spider plant rooting

About how long dose it take for a baby spider to root?

The plantlets at the ends of the stolons develop adventitious roots while on the plant, so in effect, they are already 'rooted' when you separate them.

Al

If you have a baby not attached to the parent plant, you can root it in soil or in water, I've had some in water which have started rooting right away and I've had others which have taken a couple of weeks to start rooting. I've not tried rooting them in soil.

Though roots form readily and often seemingly more quickly on many plants propagated in water, the roots produced are quite different from those produced in a soil-like, highly aerated medium (perlite - fine gravel - seed starting mix, e.g.). Physiologically, you will find these roots to be much more brittle than normal roots due to a much higher percentage of aerenchyma (a tissue with a greater percentage of intercellular air spaces than normal parenchyma). If you wish to eventually plant your rooted cuttings in soil, it is probably best not to root them in water because of the frequent difficulty in transplanting them to soil. The "water-formed" roots often break during transplant & those that don't break are very poor at water absorption and often die. The effect is equivalent to beginning the cutting process over again with a cutting in which vitality has likely been reduced.

If you do a side by side comparison of cuttings rooted in water & cuttings rooted in soil, the cuttings in soil will always (for an extremely high percentage of plants) have a leg up in development on those moved from water to a soil medium for the reasons outlined above.

Al

I'm not sure about spider plants, but I've had things start to root in one week, and sometimes as long as three weeks.

What seems to work best so far, is rooting the plant in a dark container, with water and a bit of Miracle Grow liquid plant food in it. The cuttings that took three weeks to get real root action going were in a clear jar that I tried to wrap with brown paper, but it didn't help. So, don't use a clear vessel to root in, 'cuz roots don't like sun. They grow 'cuz they want food - which is why I add a bit of the plant food to the water. Not a lot. I use empty vanilla extract bottles to root little cuttings, since they're brown - and only put a few drops of the food in it.

For a baby spider plant, maybe you could use an old coffee mug to root. The leaves of the baby plant can "grab" the lip of the mug - suspending it over the water.

plants, do you root your plants in? How dark of a contanier?

Quoted from Tapla

"Though roots form readily and often seemingly more quickly on many plants propagated in water, the roots produced are quite different from those produced in a soil-like, highly aerated medium (perlite - fine gravel - seed starting mix, e.g.). Physiologically, you will find these roots to be much more brittle than normal roots due to a much higher percentage of aerenchyma (a tissue with a greater percentage of intercellular air spaces than normal parenchyma). If you wish to eventually plant your rooted cuttings in soil, it is probably best not to root them in water because of the frequent difficulty in transplanting them to soil. The "water-formed" roots often break during transplant & those that don't break are very poor at water absorption and often die. The effect is equivalent to beginning the cutting process over again with a cutting in which vitality has likely been reduced."

In theory this is true. I rooted about 15 last year for other people and about 4 for me in water and all survived and I had no problems. I even had a baby of a baby of a baby to pot and the maximum length of the longest leaf was 1inch...now a year later it's around 20-30cm per leaf! It's thriving.


In reality Iluvcatz it's personal preference as to how you grow/root plants. I've always rooted my spiders in water and in a clear container (so I can see the root growth) and once they are about 2-3" long I plant them in soil and water them in.

Dipsy - If you're going to argue against science, it's wise to have your ducks in a row. ;o)

There isn't much theory in what I said. It's all science. There is no commercial operation I know of that roots plants that will later be transferred to soil, in water. That alone should say something about the water/soil question. Admittedly, rooting in water is easier for many hobby growers because they lack the skills or knowledge that would allow them to propagate successfully in a solid medium, but easier has no inherent relationship to better.

I offered the science behind why rooting plants in a solid medium is better. You countered with the reply that you rooted around 20 plants last year with no problems, but that shouldn't be a clarion call to the masses to follow suit. We all learned that when our moms asked us, "So if Dipsydoodle jumped off a bridge would you have to, too?"

You're correct in the assertion that it's a personal choice, but at least now readers have an opportunity to weigh science against anecdote before they decide.

