Question
I have a beautiful European tri-color beech (Fagus sylvatica tricolor) from which I had to prune several branches. There are 3 woody branches each about 3 feet long, that I have in a tall bucket of water from a fish pond. For about a week, they have remained supple and viable. Is there a way to root these to create more trees?

Answer
Hi Sean,
Thanx for your question.  Three feet long is too long.  Shorten the cuttings to about 5 inches each and dip them in rooting hormone and then stick about 1 inch deep in soil outdoors under a shaded tree and keep well-watered but soggy or stick the cuttings one inch deep in a tray of warm, wet sand and leave them there for about 2 months enshrouded in clear plastic.  Some may die but some should begin rooting by 8 weeks.  If you start now, it will take all summer and most of the fall for the cuttings to develop a good root system so you'll have to pot them up and keep them indoors this year.  I hope this helps.
Tom