"David Ross" wrote in message
...

You're problably doing nothing wrong. First of all, if you get 50%
of your cuttings to survive and root -- 25% of cuttings from woody
plants -- you are doing well.

Woody cuttings can be real slow to root. An azalea cutting took
about 3.5 months this year.

Some perennials, however, seem to root overnight. Six weeks ago, I
took cuttings of red clover (Persicaria capitata, a ground cover
with clover-like flowers). Last week, I noticed roots growing
through the bottoms of the little plastic pots I was using.
However, only three out of four cuttings survived. Once I plant
them in the ground, about a third of the rooted cuttings of this
ground cover die.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/

Thanks for the encouraging words, David. I managed to start and grow four
out of dozen korean spice cuttings two years ago, but none rooted for me
last year, and none have rooted for me so far this year. My problem is that
a very good gardening friend asked me to start one for her, and so far I'm
striking out. It bugs me because I'm accustomed to 50% or better success
with shrub cuttings with the exception of ilex. Tried them, no success,
quit! I usually donate around a hundred shrubs in gallon pots to our
garden club's annual plant sale.

John