Cuttings

Yes. I do mine in 2 parts loam (soil) 1 part sharp sand and 1 part grit. The important thing is to provide plenty of drainage so the cutting does not rot and not much food so the cutting puts down roots to find food. There are loads of mixtures that will work (and loads of people that think that the way they do it is the only way. Lol.) I've even done some in 100% sharp sand.

John.

If you have sandy soil You can take hardwood cuttings right now of some easy subjects like Forsythia , Willow, Buddleia. and Spiraea. Take pieces 9 to 12 inches long and put them into a 6inch trench with some sharp sand at the bottom. firm them in. Some will take. It is usual to leave them till the following autumn or Spring before potting or planting alsewhere. Lonicera nitida can be placed like this where you want it to grow , put in more than you need in case some dont take, and if all take thin them out .Some are easy and some like Pines will never take no matter what you do. You dont say what cuttings., I was going to say try rooting Willow and Hebe in water, but I see Spritzzhenry has illustrated this

I rooted my last lot of Hebe cuttings in a 50-50 mix of seed compost and horticultural grit. This was an experiment - but I got 7 rooted out of 8 cuttings! I took them in August, I think - and have just potted them up individually. They'll stay in the greenhouse now until spring.

Used that mix myself Spritz. And I always wanted some cuttings off my bay tree. Tried all the traditional cutting methods - nothing. Then took advice. 'Oh very difficult from cuttings. Layering is better'.

In disgust I took 6 trimmings (not even below the leaf or anything else cuttings. I just stripped a few leaves off) when I last pruned the bay in September, and pushed them into a tray with sand, grit and perlite that I had prepared for some insectivores. Then I ignored them. They are currently, (10 weeks later) 5 out of 6, putting out new growth in winter. No wonder I ignore the book (and am an optimist). Anybody want a baby bay?

The Lord works in a wondrous way his marvels to perform is surely true.

John.

You don't want JI3 for cuttings - it is too rich.
JI1 with added drainage material (grit, vermiculite or similar) is suitable

I have struck successful fuschia cuttings in ordinary Universal compost - in fact that, and the garden soil, is all I use to grow plants in and I have had quite a degree of success.

~I have a standard Callistemon which needs cutting back~anyone suggest how to root the cuttings please?