HTS, I tried all sorts of recomended methods which didn't work, until I hit upon a way of doing it which seems to be foolproof. If you cut just below a node, at an angle, and then suspend the stalk in plain old water, the cutting will be ok if you put it into a dark or shaded place for a day or two right after you cut it from the plant. I don't know why light hurts them when they're freshly cut, but it does. I take a plastic disposable cup, make a couple of vertical slits up near the top. Then I cut another cup into strips about 1/4" wide. Next you cut off a piece of plastic soda straw, about 3/4" length, and make a couple of cuts that the strip can pass through, slit it vertically, and push the strip through one side of the cup, through the section of straw, and through the other side of the cup. Now you have a cup with a little tube in the middle that will support the cutting in an upright position. the slit in the section of straw is for when your cutting has roots on it, and you can pull it through the side of the straw, instead of through the straw, which of course would shred off those roots. Fill the cup with water, poke the cutting down through the bit of straw in the center, and put it in a shaded area for a day or 2. By the way, if you leave it in the shade too long, it'll die also. It could take up to a month, but more like 2 or 3 weeks before you've got roots growing, sufficient to keep the cutting alive after you transplant it into soil. Some of the water will evaporate, keep an eye on it and top it off from time to time.

Try this, I think it will work better than any other method I know of, and it's simple to do.

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