Question
You mentioned I could take cuttings in September to try to overwinter the calibrachoa. Being a total newbie at this, should I put the cuttings in flats or something larger? Should I give it light and/or heat until February, or let it rest and just water occasionally. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Answer
You'll need to get some rooting powder or gel at your local garden center or on-line before you take cuttings. You'll also need new potting soil.

Use clean potting soil or, even better, a seed starting mix - seed starting mix is high in vermiculite and is very fine in texture, but if you can't find it use a fresh potting soil that DOES NOT have fertilizer already mixed in.  Get it as wet as you can and then fill small pots with the damp mix. Water it well and then use a chopstick or something similar to make a hole in the potting medium.  (You need to get it wet first by spraying water on the soil and mixing it with your hand - if you fill the pots with dry mix and then try and water the water will run off the top and down the sides but won't get the inside of the mix wet.)

Pots can be between 2 and 4 inches across - if you are going to use used pots, wash them first and soak them in a one part bleach to nine parts water solution for an hour or two first - drain and dry then fill as above.

once your pots are filled and ready, take cuttings as follows:

Cut off a stem about four inches long and remove the leaves on the bottom half.  If the stem has flowers on the end pinch them off. Dip the bottom part of the stem into a glass of water and then roll it in some of the rooting powder or gel that you've put in a small dish. cover the entire bottom two inches of the stem and then stick it into the hole you made in the potting soil. Push the soil around the stem and gently water the soil in the pot to settle it around the stem.

After you've potted up as many cuttings as you want, put the pots in a place where it is warm and light, but NOT in direct sun. Loosely drape a clear plastic bag over them - you could use single bags over each pot or a dry cleaners bag over a group - leave the sides loose so that air can circulate. Do not water while the plastic is over the pots, about a week or 10 days.  Then take the plastic off and begin watching the soil and water if it starts to look dry. Don't put anything under the pots so that the pots will drain - you don't want them sitting in water.  Some of the cuttings might rot or dry up - but others should root. You'll know that the plants are rooted when they start to grow. Once that happens, move them to more light - a southern window or 5" under a florescent light. Give them a WEAK liquid fertilizer every four weeks through December and every three after new year's.  Don't keep the soil too wet and pinch the new growth if they look "leggy."  You can put them in larger pots in March or April and outside (into part sun first as they harden off) after frost.

Good luck with it!
C.L.