I think a propagation reference would be the first thing on your list. Secrets of Plant Propagation by Lewis Hill would be a good start. Paperback, about $15 and easy to understand. May be at your library also. Al

Great suggestion, but for my birthday last week I received the Plant Propagator's Bible, a great book! It does give you the techniques and everything, but I posted on here to look for more information about cuttings, and if "all that stuff" is necessary. In other words, looking for more views and opinions on the equipment I should get - not just one source (the book).

Allright, start by not getting too much of what ever they are selling, thats how they make money. Buy the ingredients to make your own mixes, they will keep well and allow you the freedom to make what works best for what ever you are doing. Costco has the best price on peatmoss(when they have it!)buy a bail it will last you for years. I have over the years accumulated a collection of plastic 33 gallon garbage cans with clampdown lids. One for peat, one for perlite, one for vermiculite. Another one I use for storing my prepared seed starting mix,half and half peat and vermiculite. One more I use for cutting mix, 80% perlite to 20% peat. One more I use for controlled release fertilizer, 18-6-12 which I buy in 50lb bag from farm supply. It also lasts for years in a water tight garbage can. Buy or make as large a heat mat as you have room for, preferably with a adjustable thermostate. I seldom buy growing containers as you can save them or friends will give them to you. Your starts won't know they are in used containers. I made what I call a very large 'cold frame' out of a car port sold by costco covered with a canvas 10 by 20 feet. I discarded the canvas and covered the frame with a 6 mil clear plastic all the way to the ground which will last for up to 10 years. I built wooden benches on each side wide enough to take 3 flats deep and about 40 inches high, for ease on my back. This should be enough to get you stsrted if you want to do big time propagation. Al

For growing indoors, it is best to use a cloning kit. These are most often domes that you can place cuttings into in order to form roots before you placing them into soil or a hydroponics system. The most popular kits use aeroponics to mist the cuttings with moisture. The benefits of these kits are that you have a better chance of having a strong and healthy plant, and you also greatly reduce the risk of disease. They make propagation with cuttings much simpler.
There are many great sources for cloning kits and areoponics misters online.

Here is a link that might be useful: aeroponics cloners

Right now I am writing down all your suggestions . . . keep them coming! Thank you so much!
Oh, question: What rooting solution should I get? The powder kind (I have an old bottle of Rootone I think it's called), gel, liquid (I have a rather new bottle of Dip 'N Grow)? What has worked best for you?

Rootone loses it's power after a couple months once it's opened. At least that's been my experience. You also have to be careful about using older stuff. I've lost more cuttings due to fungii and disease. Pour some out of the container to use and throw away the left overs. Never stick a cutting in the container itself.

For soil, it depends on what kind of cuttings. While a lot of people talk about perlite and vermiculite and peat, I have a much better success rate using sand. In sprin/summer, I use 50/50 sand/peat. In the winter, I use only sand. In the basement, I only use sand. It's easy to use, changes color when it's too dry, and keeps the cuttings moist but not wet.

I don't use a lot of rooting hormone either. I use bottom heat indoors and a propagation chamber in the spring/summer. On the occasion that I want to do a hard to root plant, I will use Rootone. It's the only one I have experience with. Some plants, like forsythia and butterfly bushes, they'll root by just sticking branches in the ground where I want a new plant. I do this in the winter and by spring, they're usually growing. No mess, no fuss.

I heard the same thing about Rootone losing its "power." I think I'll get a new bottle.
Also, about the sand. I read about this too, used sand for some cuttings that never took. My problem is, what kind of sand? Beach sand? Coarse sand? Dark sand? Light sand? We have a lot of sand right here, Great Grandma called it the Green Desert. I just don't know what would be the best for cuttings . . .

I was taught in college, about 1966, that Rootone powder had an indefinite shelf life but the liquid compounds were very short lived. Perhaps Rootone has changed or we have gotten wiser over the past 40 years.

I did many experiments on rooting, mostly, succulents back then and preferred sharp silica sand used for making grout.

I buy my sand from Lowes. It's the sand used under paving stones from the lawn and garden area. Play sand was too fine and didn't leave any air space. The paver sand comes in a clear and maroon colored bag at Lowes. It's got several sizes of sand in the bag, and can be reused if sterilized. I still seem to have a problem with that part. I lost an entire container last week taking my yield from about 90% to 60%. I know it was from fungus. One cutting turned black followed by everything else in the box.

"I buy my sand from Lowes. It's the sand used under paving stones from the lawn and garden area."

Don't assume that the sand you are getting in one part of the country is the same as the sand from other locations. Pure silica should be fine and have a neutral pH, but a lot of "sand" sold for various purposes will include salts, crushed coral or shells, limestone, etc. Lots of sand is produced from mining wastes and can contain all kinds of contaminates or pH ranges. Do your homework before deciding what type of sand to get.

