I've got two small Daphanes in small pots. They flower well but I'm too scared to try and move them as they've put roots out through the bottom of their pots into the soil of a big round garden urn. I'd like to try and strike from them but I'm not sure when, where etc.

Wafting away on the scent of my two - I went and bought another one today. I'm going to take a risk on repotting it into a biggish pot in the hope it'll 'grow into it'. When is the "best" time to attempt re-potting? The new one is one stem with a flower getting ready to bud on the top - I was thinking to wait until it had bloomed and then risk it?

Water the plant before you repot (helps to keep the potting medium together) and use good quality potting medium. You might also like to apply Seasol at the recommended rate to the newly potted plant. Seasol is not a fertiliser - it promotes new root growth.

I wouldn't pot up your new plant in an overly large container - plants never seem to do very well. Your are better off planting into progressively larger containers.

Re the two daphnes in the garden urn - is it possible to carefully cut down the pots (presuming they are plastic) with scissors to free up the roots a bit more.

I took a number of cuttings of a white daphne when it was in flower, removed the flowers and most of the leaves except for the ones at the top, which I cut in half to reduce evaporation, dipped the cutting bases in hormone striking powder and stuck them in a pot of home made compost. After watering and leaving to drain well, I then put the whole pot in a plastic bag - with a few bamboo skewers around the edge to keep the plastic away from the cuttings - and tied the whole thing up. This left the cuttings in their own little "glass house".

Two of the cuttings struck and when the new leaves were nicely developed, I planted them in the garden. One died (obviously the wrong spot) but the other is doing very nicely.

After years of unsuccessfully trying to grow daphne, I ended up being given a tiny plant from a supermarket "half dead" stand. Thinking it was not going to make it, I planted the $2 plant in a corner and forgot about it. It is now huge, despite being rudely dug out of its home in middle age and transplanted to a completely new garden.

My experience has shown me that daphnes are really quite hardy plants and don't need molly coddling but they do need good drainage.

Thanks to your tip I'll scale down my re-pot pot size for my new Daphne and I'm looking forward to trying a wee bit of striking in the future.

You sound like you've got the touch for Daphne!

In Melbourne, I have taken cuttings in Jan & Feb. Mostly they have been successful. You can try taking a heel cutting so that there is a cut almost through the stem but then a tail piece extends the cutting eg. about half a centimetre longer. Usually I have used hormone powder but also you can try plant starter. Reduce the leaf quantity on the cutting so that they have a better chance of survival. Use good quality potting mix and cover with plastic. I also give an occasional water with plant starter when I remember. When moving house I have dug up a daphne but it was only about a foot high. Although it lost most of its soil I managed to save it. They don't like root disturbance very much but with my cuttings I have regularly increased the pot size when needed. I think they do best in a south facing or east postition and once established seem to be quite hardy and drought tolerant.
Good luck.