It would depend how large the plant is as 15 cuttings from a small shrub could be devastating to it. The good news is the paniculatas are easy to propagate. I've done both cuttings and layering with success. Best of luck!

Haven't personally heard of the site. You might want to consult the G A R D E N - W A T C H D O G at D.G. (this site will bust me if I promote them here). There is a complete database there of most vendors that sell plants and other garden products.

If you visit there sometime, you'd be surprised at how bad some actually do.

Jet.com is not a plant vendor :-) It is an online resale store offering a broad range of products at supposedly discounted prices, similar to Amazon. So don't bother to check the Garden Watchdog (Houzz lets you refer to this website quite freely - you can even link to it) as you are unlikely to find any info about the website there.

FWIW, purchasing from Jet.com is about as safe/reliable as purchasing from Amazon. Or eBay. Results may vary depending on who the original vendor is.

Would also hesitate to mail order from any supplier that doesn't specialize in live plants. Jet is advertising these in 4" pots - about the size of a standard coffee mug - so likely a quart or less, a quarter the size of a gallon. http://tinyurl.com/gn9d7he

This is a starter size & even though this cultivar can grow rapidly once established, it's unlikely you'd be able to safely harvest cuttings or layer a branch till late in the first growing season at the soonest. This cultivar is also protected by patent.

Sounds like you're trying to grow a hedge on a shoestring investment. Gallon or larger plants can often be found locally for only a few dollars more than the quart size under consideration. Last year a local Kroger's grocery chain store offered gallons of Tiny Tuff Stuff, another recent & popular hydrangea, in the Proven Winners pots in bud & bloom for less than $20, or half the typical online list price. Very well grown plants, too, and way cheaper than Lowe's was offering them across the street. Brought one home each time I shopped for the next few weeks, with the last two marked down to $12. They carried Limelight & Bobo for similar savings. Keep an eye out & ask around locally.

Id like to plant a hedge eventually. I would think there would be enough cuttings for that next year.

Nobody likes to hear this, especially when they have a project like an anticipated hedge in mind, but the fact that this plant is under patent means simply that it is illegal to propagate asexually - by cuttings, division, layering etc.

So will the 'plant police' come by and arrest you if you do so? Not likely but prosecution for plant patent violations have been known to happen. It is more or less just an ethical decision but generally an issue avoided by the majority of serious gardeners. It is just not the right thing to do :-))

I think patenting is more for "right to resell" purposes than anything, kind of like copyright of intellectual property. Personal use can't really be policed. I also don't believe there's anything that says you can't breed a new plant from a patented parent.

"I also don't believe there's anything that says you can't breed a new plant from a patented parent."

I'm sorry but what exactly do you think a patent is for if not to protect the breeding rights? "A patent legally prevents others from reproducing the protected plant
variety by cuttings, tissue culture or any other method of asexual
propagation without the written authorization or licensing of the patent
holder. Possession of improperly propagated plants of patented
varieties constitutes infringement, even if an illegal propagation was
inadvertent."

The patent law does not distinguish between a wholesale grower, retailer or private consumer. It is illegal to propagate by asexual means any patented plant. Propagation from seed is allowed but many patented plants are either sterile or will not come true from seed so there's not much point. As I stated, it is unlikely to have someone from the patent holder knocking on your door if you attempt this but it is just as illegal and unethical to do as pirating CD's and videos or copying software. Your purchase entities you to one copy and one copy only.

"If a plant is patented, a license is required from the patent holder
in order to make cuttings of that plant, even if it is planted in your
own back yard. Unlike with a copyright, there is no concept of “fair use
rights” for patents in the United States. You may have seen on a plant tag, the statement, “Asexual
reproduction of this plant is prohibited.” Licensed propagators of
patented plants are generally required to tag the plant
with that warning."

Quoted excerpts from OSU: What does it mean when nursery plants are patented or trademarked?