Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Need advice on rooting one now, 1 by Clare_CA

Clare_CA wrote:
Hi bbinnj, I just meant if you knew GordonHawk from the threads he posts here at Dave's. That would be amazing if you knew him in person! He always post pictures of his amazing garden on the roof of his place against the back drop of NYC. Here's one of his threads: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/640971/ He is actually in Brooklyn, NY. He went to Panama and brought back plumeria seeds for everyone: http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/595416/

It is a bit concerning that you say your pot is big for rooting your cutting. A big pot means that there is a lot of unused soil, which will take longer to heat to an optimum temperature and which will take longer to drain well. Depending upon the size of your cutting, it should be no bigger than a one-gallon container. If it is a huge cutting -- two to three feet -- then a three-gallon size is often recommended. Rooting cuttings can be tricky this time of year, and dwarf plumies root particularly slowly, it seems, so I wish you the best of luck. You've got all the right tools so it is just up to the plumie now. I can root nearly anything in the summertime, but I've lost my share of cuttings in the fall and winter, including two dwarves, but I didn't have the heat pad back then.

It is definitely cooling off here. It got down to 57 last night, but it was 50 the night before last. My new greenhouse hasn't arrived yet so I'm using this little mini-greenhouse to keep my cuttings and new grafts warm. The digital sensor in there indicates that the air temp is in the high 70's at night so I know the soil temp is at least 80. It cost $9 from Harbor Freight Tools, and I just put it over an old frame that I had. I've got two heating pads in there on the two shelves that are on 24/7.

By the way, I wrote an article about how I root cuttings and grow plumerias at http://www.plumerias.com if you want to read it. The PDF version can be saved to your computer's hard drive and has more pictures than the web version. Look for the link "Clare's Garden" at the bottom of the web page.

This message was edited Feb 21, 2008 1:11 PM