Soft-wood cuttings in June (bend a twig - when it just snaps, it's ready) is best from my experience, George - but I must tell you a short story. Years ago I worked at a public garden near Annapolis, Maryland. We grew many Camellias. One day I carried a pail of water to the collection to get a few cuttings. I took maybe 2 dozen, & dropped them in the pail to keep them fresh 'til I got 'round to sticking them. I put the pail in a shed & immediately forgot about them. Opened the shed door 2 months later. Surprised to see the forgotten Camellia cuttings, I found they had nearly ALL grown roots in the pail (no hole in this bucket). Not, however, the recommended technique!

Don,

Thanks for the info. I'm not going to be here in June, so I thought I'd try them while I had the opportunity. I'm not expecting anything from them, though, so I can't be disappointed.

Thanks also for the story. Seems every gardener has a story like that. Sometimes our best efforts meet with abject failure, and then there are those times when we do everything wrong and still manage to hit one out of the ballpark.