There are so many sites to visit and many different places here. In San Diego where it is warm most of the year I just pot the cuttings which I'ce learned that you have a better chance if the cutting is atleast the size of your pinkie. I've always put cuttings in water till they leaved out but sometimes a cutting with root hormone and just a dab can grow right in the ground but they take a long time to root and will not be needing any fertilizer and never too much water or they rot. I use a mixture of Vermiculite, Supersoil potting and a Supersoil cactus mixture with charcoal at the base of the pot. I have my pots which I've washed well and rinsed in Dawn dish soap none of this bleach stuff like I read in the past that kills the cutting before it has a chance. The whole thing is pretty iffy but always worth a try as an experiment. Have fun !

I have had success for more than forty years taking a six inch cutting with a bud, using a quality rooting hormone and simply placing the cutting under a two liter soda bottle.

Irisgrower,
I can't email you - I have additional questions.

Penny
GW-Penelope

In my neck of the woods, NW Washington, we take semi/dormant hardwood cuttings of any length and put them in a bucket of regular hose-water outside in the shade. Check them after a month or 2. Works everytime for neighbors and I.

Jessica - garden_n_mom

Can you tell me more about this "rooting hormone"? I went to Home Depot to get some but they had no idea what I was talking about.
I asked if they had it and the register person didn't know so she called some guy over. He didn't know what I was talking about so I told him it it a hormone you use to make your cuttings produce roots. He looked at me with that "you've been watching too much Star Trek" look and said "we don't carry anything like that"
I am going to try another store tomorrow (one with grown ups working there) but is there any particular brand that is best? Anything to avoid? How much should I expect to spend?

Hey srenre! I had the exact same thing happen to me at Home D... but luckily it was over the phone. Yeh its weird but some hardwood places (or I guess their workers) dont know about them, but I did find some at Lowe's hardware no prob. I did some shopping around before I got mine, and came to the decision to try out RootTone and Dip n' Grow. Im just starting to dabble in propagating myself, but out of the 8 testers I put in the dirt I have one thats already sprouting new growth! So I must be doing something right =). Hope that helps. OH and as for the cost, a single pack of RootTone was about $3-4 buck and Dip n' Grow was $11... but the dip n grow could be used for a bunch of propagations vs. the packet that had enought powder for only a few.

A very clear, complete with illustrations, explanation is given on the link below. I use the 1 gallon zip lock bag method, pretty much explained as the "baggie" method, and have close to a 100% success. Make sure there are no insect eggs, fungus spores, etc. as these will take root also. Most roses root easily, not all at the same speed, and patented roses are protected by law. Old garden roses are great beginners subjects. Song

Here is a link that might be useful: Santa Clarita Valley Rose Society