I've only started pels from cuttings once but they did great. That was in 2010 but I didn't do any this year.
I read somewhere that they do best if allowed to dry and callous over. So when I took cuttings, I threw them into my garage for a day. But the next day they looked dry and dead and had formed a callous. I stuck them in damp potting soil then under a dome (or in a plastic bag?) for about a week. They took root fast.
I kept them under lights through winter and they thrived. They bloomed through most of winter and were beautiful in my yard the next year. These pictures were taken in Feb 2010
They bloomed all winter
I think high humidity is essential to root a lot of things from cuttings. Either a humidity dome or plastic bag seems to work wonders.
But pels don't like a lot of water; you want the potting mix just damp, not wet.
Karen
