8 Fruits You Should Grow From Cuttings For A Thriving Harvest

Luscious and abundant fruit trees can bring a bountiful harvest to your yard and increase your property's overall curb appeal. With a little bit of planning and intention, you can nurture fruit trees that can grow fruit for over 100 years in your backyard. But buying individual fruit trees can get expensive, and there's always the risk when you bring a tree home that it won't properly establish or was damaged during the shipping process. Luckily, there is another option for increasing harvests of fresh fruit to keep stocked around the house.

Some varieties of fruit trees can be easily propagated, and you can use cuttings clipped from healthy trees to nurture an entirely new plant. This method is both sustainable and cost-effective. Fruits like grapes, strawberries, and figs can all do well when grown from a cutting, and taking a small clipping from a healthy fruit tree or bush won't cause any harm to the plant when done correctly. With a little time, patience, and care, your garden can multiply. 

Propagating cuttings you acquired from friends, plant shares, or even existing plants in your yard is an inexpensive and practical way to increase the amount of fresh fruit you yield from season to season. Depending on the type of fruit plant you're trying to propagate, it might be helpful to have supplies on hand. Gardening shears, small pots, well-draining soil, rooting hormone, and small covers that trap humidity can all be extremely useful during the process. Here are eight fruits that do well when you grow them from cuttings, and extra steps you can take to set your young plants up for sweet success. 

Figs (Ficus carica) are not only easy to grow once established, they're also straightforward when it comes to propagating. Fig plants root incredibly easily when grown under the right conditions in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 through 10. You can clip a mature branch off a fig tree using shears and cut the tip at an angle. Then treat the bottom of the cutting with rooting hormone before planting it in at least 6 inches of well-draining soil. You'll want to wait until your fig plant is dormant in the late winter or early spring to propagate for optimal results. 

The common grape (Vitis vinifera) is considered by some expert gardeners to be one of the easiest fruits to root from clippings. Most varieties grow best in zones 6 through 7. Like figs, the best way to propagate grapes is by taking hardwood cuttings when the plant is dormant. Clip at least 12 inches off your grapevine in the fall or winter, then dip them in rooting hormone and plant them into a small pot of moist soil until the cutting sprouts. Keep your plant potted indoors until the summer growing season, then transplant the established cutting outdoors. 

Nothing beats a handful of fresh, home-grown blueberries (Vaccinium spp.) harvested from your garden in the summertime. Blueberries are another fruit that's easy to grow from clippings in zones 3 through 10. The best way to propagate your blueberry plant is by clipping off a healthy, 6-inch segment during late spring or early summer when the plant starts growing. From there, remove all but the top couple of leaves, plant the clipping in well-watered soil, and cover the young plant to trap in humidity. During the summer, nutrients from fish or seaweed fertilizer can give your plant a boost.

A blackberry (Rubus spp.) plant is another great option to grow from a clipping. Blackberries thrive in zones 5 through 10. The best time to propagate them is during the summer months, so that they're ready to transplant back into the ground well before winter comes along. Pick a leafy stem from this year's growth that's at least 4 inches long to clip with shears, then plant it in a mixture of peat and sand. Mist the young plant, and water it regularly in a cool, shady location until it develops roots and is ready to be transplanted.

The elderberry (Sambucus nigra) is renowned across the globe for its extensive health benefits and distinct, unique flavor. This versatile fruit is easy to grow and propagate from clippings. You can take green, flexible softwood cuttings from your healthy elderberry plant in the early summer and transplant them directly into watered, well-draining soil in a small pot. After a few months, they'll be ready to be planted back into the ground once the clipping is established and has grown roots. You can successfully grow elderberries in zones 4 through 10, unless you are in an area prone to freezes.

It's no surprise that raspberry plants are also easy to grow from cuttings, since they're in the same family as blackberries. To propagate raspberries, wait until fall, then cut off half of a new cane that grew that same year, right underneath a leaf node. Then remove the bottom leaves that will be planted underground and leave the ones at the top. Transplant it into a pot filled with well-draining soil that's large enough to accommodate it for several months of growth. Place your pot in a shady, warm spot until spring when the established plant can be transplanted. 

Some argue that fresh strawberries (Fragaria x ananassa) from the garden taste better than store-bought ones. Luckily, not only is it easy to grow and care for a strawberry plant in zones 3 through 10, but propagating the fruit is straightforward. The fruit has a simple root system and loves to multiply, making it easy to turn one strawberry plant into multiple. In the early spring or late summer, use scissors to clip a sturdy runner with lots of leaves just below the node. Then remove extra leaves, dip the plant in rooting hormone, and plant it in soil.

Different varieties of currants (Ribes aureum) are particularly simple to propagate, especially if you choose to clip hardwood cuttings when the plant is dormant. This can be done either in the fall or the early days of spring. Use shears to clip at least a 6-inch segment of the plant's hardwood, apply rooting hormone to the tip, and repot the cutting 2 inches deep in well-watered soil. Make sure that the pot is deep enough so that the plant's roots have room to grow. Currants are flexible and can grow almost anywhere, but thrive in zones 3 through 8.