"Jim Lewis" wrote in message
news:002201c33d7a$31b5ac40$61102cc7@pavilion...
As far as air layering them goes, I've never thought to do one
because the trees are nothing but weeds in my area. My guess,
though, is they will be difficult to layer, as sweetgum do not
have fine hair roots (or have very few of them). I HAVE tried
cuttings (I hate to waste trimmings!) and none have taken.

I have tried cuttings, too. Made three (3) of them (semi-hardwood, right
after the leaves mature), one took (that doesn't necessarily mean that a
success rate is 33%, because the number of cuttings was too small).
Anyway... I didn't use rooting hormone and stuck them into ordinary
potting soil. I did put them under glass, though, as I usually do (I
take it off once a day for half an hour to discourage fungi). And that's
about it.

Speaking of cuttings... some time ago I asked for advice on making
cuttings of several other species: bald cypress (Taxodium distichum),
dawn redwood (Metasequoia glyptostroboides), giant sequoia
(Sequoiadendron giganteum), coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and
giant red cedar (Thuja plicata). Of all those species I only managed to
root cuttings (a cutting, to be specific) of coast redwood. While I have
no trouble rooting Thuja occidentalis, plicata is a mystery to me. And
all the other redwoods. Any advice? Thanks.