Al

This message was edited Jul 22, 2009 11:21 AM

Well, iluvcatz... I'd use any kind of colored glass, really. That way you can still see inside, but the water and potential roots get a little protection from the mean ol' sun. The little vanilla extract bottles are brown. Amber (brown), green and blue are all pretty popular colors, and easy to find different items inexpensively at home stores or even secondhand shops. Heck... if the cutting is long enough to fit in a longneck bottle - you could pick up a six pack of beer in the bottle color of your choice and use those. But, a beer bottle forest might make your house look a little too much like a college dorm room...

Horticultural scientists have settled the issue of the wisdom of rooting in water versus rooting in a potting medium. To explain in different and simple words, the hair roots that form in water are very fragile are almost all broken off when the plant is eventually potted up. Those which remain are not physiologically suited to extracting moisture from a potting mix. The cutting essentially starts over producing useful roots, except it has the disadvantage of having been separated from the mother plant for a period of time and isn't at its prime. Yes, often plants "started in water" make the transition to soil and survive. That is hardly proof that starting them in water was a good idea. I can swish my cuttings in a mixture of Coca Cola and Seven-Up before planting them, and then claim that the soda pop made them root "better." That doesn't make it true. It's unfortunate that so many people cling to this notion because grandmother and grandfather rooted things in water because their grandparents..............Unfortunate not in the sense that it hurts anybody, but it's an unnecessary step, taking up countless hours of wasted time, and a tribute to the thought that given an old wives' tale and credible evidence to the contrary, many people will go with the former.

That's pretty much a simple paraphrasing of what I said originally, DP.

Al

Wow, I never knew that a debate about rooting in water vs. medium could be so intense.

Sure, rooting in water is cheap and un-intellectual - and for very sensitive and delicate plants, efforts may be futile. But gee whiz folks... it's not like it doesn't work! It seems kinda funny that this debate began with a question about spider plant babies, 'cuz aren't they supposed to be little plants already anyway? I'd guess the best (most 'eau-natural') way to get 'em in their own is to put small pots under the mama plant, and just set the babies on top of the soil/mix/dirt/medium.

Potting mediums are definitely better mousetraps. If you're into gardening to learn horticultural science and propagate prize-winning plants with bragging rights - it's the way to go. I'm just a frugal goof-ball with a couple of cheap houseplants that brighten my day.

Now, speaking of better techniques and tools... what's up with that rooting powder stuff? Is it just meant for rooting in water? 'Cuz if I was gonna invest in trying new gardening products... I'd probably start with trying to root stuff in soil medium.

Rooting in water is cheap- and accomplishes nothing unless you plan to GROW the plant in water. You say it works. What do you mean by "works"? The cutting produces water roots. What you as well as a very large number of other people will not listen to is this: When the cutting with its water roots is planted in a pot in a planting medium, most of those water roots break off because they are so fine and fragile, and those that survive it are unable to extract moisture from the potting "soil." The cutting has to put out new roots that will do the job roots are intended to do.

RE rooting hormone (powder)- if you dip a cutting in rooting powder and stick the cutting in water, what do you think is going to happen to that powder? Think about it.

I drive 40 miles to work, one way, and I've been late leaving home every day for the last 20 days, so I've driven 100 MPH to get to work on time. I haven't received a ticket, I haven't killed anyone, and I'm not dead yet, so we should all drive 100 MPH & we'll all get to work on time. It worked for me!

Can you see folly in that? I simply provided a response to the OP that was reasonable and fully supportable from a scientific perspective. It happens all the time, that someone presents something anecdotal in response to something I say that is founded in good horticulture. I don't usually take the time to reply, but when you copy/pasted my reply and used anecdote to refute what I said and call my offering 'theory', I felt compelled to respond. Additionally, I didn't say you couldn't or shouldn't root in water, only that it is better to root in a solid medium. If you'd like to establish your credibility, that is where you should be directing your argument.

There's no intensity, and my intent isn't to wade into a fray swinging. It's to make sure that the conversation reveals more light than heat. Basically, you argue against science with only the argument "It works for me", which is an extremely weak position, and expect everyone to yield to its weight. Your argument says only that you're happy with how you're doing things now, nothing more. It would be very easy to offer a list of reasons why you might be using that particular argument, but they would likely be inflammatory, so I'll refrain.

