Tropicals & Tender Perennials: my first brugs, 1 by mainfrog

mainfrog wrote:
Just checked in after a short absence and found another brug addict in the making: Pancha. We acknowledge our addiction and we don't want to be cured, do we?

My experience rooting brugs, after experimenting, I have found the best way it to bundle the cuttings together, start them in water for about a week (changing the water to replenish the oxygen. After about a week the "nubbies' appear, which we know are where roots will sprout. I then take this bundle and place them in a pot partly filled with a light potting soil rich in organic matter, then add more organic potting soil around the sides, shake the pot to get some in between the bottom ends, water and thereafter add just enough water to replace moisture evaporating. The soil should be moist but not soggy, as the roots need oxygen provided by the air pocket in the loose soil. When new leaves sprout from the leaf nodes on the cuttings, this would be a good indicator that roots have formed. I grab the bundle, turn the pot upside down and gently extract the bundle. The roots should be evident. If not, stick the bundle back into the container and check again in a week or so. If the roots are visible I shake out the soil and separate the individual rooted cuttings and plant each rooted cutting in its own pot, sprinkle with Osmocote, a slow, time-release fertilizer, water and tend to it as it grows. If the roots on the cuttings should grow such that they're a tangled mass, they separate easily by swishing in a bucket of water.

By the way: for small, short cuttings I use small pots, actually using clear cut-off beverage bottles with holes drilled at the bottom for drainage. This way I can also see the roots developing. For long or thick cuttings I may use a 1 or 2 gallon pot, or also a cut off clear plastic jug.