If you are looking for an easy way to quickly increase your plant stock, or if you just want to root a cutting for a friend I will quickly walk through the methods for doing so, based on what type of plant you have. When reproducing semi-hardwoods, hardwood, or softwood cuttings, rooting can be very easy and rewarding if done correctly.
For cuttings from semi-hardwood plants like clematis choose young growth that hasn’t quite ripened. Trim the plant about 5 cm below a leaf node where the stem is bulging and just above the same node. Leave the leaf on the node, and split the stem in two pieces down the center. Insert the half-stems into your potting mix up to the bud. Water your cutting, and keep this in a well- lit warm place.
For hardwood cuttings such as roses, gooseberries, and apple, In late autumn, after all the leaves have fallen, choose a ripe branch from the current year’s growth. Remove the soft tip above a leaf node and cut just above another node, leaving about 5 nodes in between the ends. The size of these cuttings will vary greatly. Large fruit tree cuttings could be over 2 ft. long, while weigela cuttings will only be about 4 in. With your spade, make a hole in the ground appropriate for the size of your cutting,and put about and inch of sand in the bottom. Fill the hole with good topsoil and your cutting should become a new plant by spring.
Softwood cutting will be the easiest to root. Some plants, especially succulents, barely need any prompting to sprout roots. The best method, however, is to take your cutting from new tip growth just below a node, remove the lowest pairs of leaves and insert in a pot of pre-fertilized potting soil. Or, if you have a seed starting kit with rooting media, you could just insert your cutting into this. Make sure you keep the cutting warm and moist. You may see new growth within days.