Sure, you can root more than just the tip cutting. The deal is that a plant growing wants to continue to grow. So if you were instead trying to root petunias from a winter plant, the new growth tip from this spring would root but the older material would not very easily root. For tip cuttings, that fast moving tip is usually the easiest. I recently took clematis cuttings, I have never tried these before. I took a cutting of new growth 3 or 4 nods long and cut off and discarded the tip because it was too green. I went down the stem to more developed leaves and used that and striped the nob below to root. Too green would rot. So tip cuttings that are not too green and not old growth are the easiest. The distorted leaves might be from old growth, they are viable but life more of a struggle. Get a few of those tips growing and you can top them to bush the new plants and start more cuttings.

if you look really close.. where the leaf attaches to the stem ... you should see a bud.. or a nub.. and that will become active.. when the leader above is pinched ...

perhaps you squished them ????

it may be hard to see them right now.. but as the plant ages.. it will become pretty apparent ...

and since that is the future bud.. you would slice a stem long enough for roots to develop.. before the bud ... it does not matter what is above ...

thats hard to explain ... in words ...

and i recommend a razor blade sharp cut.. it will root faster than a squished pinch ...

so all you really need is 2 leaves.. which includes the buds you may or may not see.. and an inch of two of stem below.. and away you go ... check out the link ...

ken

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link