Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Propagation Methods, 1 by hcmcdole

hcmcdole wrote:
Yes, you may call me Butch. I agree it is puzzling on why one method works so well for some people and fails for others and vice versa. The problem with some of the "magic" of rooting leaves or stems are things we have to take for granted since there are microscopic changes taking place that we would need microscopes to see and knowledge of why (botanists put years of work into the why so I don't question those areas - hormones, pathogens, etc.). Anyway we know there are millions of germs in the air and other surfaces (again we have to rely on what the experts tell us). A cut is an invitation to infection just like a cut to our skin. I believe that covering a glass of water just pulled from the faucet (somewhat sterilized since we drink it right from the tap, right?) keeps most germs out (provided the cup is clean). Now if the cutting is somewhat healthy, then germs have less of a chance to get started. I have had cuttings in water for weeks and perhaps 2 to 3 months under cover with no harm. If I let a glass uncovered it may turn sour in a couple of days and a lot of that depends on the plant cutting. I picked up this method from one of our local club members - she does almost all her cuttings this way.

A lot of folks recommend sterilizing medium as well (microwave or bake in the oven) but I'm not much for that. I like to play with different methods since I don't grow to sell so if I lose all my cuttings, then I've learned a lesson. I also picked up the sand method from an older gent in Columbus, GA. He stuck all his cane cuttings in a sand bed on the floor of his small greenhouse with nearly 100% success. He used river sand so I use builder's sand from the big stores (fairly coarse). I have rooted leaves in this as well but it tends to dry out very fast if you don't keep an eye on it.

If you are a serious grower and want to prop thousands of plants then tissue culture may be the best solution if you are dedicated and have lots of patience. We saw a presentation at the 2006 ABS convention by somebody from Logee's (I think it was one of the grandsons). He showed how they do tissue culture there on the Iron Cross begonia (B. masoniana). They cut the leaves to small pieces, which go through a bleach bath, an alcohol bath, trimmed again to remove all damaged edges, rinsed in distilled water, and put into sterilized vials with agar in them. Once true leaves develop, they can remove those leaves and start new plants with these, over and over. The whole process is done in a sterile lab with an airflow through a HEPA filter (I probably have some of the facts wrong) blowing across the work (work is always done towards the flow).

Anyway, I've noticed that humidity really helps my chances of rooting leaves. I bought a high top propagator years ago from Park Seed and put several leaves in and had great success. But that is too expensive to do lots of cuttings. Here is a cheap alternative - a baking pan (lasagna, cake, etc) with a clear lid.

Here are some benches at PHOE from last year (early March). It was very humid in these rooms which made me almost nauseous.