We have resorted to feeding the deer corn, my thoughts are if I feed them corn they are more likely "not" to eat most of the shrubs/plants I've been planting. So far so good, except it looks like the hydrangeas have been hit...but not completely...yet. I've also used the tomatoe cages I made from concrete mess as winter protection for several other shrubs just happen to run out when it came to protecting the hydrangeas. Next year I'm starting with the hydrangeas to give them a better start next year. Deer will be an ongoing battle in my experience I've found it is better to live with them then to try to fight them...not worth it. So every spring I loose most of my hostas, I just cut them back and fertilize and they return.

Spring or autumn best time to take cuttings use semi-hard of softwood...apply 0,8% IBA (rooting hormone) stick in well drained soil & mist taking 30-70 days to root. bottom beat helpfum & cuttings will need winter protection. seed the best way to propagate.....

mgleason, Thanks for your response. Potting up when the roots poke out certainly makes good sense, otherwise the little guys would be vulnerable to damage. Putting the potted up plants on a shelf underneath the system won't work for my set up, but i can have them to the side where they will receive sporadic misting. michela, Yes, this is exciting. I thought 'Oklahoma' was fast--taking only 3 weeks to root, and then 'La Tosca' took only 17 days!! I have only one cutting per container so it's really easy to move them. When potting up I use a lightweight potting mix I make up of a commercial mix (one without added fertilizer) with pine bark fines and perlite added. mgleason seems to have the answer to your questions as they are much the same as mine. Laurel

In our Pine Barrens, when recurrent fires sweep through, the Mountain Laurel gets burned to the ground. It comes back slowly and just fine. I had once dug the roots out, and that became a fine bush in several years. I know better than to take plants from private property of public, now.