My experiment were experiments for the sake of experimenting (I always wanted to be a mad scientist or an absent minded professor.) I live out in a remote part of the Great Basin, most of Nevada and half of Utah are in the Great Basin, where the sagebrush and tumbleweed are sparse and sickly so the product may not survive even if I get it rooted.

I take fall, mid winter and spring cuttings. Sterilize with dilute bleach. Put the cuttings with auxins in a sterile potting medium in a clear plastic cup so I can see if roots form. I put the clear plastic loosely covered in a opaque cup so any root formation is in the dark. I keep the whole setup at 40° or higher. If I get roots I occasionally try and keep the plant alive in pots with light until I get shoots. Then I usually discard. I usually try only cuttings which I know will probably root anyway. I am usually only experimenting with conditions.

Poplar, willow and some unidentified ornamentals root best with my setup if cuttings are taken at mid winter. Cuttings taken later often shoot first and take so long to root that I get bored with it. I have had no luck with fall cuttings.

So far this year I have failed with fall cuttings of lavender and Russian sage - fungus got them both. I am starting mid-winter experiments with lavender, Russian sage a Japanese red maple and some unidentified ornamentals this month.

I typically do half dozen of each, three time a year.