Rootone kept dry and uncontaminated will last as long as you want. It contains a fungicide as well as hormone and I will use it on the end of a cut stem such as Coleus to help prevent mold growth. Dip and Grow liquid will last as long as not mixed(diluted)in which case it should be used within 24 hours. Liquid hormone is used(by me) mostly for woody cuttings where it has been proved more effective. Using a hormone is an added insurance but in most cases not a must. Al

I like using an aeroponic cloning box the best. Most cuttings root fast and there's fewer problem with things like fungus gnats. They can be purchased but are kind of pricey or you can make one very inexpensively. A heat mat is a must. The bigger the mat, the better IMO. I don't bother with a thermostat. Here's a link to pics of a couple varieties of passiflora cuttings that I rooted in the cloning chamber. They were in the chamber less then 2 weeks. http://forums.gardenweb.com/forums/load/brug/msg11103923613.html

Here is a link that might be useful: cloning chamber

Questions, questions, questions!

I do mainly woody cuttings, would this method (homemade cloning box)work for them? Isn't this method kind of like putting them in water - so the roots that form aren't the best?

Everyone seems to say a heat mat is a must. . . I just wish they weren't so expensive! Wouldn't keeping the cuttings/seeds in a relatively warm room (by our wood stove) suffice enough? Or keeping the soil warmer than the cuttings/seedlings is what does it?

Is there a way for me to "purify" sand to use for cuttings for my cold frame/indoor pottings? A safe way . . .

Please bare with my ignorance! :)

I wouldn't use this for woody cuttings. I think soil is best for that but I have used it for semi-hardwood cuttings successfully. The stems aren't in water in the cloning box but are constantly misted. That's what the pump is for. I've had no problem transitioning cuttings to soil from the CB. I've never had a problem potting up cuttings that have been rooted in water either.

I'm a commercial grower and this is what we use to take 1/2 million cuttings a year. Note this is a bit different fro plant to plant but you will just have to try a few different ways for a few plants at a time to see which way works best for that particular plant. The propagation system is easy so I wouldn't suggest a book for that but I would suggest Michael Dirr's "Manual of Woody Landscape Plants". It will give you soil recipes that would take years to acquire through testing. Anyway to the system we use. We have 100' beds 4' wide. These beds are 8" block and are 2 corses high. A standard 1" PVC to feed water to your bed(better if is non-chlorine water). A "mist-a-matic" to turn your water on and off. Low pressure misting heads(very important on the LOW part) We use 3 gal/minute. If you google "mist-a-matic you will likely get a couple diagrams that will show a similar technique. Our typical medium is 1p peat-3p sand. If you going to do it right with the rooting hormone you shouldnt buy the premixes because you will find that every plant has a specific ppm and to get the best results IBA(indole-3-butyric acid) is the way. Some research will have to be done to explain the mixing with alcohol. This all is very vauge but if you think this sounds like what you might like to do just send me an e-mail and I'll help you out a bit.

Thank you for all your posts! Just thought to clarify a bit on why I started this post.
I am interested in propagating plants/seeds for the main fact that I love to garden. I am a farmer, so my gardening is kinda a break for me from farming. With help from my family, I made this nice little place in our woods, in what we call the Bay (we live by a lake). It is overrun with deer now, so they are a problem, I put up a fence last year. The garden in the woods is a Mary Garden (I call it The Shrine). I have a statue of the Blessed Virgin down there and I have been slowly, for the past decade or so, since I was quite young (I just turned 22), landscaping. I would love to be able to propagate plants myself for this garden. I would like lots of shrubs and flowers down there and the best way I've found (and funnest) is to collect seeds, transplant plants from our farm and woods, and propagate shrubs from layering and cuttings. I also purchase plants and seeds from nurseries, but have found that I learn a lot more if I start the plant myself. It's all a learning experience for me that I very much enjoy. So, I am interested in learning the methods of propagating that are the easiest, cheapest, and smallest (as I don't have a lot of room here because we have to grow tons and tons of plants for the farm).
I plan to build myself a cold frame, collect seed from various plants around here and buy some by mail order, dig up plants from our farm, propagate shrubs from cuttings and layerings, perhaps purchase a few plants and shrubs, and purchase the right soil and amendments, and the right tools and supplies for propagating. So, I am in need of people who have done what I'd like to do and for them to share what they've learned about the easiest, cheapest, and smallest ways of propagating plants and expanding their gardens.

Okay, question!

Vermiculite and Perlite. Do I need both or can I do with just one of them? I plan to do cuttings and plant seeds.
Many thanks!

There are alternatives to the mist-o-matic. Check out http://mistkits.com to see the misting kits they have.
The whole kits are a little more than just the mist-o-matic timer alone.

I have heard horror stories about those little levers on the mist-o-matic-type systems. Something as simple as bird droppings or even a bug on it can ruin a whole crop of cuttings.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mistkits.com