cross-post: I need help preparing cuttings, please

I am preparing for a swap which will take place tomorrow, but I'm not very experienced when it comes to taking cuttings. Can someone(s) please assist?

First of all, am I safe to assume that the following vines of mine can all be easily propagated from cuttings?

Evergreen Clematis armandii
Sweet Autumn Clematis terniflora
Hardy Kiwi Issai Actinidia arguta
Thornless Blackberry 'Triple Crown'

I have just taken cuttings from each of the above and stuck the cut ends into a bucket of water for the time being, but I am clueless as to whether or not I did it correctly. I left them fairly long (at least one foot each) and have not trimmed any leaves off any of them. Any guidance you can throw at me would be greatly appreciated.

Well, the leaves will eventually rot, so you might as well strip those off.

Other than that, I'm about as clueless as you are. I'm currently trying to root a cutting of a clematis but it's just sitting in the window, doing nothing, as it has been for weeks. Who knows, maybe heat?

But here's an even dumbererer question for you, you Pagan: How long should these cuttings be? Maybe I can get more than one from each 12 - 18" length. I don't want to risk stripping off too many leaves if I can get more than one section from each length. I'm not making sense, am I?

I need to take Cuttings 101.

As long as you leave a few leaves at the top, you're usually okay. I wouldn't try to root a piece of stem that didn't have it's own leaf, generally it will need that for gathering energy to start the new root system, although it has probably been done without.

I'm looking at a source from Miss U that says a cutting should be 4-6". If possible, try to get a piece of stem that includes a leaf node, I believe some plants root from there. In my book, the longer the cutting, the less I have to worry about the water line dropping and killing it when I forget to refill it for a couple of days.

Here's the basics from Miss U - they don't mention using water, only soil, but it's about the same thing in a lot of cases

http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/hort/g06560.htm#materials