...how to take a cutting of a plant?

*work with new growth
*healthy dark green leaves (not light green or flowering)
*should be 2-5 inches
*strip the bottom leaves
*a single fluorescent light or indirect sunlight is good. Not direct.

Unshockingly, most of the how-to I found was from the UK. The plants I want to "propagate" are... well, a lot. I'm kinda just experimenting here because I have a eensy bit of garden space for once AND an empty pot or two. :) WikiHow was a big winner here, as it seems to offer the most lazy man's methods. I liked these easy tips on why NOT to root just in water, even though that's what I'm going to try first.

Hydrangeas-->
-Same tips as above. Choose one with a woody base, make it about 5 inches or so. Apparently hydrangeas are easy to propagate, so I'm just sticking them in some water and will change it frequently.





<--Succulents:
-Samesies. Stick a good sized cutting in water, then replant in a planter that isn't much bigger than it. They like cozy homes. *This isn't my hand. In case you haven't noticed, I'm trying to get out of doing a lot of work but still do things that usually take a lot of work. So finding a picture that looks like one I'd take and upload was handy. :)


Here's a short (albeit unstable) video that shows you clearly what to do:



All in all, do these things to just about any plant. Some are hardy and will regrow pretty much no matter what, while others are fairly delicate and would do better if you bought root growth hormone and made it a mini green house with a plastic bag or plastic pot cover. I'm not ready to mess with / invest in those yet, but you can also make your own root hormone from willow clippings (don't have one) or from honey... this one is so easy I might even try it! :) Just boil a 1:3 ratio of honey to water, let it cool completely, and then dunk your clippings in it before sticking them in moist (ew) soil. Yay!