By Tanya Kucak

Whenever I’m pruning a shrub I like, I think about all the clones I could grow from the cuttings.

Clones? That’s what cuttings are. They have the same genetic makeup as the original plant, so cuttings are a good choice if you like the color or form of the plant. Cutting-grown plants are more predictable, so they fit better into small suburban gardens. Cultivars and named varieties are always grown from cuttings. Growing from seed, on the other hand, is a better choice if you’re not a fan of uniformity and enjoy surprises.

Winter is a good time to prune many natives, especially those that start to look unkempt toward the end of the dry season. Plants that provide seeds and fruit to wildlife in winter can be pruned as new growth appears in late winter or early spring. Some spring-blooming plants are best pruned in the summer, after they bloom but before they set new buds.

For specifics on what to prune when, look for the book published by Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, “Care & Maintenance of Southern California Native Plant Gardens.” It’s available from the local chapter of the California Native Plant Society.

The list of plants that can accept shearing in this book is also a useful list of good candidates for cuttings. Among the plants listed are Howard McMinn manzanita, Sunset manzanita, coyote brush, Hurricane Point ceanothus, Yankee Point ceanothus, Pacific wax myrtle, hollyleaf cherry, California coffeeberry, lemonadeberry and California grape.

By contrast, fremontodendron and most other cultivars of manzanita and ceanothus will tolerate only tip-pinching. These thin softwood snippets are harder to root.

It’s important to plant each cutting right side up – the same direction it was growing. As a reminder, prune the bottom of each cutting at an angle just below a node (where a leaf was attached), and unless the top is obvious, prune the top of the cutting straight across, right above a node.

The easiest way to grow many cuttings is to fill a wide, shallow container with potting soil. Nursery flats lined with newspaper work well, as do 4-inch square containers.

For each cutting, remove the bottom two to three sets of leaves, and put the cutting into the soil so that at least two nodes are under the surface of the soil. Roots will grow at the nodes. (Some home gardeners dip each cutting into rooting hormone or willow water to increase their chances of success.) I like to have a couple of nodes above the soil surface as well. If any flowers or seeds remain, I cut them off.

Depending on the size of the cuttings, five to 10 of them can fit into a 4-inch pot. If you insert the cuttings at a 45-degree (or steeper) angle, you can use shallower containers, and therefore less soil. Be sure to label each row or pot of cuttings.

Not every cutting will grow, so it’s important to start with more than you think you will need. Then, keep the cuttings lightly watered and watch for new growth. When significant new growth appears, you can repot the successful new plants into their own containers.

What do you do with extra plants? I give away many of them. Think of it as a way to help the birds spread native plants around your neighborhood.

Tanya Kucak (yarrow@sfo.com) gardens organically.