To successfully propagate plants from cuttings there are several points which must be considered:

1. Choose plant material in its juvenile stages. Semi mature plant material i.e. that which is starting to flower will not root neither will mature material which may be starting to go woody. Plant material which is too young may be too soft and tender and will quickly dry out or rot. The ideal plant material is a young shoot which has been produced under good growing conditions and is of a size large enough to store a good supply of energy and plant food which the shoot will require between being severed from the parent plant until when it produces its own roots.

2. The cutting must be maintained in conditions which will encourage root production and which will also prevent rapid deterioration of the plant. When the shoot for a cutting is first taken from the parent plant, it will be full of water. At all stages it must be protected from wilting.  This can be controlled by keeping the cutting out of direct strong sunlight and high temperatures and providing a windbreak of some kind.  A plastic grocery bag works well.  After planting, place the pot in a bag with holes for drainage.  Lift the sides of the bag to shield the cuttings. Do not tie the bag.

3. The requirements of rooting are a supply of air and water to the shoot and also warmth. If the medium used becomes waterlogged then the passage of air is blocked and the stem will rot. What is required is a free draining open potting soil which also retains moisture. Coarse or fibrous sphagnum moss peat or organic compost mixed half and half with vermiculite is ideal.

4. The cutting should be taken just below a leaf joint as this is the optimum area for root production. If you take the cutting between leaf joints, die back and rot will occur up to the leaf joint and this can easily spread back through all of the shoot. Fuchsia and chrysanthemums are two of the few plant groups which will produce roots on all parts of the stem.