Neem from cuttings?

We have quite a few Neem on the road to the university, but none super close (a couple of miles down the road). I'd like to take some cuttings from these fairly young clumps. Any input on how thick and how long of sections I should take?

I plan to plant them directly into the ground where they'll (hopefully) root. I am going to try not fencing them from the goats. It's rainy season now, so they should have the best chance to outrun the goats.

So I'm not sure if I should cut off all the leaves to discourage goats from nibbling? Since there's quite a bit of grass and more tender leaves from weeds now, I feel that the goats will mostly ignore these, but I don't know. If half survive, I consider that victory.

Hi Priscilla, I have rooted neem--intentionally and accidentally!

Larger cuttings are better, and yes, I would remove all existing leaves. Sticks that are mature usually root if they have plenty of water. This has only worked in rainy season for me. Once I used a sturdy neem stick as a support for a young tree. The tree died anyway, and the neem support stick grew in its place! I have also buried freshly cut neem branches in a hugel bed and they sprouted as well. So I don't think you should have any problem as long as it is a mature branch and planted deeply.

Good luck!

How big is a "mature branch?" An inch diameter at the cut? More? Less?

And how long should it be? Ideally I'd love to root some at least a meter above the soil so they are well established more quickly and can put out shoots out of the immediate reach of the goats. Two meters would be ideal.

The smallest I've done is about 3/4 inch. They were about a meter long or more, so go ahead and try two! It will be important to keep them shaded of there is any significantly hot weather.

Good deal. I'll pop them under the existing trees which they'll hopefully soon tower over and replace! :)