i didnt know they were trees ... i always thought of them as shrubs ... but whether its a sand cherry or a plum.. no real difference ... you said: In spring and early summer I trimmed a lot of dead branches including one 1-1/2" branch. ==>>> then i think you had severe winter damage ... and it somehow.. held on.. until the heat of summer.. and then gave up the ghost ... it appears to be out in front of your castle ... and IMHO ... that is not really a spot for a 5 year effort to MAYBE save this thing ... even if it releafs... its going into fall .. severely weakened ... and probably will sucker from the low trunk or roots wildly.. in response ... in my world of front of the house plantings.. time for it to go ... ken

So these cuts on either side of the node are made lengthwise for roots to be able to come out, correct? How deep should these cuts be made? Just cut down into the cambium layer - 1mm It also looks like you didn't remove the blossoms, is that okay? I thought removing the blossoms helps the cutting take root as most of its energy will go into rooting. Is that the case? Maybe it is different with the purple leaf sand cherry though. No, you're right, in fact I should go do that now - I left a few in the hustle of getting this all done quickly. Also, your cuttings appear to be about 5-6 inches tall when ready to be placed in the rooting medium. Is that correct? yup Would I be safe using sphagnum moss as well? I can purchase either perlite or sphagnum moss, just wondering which to get. Perlite will come in handy with potting soil as well though, so I may go with perlite, like you did. I find that its a whole lot easier to control the moisture level in perlite - as long as there is some sort of lid on it, it stays damp for weeks, wicks up moisture from the bottom as needed, but doesn't turn into a soggy mess. Lets air get down to the roots as well. I just find that much harder to manage with the moss and my cuttings rot far more easily. If I use a clear plastic bag, would that work too? I guess the downside of a plastic bag is that I'd need to have some fixture inside that keeps it from touching the leaves though. Sure, just put in some sticks to hold the bag up. Also, do you think I should get a different rooting hormone, or is my STIM-ROOT No. 1 rooting hormone (a pink powder) good enough? I'm sure that what you have is fine - its all the same active ingredient. Another few comments - if the leaves fall off, discard and start over. - when you start to see new top growth, thats a sign that things are going well. That should be at 4 to 6 weeks. - When you see that, its time to start taking off the plastic cover. Be careful - the environment is so humid under the plastic that the leaves adapt. If your ambient, room humidity is much drier, then when they're exposed, they'll wilt in a few hours. Needs a bit of TLC - remove for an hour, replace, next day two hours, etc. You may not need to worry about this, but I live in a desert, so its a major concern..... I live on the corner of two busy roads, so I've planted a sound/visual barrier with pine and ash trees, and under those, I have lots of shrubs, including a dozen or so sand cherry growing in the partial shade. I'd love to have more of them, but at this point, when I plant small things out, the trees pretty much steal all the sun, water, and nutrients.....

you guys are being way to fixated on the short life span idea ... i have seen lilac in front of centennial farms.. huge.. huge plants ... that i would bet have been there since the house was built ... that is a long life span ... anything less ... is short lived ... its that simple.. its not a book definition ... its just a gardeners expectation ... you could use the same logic for 300 year old oaks ... and trees that kinda poop out at 50 years ... 50 years being a shorter lifespan .....and in this case.. its more about when the tree gets so large.. so fast... it just starts shattering ... or some such ... as for age of cuttings ... as far as i am concerned.. if you start a babe.. its a babe ... if any of these things can be rooted ... many things can be ... heat mats.. misting gear .. greenhouses.. etc ... can a gardener do it.. sure anything possible ... but usually not probable .. but why not try ... both in the pix above.. have aggressive low growth ... i would cut them to about 6 inches ... and see what happens over the next 3 to 5 years ... maybe trying to reduce to one trunk ...but one thing for sure ... well two ... i would not look at either of those .. as is ... they would have been cut back a few years back ... and second... do not expect them to regenerate.. to the exact form they were before ... it will fail.. if that is your parameter ... but they should come back.. and be trainable into some nice form ... but if in a year or two ... you arent happy .. just get rid of them ... life too short.. to have your plants pissing you off .. lol ken

a pic would sure help .... i dont understand why you think cutting stuff off.. will help thicken it.. but then i cant really see the plant ... are they tree form .. or shrub form ... and i am not sure.. i would be doing it right now .... within a month.. they should be slowing down for winter ... if you cut them now.. they MIGHT ... go into a vegetative growth phase.. and not properly harden off in fall .. whatever you do.. no more fert .. if you use any ... google rejuvenation pruning of flowering shrubs ... that would be how i do it.. cutting some down to 3 inches or so ... hoping that 2 or 3 new ones would replace the one taken ... you do it this way.. because if you do it at height ... then you get to 2 or 3 way out there.. and next thing you know.. they are flopping on the ground.. because that spindly trunk cant hold it all up ... ken