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I've got a whole yard of Amur Privet that hasn't been taken care of for quite some time. (I've newly moved in). Over about a year I've cut down and cared for my privets. There are a few low areas and very thin areas. How do I propagate them? I've tried trimming off pieces, putting them in rooting compound and trying to get them going that way with no luck whatsoever.
Any help at all would be great.
That's a pretty prolific plant. You should have no trouble propagating it from cuttings, but… you have to select the right growth stage to cut from.
You should only root from the newer (but not too new) growth. The best time is late spring to early summer when the newer growth is just starting to become woody. Cut sections of about 6-12" and strip off about 1/2 to 3/4 of the leaves from the bottom of your cutting. Dampen the cut ends a few inches up and dip them in your rooting compound. Make a hole with a pencil in your propagation medium, gently lower your cuttings into the hole, and lightly firm the soil around it. Keep it out of the direct sun. Water the soil thoroughly (no fertilizer) and keep it moist. You can cover it with a plastic bag or a seed-starting enclosure to help keep the moisture level consistent, but if you keep it watered, that should be fine. Never let it dry out.
New growth should appear in about 6-8 weeks, more or less. I would suggest keeping the new plants in their pots until the roots have had plenty of time to develop. Plan on transplanting the new plants to your garden later in the summer.
Try DIVISION. Like Spirea and Hosta, Privets grow new stems from the ground. When a new stem establishes, you can dig around it, separate/sever the roots of the new stem from the main plant, and replant the new growth. It's not a fast way to get a lot of new Privets, but it's almost guaranteed.
For normal propagation, like the other answer said, it might just be where you're taking the cuttings. Most woody plants (ime with Spirea and Wisteria) respond better to propagation if the cutting is taken from new-woody growth.
