I've had much success propagating my Hemia. The method I used is quite simple, it's not the easiest physical work though!
The trick is to remove the plant from it's pot and divide the root ball.
I divided mine into four cuttings and all four survived with minimal effort. all I did after potting two and planting two in the ground was water the crap outta them. They looked like they were going to die for about 2 weeks but they came right back and are quite healthy now.
I'm telling you, these plants are tough... They are hard kill. I butchered mine with a shovel to divide the root mass. I only meant to divide it in half but it ended up being quartered!

I didn't think the smallest division would survive; much to my surprise it is alive and thriving!
I've starved my Hemia and dehydrated it in the past. I had it planted in the ground and moved to a new place so I dug it up and potted it and took it with me. When it was planted in the ground it got razed to the ground by a mower and came right back even thicker, and lusher than before!
Needless to say, Hemia is tough. Don't worry about your root cuttings surviving and don't worry about cold weather. They'll survive it for sure!
edit: Of course you will want to use this method of propagation with a mature shrub. Mine was about 3-4 yrs. old.
Now that I think about it when I got my Hemia from my friend it was a root cutting that looked completely dead. I just watered the living crap outta her and she came to life within a week or so,,,