Since I started observing a loose rule of doing water for cuttings done before the nights in the 40's arrive, but sticking to soil for plants that have been exposed to those temps, my success rate has gone up. I haven't kept any notes, but I've done that the past few yrs and have ended up tossing very few fails. Being more realistic about the amount of light has helped too. A shelf across the room from the window isn't going to cut it, no matter how great it looks on day 1. They need a lot of light over winter.
My interest in using water is because they take up so much less space, it's free, and it takes just seconds to pop them into the ground later - which is where I want them. Tending pots of Coleus over summer is too hard here, too much watering.
