Any hints on hard wood rooting of althea/Rose of Sharon? I also would like to try to root my Mona Lavender before winter. TIA

I tried a few soft-wood cuttings of Rose of Sharon as an experiment during the spring. I had just so-so success. I was told to do this for hard-wood cuttings of Rose of Sharon: Wait until after a frost to cut your limbs. There should be several nodes on each cutting. Treat them with Rootone and insert them into a mixture of perlite and sand (need good drainage). This person used a cat littler box because of the size and depth. She also placed the box inside a white trash bag - black and clear are not advisable. She told me to leave the box inside the bag outside somewhere in a protected area and do not disturb it. In the spring, I should expect the cuttings to be rooted. Mind you, I have not tried this yet, but I could see from her offerings at her nursery that she knew what she was doing.

Interesting technique that I will have to try, Dottie. I tried three hard wood cuttings. One is promising althea. The other two, not so much.
The Mona Lavender is green but not rooting well. Maybe it is? IDK? It looked like wilted lettuce from day one and hasn't changed.

I also grow the Plectranthus Mona Lisa, but I have not rooted it yet, although I talk about it constantly. It just seems that those succulent stems are just begging to be rooted and would be so easy, but maybe not. I plan to take some cuttings before cold weather sets in anad will root some with rootone in cups with plastic lids like I do most everything. I will try some in willow water and try to root them that way. Here is my thinking: Many plants root very well in willow water, and all varieties of perennial Lobelial do. The fresh stems of "Mona Lisa" are similar to Lobelia, so maybe they will root as well, but it's just a guess. I will try some tomorrow and let you know in a few weeks how they do. If you can find a willow tree around, you can do the same.

I finally planted the plecatranthus into the ground. It got too big in the pot. It did well in the ground but IDK how well it will do in the winter. I planned on leaving in the ground and protecting it from frost. But I wanted some starter plants for spring if my plans don't work out because I know better! LOL In our area is can be a annual or a perennial depending if the winter kills it or not, I guess? I spied some seedlings in the ground under the plant, I will transplant those into a pot while I wait for the cuttings to do something.

This particular plectranthus will root very easily during its vegetative period between bloom cycles. Mine is blooming a bit now (indoors). In between this bloom period and the fall blooming period seems to be the easiest time to get cuttings started for the next season. I've inadvertently tossed clippings on a shady damp spot on our deck during summertime and they shot out roots right there.