MB>>back.  I've not tried cuttings too often. I rooted some rosemary a couple 
of years ago that way, but
MB>>then killed it a couple of months later, presumable from overwatering.
 CG> I've heard that "sharp" sand is ideal for cuttings.  Also that crushing 
the base of the stem helps.
Sharp sand/milled spag. (50/50) is my favorite, in most cases.   I only crush 
the base, when it is a woody stem.  And, only then, for water take-up.  The 
vast majority of stem cuttings only root at the leaf node, anyway,  (there is 
a little "bulge" just under the joining of the leaf/stem), so crushing the 
very bottom only enables it to take up more water.  With time, that 
bottom-most part falls away, anyway.
 CG> A clean cut at 90-degrees across the stem provides little surface area, 
whereas a slanted or crushed cut
 CG> provides many more growing cells.
A slant (at about 45') is what most recomendations are... and as I said, with 
*most* plants, trees, shrubs, leaf nodes are where the cells are that will 
produce roots.
 CG> I'm not sure whether the sharp sand assists in cutting into the cells, 
or whether it just provides good
 CG> drainage.
Good drainage.
 CG> I think the idea of drainage is that the cuttings get a regular dose of 
water to keep them alive, but have to
 CG> work like the dickens (rough translation: send down roots) to get at it 
once it has passed downwards.
The idea is that the cuttings don't sit in a boggy, stagnant environment w/no 
air exchange.  Plants will die, if there are air-pockets, etc.  But, without 
air-exchange, the roots die. By that, I mean, the soil must be able to 
breathe.  This is one of the reasons that plastic is about the *worst* choice 
to use as a weed guard... the soil is unable to have and exchange of air, so 
it sours, and everything trying to grow in it either rots or dies from toxic 
gas buildup.  It helps to think of the soil being as alive as you wish your 
plants to be   :)  And, you are correct... your cuttings *do* "work like tthe 
dickens to get at it...", but it is the *roots* that do that, and it is only 
*after* they've been produced, that they are able.  Roots always reach for 
the source of life to them (water and nutrients)... and that is the reason 
that you want to put them (water and nutrients!) down into the ground, as far 
as you want the roots to go.  The only thing, of course, that wouldn't be 
included in those needs is, of course, *sunlight*!   Thankfully, the roots 
don't 'reach' for that one  :)
 CG> You might essay with a plant that cuts very well, one of the 
hanging-basket variety, with, say three pots of
 CG> sand and thre epots of gardening soil. see which tend to strike better.
(Thanks for allowing me to butt in with afew thoughts   :)
cheers,
WL Sakowski
WL Sakowski
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