Potting up cuttings, use compost or not

Hi
Have been debating if this is the right section or if I should use the 'new gardening' section or the 'greenhouse' section as thats where my cuttings will go but as this is used more frequently plumped for here.

Have got some cuttings and have been told various things to pot them in, have been told to use a mix of dirt with compost, someone else said majority sand/grit and someone else recommends a potting compost. I've got confused and done a mix of a few things to see what will work best. So far have put some in just compost and some in a mix of garden dirt with small amount of compost. All so far seem to be doing ok. What will give the best results? Or will I kill off what I've just done?

The things that started off most healthy are pansies that I got from plugs, the other things I really think I'm growing sticks as didn't look too healthy!
Thanks for any advice

 

If you put them in compost then you are putting them into a medium that should be pretty well free of disease organisms. If you mix garden dirt in then it will have any number of organisms that can affect your cuttings. In the moist,warm conditions that cuttings are kept in they can spread rapidly. So as sterile a medium as possible.
Depends on the cuttings. Sometimes I use compost,but not potting compost. I would for preference use a low nutrient compost ie. seed or cutting compost. For other things that need good drainage I mix in grit to varying degrees.
If the pansies are plugs then they are not cuttings because they will already have roots.l They are just small plants that have been grown from either cuttings or seed ( probably the latter) and because they are rooted they need a good compost with nutrients.

 

I've done some fuschia softwood cuttings (over 90). Some previous cuttings that I did were put in old compost from last summer's containers, mixed 50/50 with sharp sand (builders). I've never seen such roots. So I would go along with your remark about low nutrient.

 

Daydreamer it depends on what the cuttings are some will root in water some in rooting gell some in compost some in a mixture of compost and vermiculite it sounds ambiguous but the main thing is to try and maintain sterility,I grow Brugmansias the green cuttings I put in water the main stem cuttings in gell or compost both have good results,take most of the leaves off the top of the cuttings put the whole thing in a poly. bag to retain moisture untill they have rooted

 

Thanks everyone for the helpful tips.

One cutting was a fuschia and has come along well. A cutting from a wild blackberry has also thrived. But my holly cutting did not do at all well, this I dipped in rooting powder and did put in a pot compost.

The pansies were in compost alone and have done really well. The other things I put in compost were a chinese lantern, gypsophilia and helenium. The gypsophilias seem to be ok and 2 of the 3 helenium also. Think the chinese lanterns will remain as sticks but will keep because I know I'm not going to see instant results.

Last year some fruit cuttings also did well that I hope this year will yield a good supply.

I must also get my terminology correct, thanks to Geoff for saying the plugs are not cuttings. To me up to now anything I stick in a pot is a cutting! A bulb is a bulb but anything else is a cutting. I also say I'm going to 'bury X' but think that I should be saying 'plant X'.

The gypsophilia, helenium and chinese lantern also had roots so weren't cuttings but small plants. I will learn, promise