Al

I wansn't arguing tapla as you seem to think I was, I was simply stating that I'd had success doing it that way and if Iluvcatz was having trouble then she could try that way because from my experience I've always been lucky. Obviously I was wrong to state tha I'd done it different to science and it had worked.

It's really not true that our conversation evolved as a result of your stated reason, but that's unimportant. And your error wasn't your stated error at all. The error came when you quoted something firmly rooted (a pun?) ;o) in sound science and tried to trump it with nothing but anecdote.

Sure, it's ok to root in water if you don't have the skill set or don't take the time to learn how to do it in a solid medium, but it's NOT better by considerable margin.

No one is learning anything from our current conversation, so I'll be on my way & offer you the last word if you'll have it.

Take care.

Al

Ok Iluvcats, since there is a big debate going on basically aimed at me, I do agree with everyone else and yes it is better to root in soil, but in my specific instance I didn't have the mother plant to keep them attached to. I was simply stating I grew a lot of plants in water and they made the transition to soil perfectly fine. I am NOT arguing with science or anything. It was a simple statement that it could be done as well rather than as everyone seems to have read it that I said "It must be done". But apparently because I rooted my spider plants in water I am cheap and un-intellectual and un-intelligent.

dont feel bad dipsydoodle, I'm cheep to. Most of my plants came from somone elses garden, when I help weed or do yard work for a friend or family member I will keep some roots for myself

I have been rooting spider plants for the last 20 years all from the same mother plant, I do it both ways. If the roots are well formed I plant them in soil, if not then I do the water rooting thing on the window sill. Once a year I cut off all the plantlets and either repot them or put them in water. I have never had a water rooted plant die when I put it in soil. you just have to go easy when potting it up just like you do with any transplant.

LOL! How to root...I know people who swear by one or the other. Whatever works for you I guess.
I gotta say I've rooted in soil and water depending on the plant, but mostly I just shove things in soil. For the most part anything I rooted in water happened because I got lazy and didn't get the starts in soil fast enough. So both methods have worked for me.

I got a baby spider plant from a friend and plopped it in a pot of dirt. It rooted quickly (even after sitting in my car all day) and is growing well. When it sends off babies I'm planning on looping them around and shoving them in the soil to fill in my pot. They're super easy to grow, I think whatever you decide to do they'll be happy.

Ha where were you 'withad' and 'icanfindroom' last week when this debate was going on? haha

sorry, a newbie here, was checking things out and found it and had to reply. Born in Leeds, moved here when I was 5 been here ever since. Us Brits need to stick together. Do a lot of cuttings in water, if the stem starts to rot then I snip it, root-tone it then pot it. I just like to see them all lined up on my window sill like little soldiers. I use old yellow pill bottles for my cuttings, just enough clarity to see the roots and still keep the bright light out. Also, the smaller the container, the better chance of success. I read somewhere years ago that plants produce their own rooting compound so the smaller the container the more concentrated the rooting compound. And it's not that I'm cheap like Iluvcatz states, I pot up hundreds in the Screen house but with them on the window sill I can look at them everytime I am at the sink and I get some kind of satisfaction out of seeing them root.

Look, Dipsy - there really is no debate, because you haven't presented a case, and certainly not one that comes remotely close to showing that rooting in water is the better course, nor has anyone else. Basically, what you've said, all you've said, is "The way I do it is good enough for me", and that isn't logically convincing - at all.

I offered the science behind why rooting in a well-aerated solid medium is better, so others could make a choice, but you were offended by the facts and took on the wounded bird act as though I was eating your young.

If there are questions in your mind or you'd like to debate which is the better course and can stay focused on the subject, let me know. Otherwise, I'll consider that you've decided that rooting in a solid medium is better - regardless of what course you might settle on.

