I was watching Paul James on HGTV a few days ago and he took a baking size potato, made a hole in it with a pencil, then stuck in a cutting that had been dipped in rooting hormone. The potato and cutting were then planted in the ground. He said that the method was hundreds of years old. I'm going to try it with a hydrangea that I want to propagate.

I imagine that the potato keeps the cutting evenly moist and protected while it forms roots. He didn't mention if you also get a crop of potatoes to boot. I wonder if it would work with seeds?

Hi Thera,
Bougainvillea can be rooted by semi hardwood or hardwood cuttings, and airlayering. I rooted one by pulling the leaves off (exposing the leaf nodes) near the upper 3/4 of the stem (leaving bottom of the stem attached to parent plant) and bending the stem over and bury the leaf node in the dirt and use long metal staples (you can bend heavy wire to make a U shape) to hold in place. Then just keep that area moist. It takes about 12-14 weeks. Then once it has roots you can cut the newly rooted stem away from the parent plant. If you have to move the plant indoors due to frost make sure to keep the room/air humid when rooting.

If you do cuttings indoors, keep in a warm humid room with just a little sunlight. Make sure the soil is very well drained- I have successfully used cactus soil mixed with a little extra sand and perlite. Keep them moist but not standing in water. You can mist them or use a humidifier.
Bottom heat will help rooting more quickly.

I found an article about propagating in warm climates (ahem, lol) but it tells the main idea.

I saw a article on using plastic newspaper bags to root cuttings. They had filled up the bag that the paper comes in with peat and added a little water just to moisten it. Then you knead the bag/dirt to distribute the water. Then lie the bag on its side and poke little holes through the bag and stick your cuttings (dipped in rooting hormone) in the holes. Keep in shade and then you have a "bag of cuttings". ~ seems kinda cool maybe I will try it sometime.

Here is a link that might be useful: bougainvillea propagation

Theraglady 47
I planted some cuttings about 6 weeks ago. 15 cm. long from side shoots.Cut them just below a node.Discarded the tips because they tend to rot. Cut the tips just above a node. Removed all bottom leaves. Just left 2 at the top cut in half. Planted them in a transparent water or lemonade bottle cut in half. Made a few holes underneath for drainage. Watered and covered them with the other half of a bottle (different size for it to fit over or inside
the bottom half with the cutting in).Placed them in a very bright shaded area.(Some in the lobby next to a glass translucent door, and the rest in a small patio under a canvas. I looked at them every 2 or 3 days to remove any fallen or rotten leaves.)
As soon as I saw any signs of rooting (easy to see through the plastic) or new leaves growing I'd take the lid off the bottle. A few days later I took the top part of the
bottle off. Then you gradually get them used to the sun.
I can see some roots on about 1/3 of my cuttings and new
growth on about another 1/3. The remaining third just rotted.This is the first time I propagate bougainvillea.
Hope this helps.

Theraglady 47
I forgot to mention I dipped the cuttings in powder rooting hormone before putting them in the bottles.
I had too many cuttings so I left 3 long ones(about 50 or 60 cm.) sitting in water in a glass champagne ice bucket.
About 4 days ago 1 noticed little white bumps on the stems (roots) and baby leaves, so I carefully planted them in compost in bottles, and the leaves are growing much faster than the other ones I originally put in the bottles in the first place.Temperature here is 25 to 30 centigrade.
This web was very useful to me.

Here is a link that might be useful: Bougainvillea information page

Hey, Andrea

Did you have any luck with your HGTV potatoe technique?