Again, a helpful note! Thank you, Carl, for the kind attention and advice. My plan at present is to proceed much as you've described--an encircling cut, without tourniquet, and then patience waiting for the roots. It's interesting that you've seen such variance in timing till roots visible; I'm pretty sure that the failures I've had in the past were all due to my inability to wait long enough. Conversely, the "easiest" ones were those in which I was either the most patient, or "too busy" to get around to mucking with them until later....
Because of the (VERY high) sentimental value, I have asked for advice from a couple of knowledgeable acquaintances, and have gotten reassurances that I should have no difficulty. (Which just kinda adds to the pressure, if you know what I mean!)
Again, thanks.
