Propagating a Japanese Maple...i think? Prelude to part 2

After weeks of delay, thinking of how to follow up to the previous post...its finally here.

             The first attempt to propagate the Japanese Maple with one of the Gel 2 Root packs as predicted was a failure. After a week or so of the cuttings being in the solution, there wasn't any change. As the end of the second week approached the solution began to turn cloudy and mold began to develop on the cuttings...that is when the white flag was thrown in.

             My second attempt is where the delays in posting this came to play...( Here's where the excuses come to play, so feel free to call the "waambulance" on me) 

                The First and most important, is that my apartment is in a "pre-war" building and the heat is controlled buy the super through a radiated system, and being that the apartment is so old my radiator has been painted over and over again, meaning that i can't adjust the dial so there's only one setting...HOT

                The second is that I work insane hours regularly and hadn't the time to make it to the local garden center.

              And the third and final, is that i wanted to make this post worth writing and worth the wait.

........Unfortunately most of my research on how to propagate a semi-hardwood to hardwood cutting occurred after my attempt to remember what i learned from my horticulture class in H.S. ( 7 years ago) off the top of my head. ...........