Al

dipsy, rooting in water/rooting in a potting mix- my question is, to what end? There are people (such as withad) who get pleasure out of watching the delicate water roots form on a cutting placed in a water-filled clear container. That is a harmless pastime and costs little or nothing. The cuttings of some plants will develop a nice full display of this distinctive type of root for their owners to enjoy and possibly show to friends. If they plan to leave the cuttings in water until they develop into mature plants and forever after (and good luck there) they're off to the right start.
What you are failing to understand, or failing to acknowledge, is that horticultural and botanical scientists have established beyond any reasonable doubt that it is a mistake to believe that rooting a cutting in water as a prelude to later planting it in soil or a potting mix will give it a head start because it will already have roots.
Full explanations of why this is a widely-held yet erroneous belief have been presented in previous posts in this thread, so there's no need to repeat them, and typing them out has become tedious.
I am indifferent to what procedure you yourself follow. What does concern me to some extent is that ignorance of established scientific fact and persistent promulgation of false information on forums such as this one will cause uninformed readers to feel compelled to follow practices that are useless and a total waste of time.
If you want to encourage beginning and unlearned plant enthusiasts to put cuttings in water and watch the pretty hair roots develop as entertainment, fine. But please don't leave the impression that this is a wise step in eventually potting up the cutting, because that simply isn't so.

To dp72, type in spider plant propagation and more often than not you will find they suggest water rooting. Gardenersnet.com is one of them. What they also suggest is to take care when potting them up as the roots are delicate. So to all the new propagators out there looking for a way to start new plants all I can say is try both ways and do it whatever you feel comfortable with. Especially with spider plants, they have so many plantlets that there is plenty of room for error. You said " don't leave the impression that this is a wise step in eventually potting up the cutting, because that simply isn't so" I say " I have been doing it for over twenty years and have lost maybe 1 percent." Not a bad rate of success I would say. Granted there are a lot of cuttings I wouldn't start in water but there are probably just as many that I would and do. Personal preference, satisfaction, and success rate is what determines how and why I do it either way. I also search the individual plant on the internet to see what is recommended by various garden sites and nurseries. I think they know a lot more about it than I do. Forums are nice but they are basically the personal experiences of the person posting them, not that that's wrong. Whatever works for you is the right way to go. Before science got involved it was all done by moms and grandmothers way of doing it and millions of plants have been grown using moms and grandmoms methods.

withad, it amazes me that I'm still here. First of all, much of what is posted on internet advice sites is shared misinformation. One can Google "cold cures" and come up with an incredible array of advice, most of which is pure quackery. Articles posted on the internet are not vetted for accuracy. You can read all sorts of things if you look long enough. Critically evaluating what you read in the light of proven evidence is what is essential. If you would (and you won't) skip the water rooting part and simply pot your spider plantlets into a suitable potting mix in the first place, you would have equal success and maybe lose 1/2 of one percent. You insist on believing the water rooting step helps in some way. It does not. Once you put the cutting that has developed water roots into soil, it begins sending out soil-type roots and goes on to develop. The water roots that were not broken off when you potted it up shrivel up and die.

Grandma believed that chicken soup was a cure-all. She fed it to anyone who was sick. Most of them got well, and the chicken soup got part of the credit. (For those few who died, the chicken soup was forgotten.) If someone has a cold and sore throat, chicken soup may be soothing to the throat, but its curative powers are nonexistent. Why don't hospital patients receive chicken soup as part of their therapy? Because it is not efficacious. Neither is rooting any cutting in water before subsequently placing it in a potting medium to develop the type of roots it is going to have to have to survive.

My babies are a testament that whether I choose to water root or soil root a particular plant is the right way. I have been doing things this way for over 50 years and it works for me. That is my point, I grow things for my personal satisfaction and gratification, not for a scientific study. Simply put try it both ways, if seeing your little cuttings take root makes you happy- go for it. If sticking them in rooting compound and potting soil makes you happy-go for it. Just don't do it because someone told you it the politically correct way of doing it. Doing it both way has worked for granny, mom, me, my grandchildren and hopefully now that I have 8 great-grandchildren it will work for them as well.

I pointed to Dipsy's error in logic, so I might as well say that Withad's logic is in error as well, and the error also is a named logical fallacy. It's called 'Appeal to Common Practice'. An Appeal to Common Practice is a fallacy with the following structure:

X is a common action.
Therefore X is correct/justified/reasonable/advantageous, etc.

