Sorry, maybe it's not so easy to take from cuttings. I kind of just threw that line out there without thinking through it-I'm not an expert but I've had success over the last couple years. Last year I just used small akadama, pumice and lava, then put chopped New Zealand Moss on the soil surface to keep the top layer of the soil moist. However I'm trying a mix of perlite and sand this year after seeing friends with good success. I take them in late winter or early spring. I had success with small first year green growth, I used 1% white powder rooting hormone and did not use any type of tent or greenhouse. Just put them in full sun. The year before I tried some under a greenhouse and they got some type of fungus and died from too much moisture in the air. I have also tried a few different varieties of ume. I get the best success with trees that are very vigorous growers. I'm fortunate to live down the street from Muranaka Bonsai, because George has a few different type of Ume. He has a few trees that were both planted at the same time about 25 years ago in the ground. One of these trees is like 4 times larger than the others, flowers profusely and does not get much die back. That is the tree I've had the best success with cuttings from. If you are not having success, maybe try and find a very hardy grower and take cuttings from that. Another thing is that some of my cuttings lost their leaves once and I figured they died, however a waited a while longer and new buds emerged. Take a whole bunch in a large pot. Or you might try and find somewhere that grows Ume from cuttings and then transplant them after the first year. Good luck!
