Well, I checked your page, and you didn't share where you are, or even what zone you are in. Most who post here are not in zone 9, as I am, and things do vary according to weather conditions/climate.

In zone 9, we cut them to semi-ripe wood, dress the cutting, dip in powdered hormone, and stick in a hole in some medium in a pot. Pull the soil up around the cutting and water it. Set it in the shade, don't let it dry out. Seems like I usually have roots in about a month. Altheas are among the easiest things to root. Do this in warm weather, tho!

Janie

Thanks Janie.
I forgot to put my zone! I am sorry. I am in zone 6.
This may sound silly, but what do you mean by "dress the cutting"?

Sorry. When you dress a cutting, you clean it up. Remove all leaves, except for the top two or maybe three. If it is a real big leaf, I like to cut them in half. Make sure you have a good cut on the bottom.

Same old stuff, just a different name.

Janie

my neighbor and I noticed althea bushes growing in some of our flower pots and flower beds and couldn't figure what was going on. come to find out her husband had snipped off small branches from her bigger bushes and just stuck them in our flower beds and flower pots, he finally confessed so they must be very easy to start, just stick it in the ground, that is what I do with hydrangeas. break off a stem(hardwood) remove all the leaves and stick it in shaded flower beds. I stick it in about 6 inches or deeper at an angle. very easy to start. keep moist

I successfuly rooted several cuttings from my althea tree last Spring. They are in my new garden. The problem is they have grown quite high, and are spindly. Can I cut them back before next Spring and if so, how much should I cut off?

If it is real hot where you are now, just cut a bit- maybe a third. Then when it cools off, you can cut a bit more. I usually cut them way back in early spring, after danger of frost.

My friend brought me a cutting from a little baby pink, double ruffled althea. It looks almost like a carnation, and is so pretty when it is all in bloom. I stuck it in a vase of water with a coleus I had rooting, to keep it from drying out before I could stick it. Well, I forgot it, and 3 weeks later, I found it- with roots over 1 inch long! LOL It is happy in a pot now. I am happy too.

Good luck.

Janie

this is a little off topic,but in zone9,when can i move a double althea 31/2 years old to another area of my yard? that is if this new hurricane don't take this one,rita got one when she came thru 3 years ago today.thanks
patricia

Hi!
I just received a clipping from a double althea this week. The clipping includes a portion of a 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter branch along with a thinner branch with leaves. Do I need to use the hormone, or could I root the plant without it? Should I remove the larger portion, or would it be okay to root it, too? Is it true that they like morning light, or should it be more light?