Separated the layer today. The tree has officially been targeted for extermination by the ditch rider, and there's only so much good weather left in the year.
Not near the amount of root I'd like, and a good amount seem to be dead at the ends (didn't get a pic of that, but should have), so I'm not holding my breath.
Now that I step back and take a fresh look, that big branch bottom left is going. It's just to darn thick, and I'm not looking for a multiple trunk style.
May cut it back some more. But we'll see how it does over the next few days.
BTW, the rocks are to help hold it stable until the roots take, and it's in a combination of broken up brick, terracotta, lava rock and peet. Need to go out for Asian food again to get more chopsticks.
I really love this tree, so I kept a whole stack of cuttings.
Have some older hardwood cuttings in damp paper towels in the fridge too.
The thing seems to root fairly easily, so with any luck I'll have a couple of them survive.