- More successful at forming strong root systems
- Easier to collect and store than soft, leafy stems
Hardwood propagation uses the plant’s natural cycle. Dormancy is an opportunity. When cuttings are taken at the right time, they root quietly through winter and explode into growth in spring.
Figs: Understanding Hardwood vs. Greenwood Propagation
Figs are one of the easiest fruiting plants to propagate, but the timing determines your success.
Hardwood (Late Fall–Early Winter)
This is your highest-success window. Dormant, leafless fig wood is stable, slow to rot, and full of energy reserves. These cuttings root consistently when:
- Taken after the first good frost
- Stored cool while roots develop
- Given moisture but not over saturation
Greenwood (Spring–Early Summer)
This method works, but success rates are lower. Greenwood cuttings dry out quickly, need higher humidity, and are more sensitive to heat swings. These are rooted best in shade or under humidity domes.
How to Store Fig Cuttings Over Winter
Once cut (we like our cuttings around 8-12 inches long), fig hardwood cuttings can be stored several ways:
- Plant cuttings deeply, at least 4 leaf nodes should be buried under soil, or 1/2-2/3 of the cutting.
- In slightly damp peat or coco coir inside a breathable container
- In well-drained potting soil and a breathable container
- Store in a cool basement or garage where temps stay just above freezing
- Avoid storing them completely dry or soaking wet. The goal is “cool and slightly moist.”
When spring arrives, re-plant cuttings in rooting medium (perlite, bark fines, or a soil mix like Dirtcraft G-Force). Keep the bottoms warm and the tops cool for fastest rooting.
Elderberries: Live Staking and Hardwood Cuttings
Elderberry propagation is one of the great joys of winter, especially because it’s so easy.
Live Staking
Elderberries can be rooted simply by sticking dormant cuttings directly into the ground where you want them to grow. This works because elderberries naturally sprout along disturbed streambanks and wet edges, places where branches break off, lodge in the soil, and root themselves.
Best practices:
- Use pencil-thick, 8–12” cuttings
- Plant with two buds above soil, the rest below
- Choose moist soil but avoid standing water
- Keep newly planted stakes weeded through spring
Potting Cuttings Indoors
If you prefer a more controlled start, root them in pots of well-draining medium through winter and transplant in spring. Store outdoors in a sheltered area.
Elderberries are one of the most reliable hardwood crops for homesteads, providing fruit, medicine, wildlife value, and erosion-control roles.
Fruit Shrubs and Trees That Propagate Well in Winter
Aronia (Chokeberry) has one of the highest hardwood success rates of any shrub.
Cutting length: 6–10 inches
Root in pots of well-draining medium or live stake directly in the ground.
Reliable for hedgerows, wildlife plantings, and nutrient-dense berries.
Goji Berry is vigorous and roots easily from dormant wood.
Cutting length: 6–12 inches
Best success in pots; use a gritty mix to prevent rot.
Benefits from being kept slightly on the dry side during rooting.
Grapes are a classic hardwood cutting crop and extremely dependable.
Cutting length: 8–12 inches, ideally with 3–4 buds
Root horizontally buried or vertically planted in deep pots or live stake directly where you want vines to grow.
Plant with one bud above soil, others below.
Mulberries are among the easiest fruiting trees to propagate.
Cutting length: 8–12 inches
Extremely high success in pots or directly in the ground, mulberries root aggressively even in cool soil.
Why Winter Propagation Matters for Homesteads
Propagation is more than a gardening trick. It’s a foundational homestead skill.
- Build your orchard for the price of your time, not your wallet.
- Grow enough to share with local wildlife, or friends.
- Create buffers, hedgerows, and wildlife corridors with plants you’ve grown yourself.
- Preserve regional varieties by keeping them circulating in home gardens.
Cutting and rooting your own plants is a path toward true plant self-reliance.
Winter propagation is simple, accessible, and highly rewarding. With a few hardwood cuttings from figs, elderberries, grapes, and other woody fruits, you can multiply your landscape at almost no cost while deepening your connection to the plants that feed you.
Cut, root, repeat, your future orchard begins now.