Pappy, the first thing I would tell you is that you might want to reconsider propagating this invasive plant. The Tennessee Exotic Pest Plant Council rates this plant as a "Lesser Threat" but still environmentally destructive. Planting an invasive is kind of like littering but with exponentially reproducing biological litter.

That said, if you insist on having a burning bush, the best time to grow them from cuttings is late spring or summer, with semi-hardwood cuttings. Propagation from hardwood cuttings, this time of year, is not as easy. You should be able to find lots of details by googling 'Euonymus alatus cuttings propagation' or 'Euonymus alatus hardwood cuttings'.

You didn't say how your cuttings had been stored so far. That would be important. Rooting hormone could be used and might help, but isn't a necessity.

Here is a link that might be useful: Tennessee EPPC Invasive Plants List

My apologies if this strays a little off topic here, and I'm not saying that I know better than the folks who make the invasive plant lists, but I have to wonder if there aren't different varieties that are commonly called "Burning Bush". It might be presumptuous to assume that the original poster's is an invasive kind. We bought some from an online nursery years ago called "Dwarf Burning Bush" Euonymus alatus 'compactus', although dwarf is deceiving in that the description even says they'll get 8 ft high.

Anyway mom planted 6 and the shrubs grew quickly and filled out. We had them for 6 years there. Never a sucker, never a stray seedling. Never. I would know because I am the one that took care of the garden. I took cuttings when I left home and rooted 3 for myself. Same story. I've been on this property now for 10 years with them in my garden. No suckers, no seedlings. Only way I can get more of them is to propagate them myself.

Just saying by all indications our burning bush would not qualify on any level as an invasive plant. I'm assuming some varieties might be invasive, some might not. We've certainly had ours for enough years that we would have observed invasive tendencies by now.

Squirrellypete, Unless you commonly patrol a very large area around your community, it's doubtful that you would be in a position to really directly evaluate the invasive potential of a specific plant in your yard, and BTW, suckers have nothing to do with the invasiveness of the burning bush. Birds frequently carry seeds quite some distance before depositing them in their new site. If you'll check the Trees Forum and the Shrubs Forum, you'll find a number of posts regarding the invasiveness of this species. As the National Park Service reports, "Euonymus alatus...threatens a variety of habitats including forests, coastal scrublands and prairies where it forms dense thickets, displacing many native woody and herbaceous plant species." The plant may be what some people consider pretty, but it's definitely a pest. It is not as devastating as Kudzu or some of the privets, but it's still not something I'd feel good for planting! There are multiple beautiful native (and even safe exotic) alternatives.

Oh, and yes, it is possible that Pappy is talking about another species, but not very likely. Common names can almost always refer to more than one plant, but some (like in this case) are fairly universally recognized as one specific plant.

i kill dozen per year in my garden ...

to suggest that a bird only poops in your garden is presumptuous ....

if you have it.. your friendly birds are spreading it ...

and i bet if you let your garden lie fallow for a decade.. you would find seedlings all over the place.. that you dont.. indicates you are probably pretty good at maintaining your garden beds ....

pappy!!!.. just because they were free.. doesnt mean they have value ... get rid of them .. you can do SO MUCH BETTER ...

and regardless.. you dont root 3 foot pieces.. you root 6 to 9 inch pieces ... IF you insist ...

ken