'I am a collector of the unique.....'

Not so unique in some places .... M bealei is listed as invasive in some areas of the US so you need to check this first. If it's OK in your region Googling produces several sets of instructions.

Here is a link that might be useful: Mahonia bealei

It's unique where I am. As mentioned above, the person I got it from is the only one who has one around in my area. & she got hers from two states over. Even then, she didn't know what it was. She had to look it up in a book to know what it was. She saw it, liked it, & bought it. Crazy, I know. It has been on her property for 20 yrs now & it's the only one there. They've tried making more through seed but no go. Now that I mentioned about cuttings, they are going to try that method.

This post was edited by LullabyF360 on Mon, Mar 4, 13 at 7:35

That is interesting. They are common around here too. I've even seen some coming up in the woods but never in an invasive way. I don't think they're classified as invasive in VA, but not sure. There are also tons of interesting mahonia cultivars at local nurseries.

I didn't know you could grow these from cuttings.

Probably not noticed in your area since they are something of an understory plant...hidden in the shadier locations.

They can be propagated following the common methods suitable for any woody plant. If you're not familiar with woody plant propagation, google can be your best friend.

How much do you know about the process?

Pretty invasive here. There are probably a couple hundred in my neighborhood of 47 houses alone, some of them growing in woodland edges. I pull out about 3 seedlings a year; if I didn't then I'd soon have quite a few as well.