AusBonsai

would now be a good time to take cutting from as cherry blossom?
i know ive got to wait till the trees go dormant and drop there leaves.

Aaron..

ok so ive been told 3 different things now. can someone clarify when the best time is?

I would wait until the end of winter / early spring.
Unless you have a Heated pad and greenhouse or similar, there is no point doing it now as they are dormant and will not develop roots.

I Take hardwood cuttings (or airlayers) in late winter or spring.

Ken

ok so ive been told 3 different things now. can someone clarify when the best time is?

This frequently happens when working with living things Aaron. It is likely that all 3 different suggestions are all effective ways to propagate. eg Ken says he is successful with hardwood cuttings in late winter or spring. I often put in dormant hardwood cuttings as soon as the leaves fall and find they callus slowly over winter and then shoot quickly in spring - both are effective

The answer, therefore, is there is no 'best time', rather a number of times that are effective with different techniques -
Hardwood cuttings are often made from dormant wood in winter. They strike without any special facilities because there are no leaves so humidity control is not necessary. Takes quite a while to develop roots.

Soft and semi soft cuttings are taken when the plant is actively growing. Because they will have leaves on they need to be kept humid to avoid drying out and dying before roots form. A simple plastic bag or plastic cover over the cuttings can be a low tech effective method in many cases but more advanced growers use automatic misting to maintain humidity. Soft cuttings will root much quicker than harder wood.

My advice is always the same: best time to take cuttings is when you have access to the material. Try several differnt times and methods to increase chances of success and see what works well for you under your conditions - it does not take very much time or cost to put in a few cuttings does it?

i have had a lot of success with prunus cuttings.

my most successful method is taking 6 inch cuttings in late sping when the new growth is just hardening off and at snapping stage.

i dont even use rooting hormone. i just stick them into moist potting mix (half bonsai soil mix half propagation sand).

i use a foam box i got from the local fruit and veg shop and cover it with glad wrap once my cuttings are put into the soil. it then goes down the side of the house where it gets no direct sunlight. roots normally take about 2 months.

some tips to remember:

cut the base of the cutting at a slight angle just below a node

i strip all leaves off but the top two and those i cut in half