yes not an answer since you asked it both ways.. lol ... i have been collecting mine every year for 2 decades.. they are still speckled ... i dont need to collect if i have snow cover.. but when i dont.. cardinals will eat them all winter. .. ken

Good luck! The MOST important thing is to not let the soil get too wet as it will cause fungus and the cuttings will die. I have killed more cuttings by overwatering that I can count. I try rooting any plant that I break off. You never know what works until you try and don't get discouraged if it does not succeed.. Also look at "This is what has worked for me". He has pictures of his method.

Sorry to hear about the storm and all the damage. Yes, they will root very nicely in water. Trim off any stems/leaves that are sitting in the water as you don't want them to rot and smell. You should probably remove the flowers too, unfortunately. The bottom parts that are in the ground will put out new branches and flower as normal (just a bit later than their companions), so no worries there. For the splinted one, you could wrap it with masking tape or electrical tape. It might come back in the morning, and would probably appreciate some shade if you can rig something up. If not, even if it is badly wilted in the morning, you could cut it off and pop it in a bucket of water to revive it, then put it in a vase to root with the others. Something that helps with is Willow which acts as a root stimulant. If you have access to any, you could cut small branches and pop one in with each tomato plant, but you probably don't need it because tomatoes are so keen to push out more roots along their stems. Linda

My apple tree is bearing some translucent apples that are meaty and good. I probably should have trimmed it but i did it 1.5 years ago and i planned to do it in the fall of this year. Anyway the neighbors tell me the branch broke (from the weight of the apples) and they partially cut through it to move from a raised garden. I plan to cut the branch off, even though it seems to still be feeding the other broken side. How should i prepare the branch before i cut it off?