I have been reading a large amount of information on the internet about propagating large cuttings (truncheon types or a little smaller). I am in the process of trying several now and will be trying a bunch this winter.

I have 2 Japanese Magnolias and 2 Southern Live Oaks now.

I have read a lot on the internet about crepe myrtles, elms, ficus, Japanese maples, and many other species that have pretty good success rates with large cuttings.

What I've done is take some long, some shorter cuttings of around 2 in in diameter. Trimmed the bark of the bottom 1 - 2inches. also shaped the extreme tip into a point. I dipped in rooting hormone than planted in 1/2 turface / 1/2 pea gravel and have been misting 2 times a day to water. I was very careful about planting the cuttings where the rooting agent wasn't removed from the soil (placed sample in pot, then backfilled soil to the appropriate level). for the shorter cuttings, I cut the sample and placed glue on to seal cut. for all samples, I removed most of all leaves and only left a few small ones on the very tips (mostly the ones growing still). I then wired them in place pretty tight to keep them from moving.

I live in southern coastal Alabama so Humidity is high right now. They are on a covered porch facing north and get no sun.

To this day my live oak samples are about a week and half old and the leaves that I left on the samples have just recently turned brown and fallen.

The Japanese Magnolia seems to be doing good as its had two very green leaves for almost a month now and a few very small leaves have come out. Looks like these were sort of already bulging a little anyways when potted but I'm sure there isn't roots yet.

This winter I plan on trying a bunch of different techniques with samples of crepe myrtles and some of these local popcorn trees. Might even try a few Japanese maples.

Looking for people to share their experiences trying this type work. I've read all kinds of accidents on the internet where someone stuck a branch in the ground and it started growing. Not really looking for that kind of feedback. I'm not talking about trees / plants that you regularly see roots growing from branches (yuccas). Not succulents or jade trees. Looking for people who were trying to do this with multiple samples. What kinds of trees / shrubs they were able to propagate and what technique they used to prep the sample and propagate the sample.

Thank you very Much!

Robert

Southern Coastal Alabama