A general rule is to never cut material that is larger than one half the size of the pruner's cutting edge measured from heel to tip. The typical 8-inch pruner is about right for cutting branches 1 1/2 inch in diameter or smaller.
When you make the Arborvitae cuttings you can actually remove large branches from an Arborvitae and just tear them apart and get hundreds of cuttings from one branch. When you tear them apart that leaves a small heel on the bottom of the cutting.
Hardwood: Cuttings of mature wood 10 cm. with a heel, September/October in a cold frame. Plant out in the following autumn. Cutting should be made from the tip of the branches.
Air Layering: Layering in September/October. Takes 12 months.
Before the earth freezes, heel your plants into the ground and cover the tops of the pots and lower stems with a mulch such as pine, cedar, or fir bark.
Remove all side shoots and trim nodal cuttings to 8-10cm (3-4") long if possible, trim heel cuttings to 5-7cm (2-3") long if possible. Remove leaves on lower third of cuttings and for semi-ripe cuttings also remove soft tips.
Back:
This is the worst angle on the roots. The back side of the trunk turns under like a heel. No surface roots are to be found.
Right front quarter:
This presents perhaps the best angle on the trunk for the surface roots.
When cutting at the node, shoot for branches that are 3 to 4 inches long. You can go a little shorter, at 2 to 3 inches, when cutting with a heel of mature wood. Cut diagonally for maximum surface area for root growth.
They can be treated as softwood cuttings, but will take longer to root. When removing them from the stock plant break them off with a 'heel' of old wood. Take all foliage that will be below soil level off as this will rot.
 See also: Bonsai, Plant, Cutting, Root, Species
  
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