Can I grow a snowball bush from one that I have?

Hi, Dragon. I know you're received other responses, but I wanted to let you know of my success with rooting cuttings of bushes and trees. Right now, I have 10 cute tiny boxwood bushes that I created from 12 cuttings I took last Fall. It's really easy to do. Cutting right now aren't a good idea. The new growth is too new, too soft. The end of May is the perfect time to root softwood cuttings. I use a rooting hormone, but you don't need it. It helps to create new roots faster, but you can get roots without it. I use a soilless rooting mix, like a seed-starting mix. (WalMart sells it cheap. They also sell the rooting hormone.) Take cuttings, about 6 inches long and cut off the lower leaves, leaving maybe two sets of leaves on each cutting. I like to pinch off the very end of the cuttings, so more energy is going into creating roots and less into growing new leaves. Poke a pencil into the mix, then insert each cutting, one in each hole, about 3 inches down. Make sure to compact the mix around the cutting so there are no air pockets. (Watering it well does this just fine.) Keep your cuttings covered with plastic, allowing only a little air in for circulation. Keep the cuttings out of direct sunlight and keep them consistently moist, but not wet. Check every day to make sure they're not drying out. In a few weeks, you'll have new bushes, ready to plant anywhere you wish. It really is that easy! Oh, if you have a willow tree or willow bush, take some cuttings from it and put them in a vase or glass with water for a couple of days. You can use that water as a rooting hormone because willows produce it naturally. Just dip your new cuttings into the water, then put them into the soilless mix. You can do this with any bush or tree. I've created a new rose bush from one my son had and also started many new little ficus trees from one I've had for years. I used to trim it and throw the trimmings away but now that I know how to root them, I can't stand throwing any cuttings away. I feel like a murderer! LOL I've been giving away bushes and ficus trees for years now! Good luck! Oh, the other method I saw someone else mention, about making a slit and weighing it down in the soil, that works fine, too. Just make sure that the soil where the new roots are growing doesn't dry out because it will kill the tiny, new roots. I plan to use that method to propagate some honeysuckle vines from ones we have because I want to make a "natural fence" around our property, using chicken wire and having the vines grow up and through it until it can't be noticed anymore. If I were you, I'd take several cuttings, like I did with the boxwood. I wasn't sure about them since I had never tried propagating a boxwood before, so I took 12 cuttings. (They each only need about 1 inch of space to root.) Out of the 12, 10 grew roots. Now, I have to decide where I'm going to plant them all. LOL Well, I have promised a couple to a friend of mine who lives in Maryland and plan to take them to her when I get the chance, but that still leaves me with 8. I'm glad we have a large lot! Again, good luck and have fun! Once you've rooted cuttings, you'll want to do it with everything you see. I'm always "stealing" cuttings from bushes I notice when I'm out and about. Of course, if they're on land where someone lives, I always ask and so far everyone I've asked has said sure, take all you want. A GREAT website to learn about rooting cuttings and a lot of great FREE information about gardening is called www.freeplants.com. You don't have to join anything, but I did (it's free) to get the daily newsletters that always have great gardening tips.

From what I read you can use cuttings from the snowball bush and gently take a sharp knife and scratch the bark about 3 inches from the bottom then dip in a rooting hormone and stick it in some perlite, or very loose, well draining soil. By using the knife and scratching up the bark it seems to grow roots better that way and higher up on the stem then just a inch from the bottom. We are going to try to start some Lilac bushes which were one of my mothers favorites.

Dig it up and split the rootball to make 2 or more plants. Then transplant them. You usually won't get flowers the next year from them though. I have one as well in my backyard that was cut from another. HAPPY POSTINGS FROM GRANDPA BOB!!~

I checked on the net and it seems that if you cut a nick in the underside of a lower branch and weigh it down and allow it to root. Anyway here is the page with the instructions. Just go down to Leo's question. http://www.recipegoldmine.com/gardengaryS/snowball-bushes.html That might work.