So I am trying to get this new liquidambar to go from cuttings but Im not sure Im doing this right. i found a gigantic healthy looking fully grown tree that had some small suckers growing off of one of the exposed roots. 4-6 suckers in total on this cluster, two of which dont really have many leaves but are growing small buds and three of the stalks growing big and strong. i cut them all out as a big clump including some of the big root hoping it would do the trick. potted them and put root hormone on it to give it a push. first day leaves stood up tall and looked like it was all good. now day 3 and the leaves are all drooping. should i cut them all apart and scrape off some of the bark at the bottom and redo the hormone treatment and repot them all separate? should i just relax because some of the leaves will die? I have never done this before and have done a ton of reading but there is nothing like learning on the job!

roots take weeks to develop, which is why most trees -if even propagated from cuttings- are propagated in witer when the buds are still dormant.

I do not know whether this work on liquidambar. But you should just be paient, keep the air around the plant moist, give it light without sun and keep it out of the wind.

As you described it, I doubt very much they will take.
The suckers were been fed by a vast sustainable system of roots; now they have no strength at all stored to grow a new root system.
And... Liquidambars are fussy.

thanks for responding so quickly. so here is my current theory. Because all of the suckers are trying to root off of one root clump they are putting too much demand on the stump and lack of roots. Today i uprooted the cluster and split it into three separate parts, cleaned them up, put root hormone on them and replanted. One other thing i hadn't mentioned yet is that i had them is just regular potting soil from home depot. I went down today to my local bonsai supply (it was far away) and bought a whole load of stuff including proper soil. They are now in a 60/40 mix of scoria and akadama along with root hormone. I'm really hoping this will work, the trees looked really nice when i got them. I can also send pics of my massacre later if you need for diagnosis

BlackValorInc wrote: I can also send pics of my massacre later if you need for diagnosis

Please, do post the pictures, it helps.

Pic of where I got them from and how they are now. I have some cuttings from a purple plum tree that are a singular stalk. I scraped the bark off the last two inches and gave it the same potting treatment as the liquid ambar and it's seeming to take. I wonder if I should model the liquid ambar the same and totally cut the root stump off and just do singular stalks.

How did it go with the liquidamber suckers? Any survive?
I have same happening here. I tried this before, without success. I guess the potting mix needs to be special, and the environment (wind, sun, water) .
Attached are 2 fotos showing the parent tree, and the sucker nearby.