Cuttings can range from very difficult to very easy depending on the plant. There can be a lot of technique involved, especially for more challenging species and to ensure a strong, healthy plant. Case in point: blueberries are supposed to be super hard to impossible to root from hardwood cuttings and need to be propagated by digging up shoots instead (and indeed, I got a 0% take rate on blueberries when I tried).
Nurseries that
sell a good range of cuttings can be tough to find, and those that you can find (Edible Acres in New York comes to mind) tend to sell out fast.
Elderberries are a great place to start—I have hardly ever had a hardwood cutting from elderberries fail. The cutting itself may die, but if it
roots at all it will send up a new shoot from below.
Figs are also pretty easy, although I have had better success with softwood cuttings. In your climate I assume they won't be hardy, so I would probably wait to start those until spring.
I have found grapes to be pretty challenging, although they are supposed to be easy.
Currants and gooseberries aren't too hard, but they should be planted deep, with the cutting essentially buried.
I like to start cuttings, hardwood or softwood, in a very free-draining, sterile medium like straight sand or perlite. I live in a super humid climate and the cuttings seem to do just fine without any organic matter to start.
2
