Anyone know what this is?

Should I be watering the cuttings? The bags have plenty of moisture in the, but the compost is going really dry. If I should be watering them how often should I do it?

 

I water mine based on the "weight" of the pot. When it feels light I stand it in a tray containing 1", or so, of water for 10 minutes and then let it drain before putting it back where it came from. Covered with a plastic bag (but with the bottom of the pot "exposed") they probably need watering about once a fortnight.

If you aren't sure fill a pot, the same size as your cuttings, with some compost. Weigh it (on some kitchen scales). Stand it in water for a good 10 minutes, let it drain for 10 minutes and weigh it again. That will tell you the difference between moist (or dry - depending on how your compost was initially) and saturated, and then you can gauge how damp the compost is on a sliding scale

 

I have shoots I have shoots!!!

New leaves have come out of the top of 2 of the cuttings and one of them has sprouted shoots further down too. No root visible yet at the bottom of the pot.

Now what do I do? Should I keep on with the bags over them or should I take them off?

 

I would leave the bags over, but not attach them to the pot - so that some air can flow up past the pot into the bag. That will keep the humidity high, but start to acclimatise the cuttings to more normal atmosphere. Despite the top-growth it might be that they have not yet rooted - although they are obviously happy - so I would leave it another few weeks until potting on - earlier is fine if you see roots at the bottom of the pot. Bags can come off altogether after a week of being "open", but if the cuttings flag then put the bags back on.

Watch out for the pots needing watering once you have the bags open at the bottom / removed. I would judge that by the weight and stand in water for just a minute or two when they feel light. The plants will have very little root, and thus very little ability to "drink", so we don't want to introduce very much water to the compost otherwise the roots will become sodden