To successfully strike cuttings, the following should be considered:

1. Containers: Many different types of containers can be used for this purpose. The important factor with cuttings is the ability to maintain 100% humidity - i.e. to keep all moisture being recycled within your environment. With new growth, most of the vegetative matter is comprised of water. If this is allowed to evaporate, then the plant will rapidly deteriorate and very probably expire. One of the simpler ways for small lots is to cut down a plastic drink bottle and slip the top (complete with cap) back over the base when the mix and the cuttings are in place. Alternatively, half the drink bottle can be placed over an appropriately sized plastic pot, or most any container can be placed inside a plastic bag which is then tied off to retain the moisture. 

Undoubtedly, the most successful and foolproof method we have devised is to use a suitable sized plastic box (of the kind sold in discount stores for storage purposes). As a guide, something around 300mm square and of similar height is ideal, but smaller or larger sizes may be used. The important factor here is that the moisture is all retained within your system. The best fitting lids tend to be the raised types. Those with clips tend to buckle along the edges and may need a brick placed on top to achieve a seal. Of course, all containers should be clean and sterile.  

2. Mix (Growing Media): Here too a wide range of possibilities emerge. The most important considerations are that they be very free-draining, and that they are free of harmful organisms and disease. Recent results with composted pine bark have proved far superior for most woody plants and renders all other mixes obsolete at this level.   Composted pine bark (dark colour- not tan) is usually available from nurseries in single bag lots. Ideally, this bark should be put through a 3mm (1/8”) screen. This enables a much closer contact with the formative root system. It is important that the mix should be thoroughly moist but not wet before being placed in any sealed container. A useful method is to make up a muslin bag to line a bucket.  Fill it with composted bark cover the bark with hot water from a tap. This will ensure a quick saturation and sterilise the bark to remove any undesired micro-life. Remove the bag from the bucket, place over a drainage grate, and press out all surplus water with your feet. This will leave a suitable moisture content. All surplus water should be pressed out, but the bark remains quite moist.

Place the bark in the container to a suitable level for the target cutting and allow to cool until the temperature in the centre of the mass is no longer uncomfortable to your skin. Make a series of holes at equal distances to accommodate the desired cuttings.  Inadequate spacing can encourage fungal diseases where cuttings are in direct contact with one another or the sides of the box. A 300mm square box will easily hold 25 cuttings. 

3. Cutting material: Different plants respond better to the taking of different types of cuttings at different stages. New, soft, pale green material gives softwood cuttings, which can strike very readily, but tend to encounter more problems as they are relatively fragile. At the other extreme, hardwood cuttings are made from material which has hardened off (generally become more brittle and probably darker in colour). These are much slower, and generally used only on deciduous plants. The more common method, and the one preferred for Rhododendrons and Azaleas, is the use of semi-hardwood cuttings. This is material which is relatively recent growth, but has begun to mature.  It has matured to a firm stage, but has not become brittle. Whilst not as quick to strike as softwood material, it is still much faster than hardwood, and more reliable than softwood. Using the plastic box method, a much greater range of material can be successfully propagated.

4. Cutting method: Cuttings should be about 100mm long for larger Rhododendrons, and proportionally smaller for smaller plants. Make clean, sharp angled cuts across the stem. Remove all the lower leaves, leaving only the top two to four, and trim these to about half their length.  Scrape off a thin layer of bark for about 1 cm. on one or both sides of the stem. This will afford a greater rooting area and hence a sturdier plant.  Dip this part of the stem into a hormone treatment (powder, liquid or gel) and remove any excess. This irritates the tissue and assists in the formation of callous and ultimately roots. The cutting should then be pushed into the holes made in the bark to about half their depth.  Prepared holes for planting prevent the hormone treatment from being scraped off at this point. Firm the bark around each cutting with your fingers so that it can draw moisture from the bark.

5. Identification: All of this effort is likely to be wasted if you don’t know exactly what it is that you have propagated. Whilst many methods of labelling are used, there are also many stories of labels becoming illegible in a moist environment.  Probably the most reliable is still a reasonable quality plastic tag with a 6B (or better yet, Chinagraph) pencil.

6. Environment: This is most important. You need good light but no direct sunlight. Once the cutting has struck, you will notice some growth. In spring, as the weather warms, the rooted plantlets can be removed carefully to small pots and some fertiliser introduced to promote growth. Remember, whenever strong growth occurs, the watering requirement increases.

Using the plastic box method, you will find a much greater flexibility in the type of material used, and the time of year you can propagate.

If you are concerned about mildew or fungal diseases, mix up a small quantity of Bordeaux mixture in a plastic hand spray bottle and thouroughly spray the cuttings before you place the lid on. Wash out thoroughly after use!

The whole purpose of taking cuttings is to produce roots - not leaves!  If you produce good roots, then the leaves will appear rapidly when you pot them on and expose them to sunlight.

Cuttings may be left in the box for many months - especially during winter when there is less daylight. Do not pot on without good roots. If you do not have condensation inside the box moisture is escaping, look for leaks!