After the length needed is determined, one would wrap the lower portion in moist paper towels, and then wrap the towels only in plastic wrap. Since cuttings are not that heavy, they can then be mailed as a First Class Parcel, if they are under 13 OZ and you have a suitable box or packaging for them. You might ask about the best length, and type of growth at the Plant Propagation Forum...or you may find your answers via a search there. Sue Here is a link that might be useful: Plant Propagation

Here is my rootball size guide. It doesn't take variables like species of tree or shrub, type of soil, or time of year when transplant occurs into consideration. But, it should work fairly well for most cases. For trunk diameter below 1/2", multiply the diameter by 20 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1/2" and 1", multiply the diameter by 18 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1" and 1-1/2", multiply the diameter by 16 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 1-1/2" and 2-1/2", multiply the diameter by 14 to get approximate rootball diameter. For trunk diameter between 2-1/2" and 4", multiply the diameter by 12 to get approximate rootball diameter. Here are guidelines for rootball depth: For a rootball with a diameter of 1', depth should be approximately 8". For a rootball with a diameter of 2', depth should be approximately 1'. For a rootball with a diameter of 3', depth should be approximately 15". For a rootball with a diameter of 4', depth should be approximately 18". Ilex crenata can do well in partial sun. Three to four hours of sun is probably enough, especially if sun during the rest of the day isn't completely blocked.

What Agastache are you referring to? I have grown A. 'Blue Fortune' for many years without a single seedling, and also have grown A. cana, rupestris, and a couple of the hybrids, also without a single seedling. I'm in zone 6, despite the heading which this stupid site will not let me change.

We ought to just change the name of this forum to "Conifers and Hollies" LOL. Yellowing is a bit of a mystery to me. My experience with hollies - which is pretty extensive in the past couple years - is that they will have droopy new growth as a sign of drought stress. Watering "here and there" is a little worrisome. To establish a plant well, you should give it infrequent, deep waterings. Assuming it was in at least a gallon container, up there in MA you could probably get away with a deep watering every month in the summer, for a newly planted holly. That would mean leaving a hose on trickle for at least a couple hours, maybe even 4, so that the ground surrounding the plant in completely moist. OK...if you have very fast draining sand, it might be a little more pragmatic to water less every 2 weeks. But most hollies are drought tolerant and you shouldn't need to do it more often than that. A worker at Styer's in PA told me that a lot of people think spritzing the plant every day counts as 'watering' and that this accounted for a lot of their dead plant returns.