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Once the Leaves Fall: Propagate Currants from Hardwood Cuttings

After leaf fall, the season for currant hardwood cuttings begins. Learn how to choose healthy wood, make clear top and basal cuts, and insert each cutting correctly.
Prepared currant hardwood cuttings lie beside a pot, with one shoot already inserted deeply into loose growing medium.

Once currants shed their leaves, a quiet propagation window opens: healthy wood produced this year can be turned into hardwood cuttings. Success depends less on a long list of tasks than on the right timing, unmistakable cutting orientation and patience until the following autumn.

Clean cuts, clear orientation

A sharp, clean tool is sufficient for stems about as thick as a pencil. The folding OTTER 127 cuttings knife has a 5.5 cm carbon-steel blade and, according to its product description, is intended for cutting work when propagating plants from cuttings. It is a discontinued item available only while remaining stock lasts, so please check the current status on the product page.

Unaltered original product image of the folding OTTER 127 cuttings knife
OTTER 127 cuttings knife: check the product page for details and current availability.

Safety: Always cut away from your body and keep your fingers out of the cutting line. Clean and dry the knife after use, then fold the blade away safely. Do not force it through thick wood.

The parent plant matters

Choose a young, healthy currant bush with no suspicious discolouration, shoot damage or signs of disease. Select vigorous growth made this year: woody but still flexible. Remove the soft shoot tip. Avoid propagating old or visibly unhealthy plants, as problems can be carried into the cutting.

Currant hardwood cuttings in five steps

  1. Choose the shoot: After leaf fall, take a healthy stem produced this year.
  2. Trim it to about 20 cm: Make a slight sloping cut just above a bud at the top. This sheds water and makes the upper end easy to identify.
  3. Cut the base straight: Make a straight basal cut just below a bud. Never insert the cutting upside down.
  4. Insert two-thirds: Set it into a loose, well-drained growing medium or a sheltered outdoor bed. Leave only a few buds above the surface.
  5. Firm and label: Gently firm the medium and note the variety and date. Leafless cuttings can look surprisingly alike later.

Container or outdoor bed?

For a small number of cuttings, use a deep pot filled with a peat-free, structurally stable and free-draining propagation mix. Keep it in a sheltered cold frame or unheated greenhouse. Outdoors, choose a sheltered spot with well-drained soil. Waterlogging is just as unhelpful as allowing the cuttings to dry out completely.

Wait – do not tug

Keep the medium lightly and evenly moist. If frost loosens the soil, firm it gently again. Do not keep pulling at the wood to check for roots: the cut surface first forms callus tissue over winter, with root development following later. Ideally, leave the cutting in place until the following autumn. Not every cutting will root, and no outcome is guaranteed.

View details for the OTTER 127 cuttings knife

Technical basis: Royal Horticultural Society, Hardwood Cuttings and How to grow redcurrants. Reviewed on 11 October 2026.

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