The basic idea behind the fallacy is that the fact that most people do X is used as "evidence" to support the action or practice. It is a fallacy because the mere fact that most people do something does not make it correct, justified, reasonable, advantageous ....

Most uninformed people root spiderplants in water because they feel it is as good as or better than rooting in a soil medium; therefore, it's better to root in water. Sorry - doesn't fly.

I don't really care what side of the argument people come down on; I simply wanted them to have the information they needed to make an informed decision. The information I provided applies broadly, to other plants as well. If you cannot say that rooting in water is better, or that it is as good as rooting in a solid medium, and support it with facts, then you have no argument .... and wishing real hard doesn't change the science either. ;o)

Al

withad, your reasoning process is quite interesting. (Having no evidence to the contrary, I have to assume your comments are to be taken seriously and not as farcical in intent.) Your reference to "politically correct" statements of fact, based on applied science, is surprising. Ordinarily, the term "politically correct" is used to indicate a notion that is widely held but unsustainable by evidence. Actually, with regard to the long-ago settled issue of how best to root cuttings for the majority of plants (including spider plants, which is where this all started), you are in the politically correct camp given my definition. The minority accept the findings of plant scientists on this matter and will not compromise on them. The minority will not take a conciliatory position that rooting in water and rooting in soil (or potting mix) are equally good approaches and that the choice therefore doesn't matter. The majority (and among those are people who should know better) have heard all their lives about putting cuttings in water until some roots form and then potting them, and they accept that that is the thing to do without question. Unlike you, Galileo took a "politically incorrect" position on the relationship between the earth and the sun with regard to orbiting. It took a very long time for Galileo's position to become the almost universally accepted one. So you should be pleased that on the issue at hand you are right square in the middle of the majority of the masses.

Everyone is missing my point, I do not water root because there is "evidence to support my actions or practice." I water root because it works for me and has for over 50 years and I enjoy seeing the cuttings getting their roots. I am not saying it is the correct way, what I am saying is that it has worked for me. And as previously stated, I have also used the soil method and have achieved the same results, so I am not saying it doesn't work and it isn't the right way to do it. I am simple stating that water rooting is MY thing and I enjoy doing it that way. I do over a thousand cuttings a year and am quite happy with both ways, MY preference is water rooting where possible ( and I will be the first to admit that there are some plants I can not water root ) and no I don't have any scientific evidence to support it and don't care either, all I know is that it works for me. If I am " uninformed" or " right square in the middle of the massed" oh well. I am happy, my plant are healthy and happy and I have never had anyone give me back a plant that has been water rooted rather than soil rooted. If anyone wants a water rooted spider plant to compare with their soil rooted ones let me know.

We need to define what the word "works" means in the context of this dialog. Quite obviously, cuttings of many types of plants will send out roots if placed in water and given sustainable light and temperatures. These roots are physiologically different from roots that form when a plant is in soil or another growing medium. In that sense, rooting in water "works." There are plants that can be maintained in water indefinitely if the water is not allowed to sour and they have sufficient nutrients. *** Now let's change the meaning of "works" so that it means "prepares the plant to eventually live in a potting medium or in soil." I believe this is what withad has in mind when she says her way "works." The disappointing fact is that it does NOT work. I could cut and paste the rest from previous posts. The delicate water roots are broken when the plant is transferred into the potting mix. If one here and there miraculously stays intact, it is useless to the cutting anyway because it must have a constant, continual supply of water or it will shrivel up and die within hours. The cutting is required to form a new type of roots that are physiologically able to penetrate soil (or the substitute therefor) and are designed to alternately take up water when the plant is watered and to exchange gases between waterings when the roots dry out or partially dry out. For this reason, your "water rooted" spider plants and the soil rooted ones have exactly the same kind of roots.

my last post on this, please send a link or the name of the Horticulturalist so that I can request his or her clinical studies that state water rooting has no effect. If they can provide 50 years of clinical studies or some other means of determining that water roots break upon potting or die upon insertion into soil I will accept that concept. Until then I have my 50 years of experience to go by. And to dispel the thought that you obviously have that to be a gardener or to like plants you have to be female, I am a 65 year old male.

The onus of the burden of proof is on those that cannot/will not agree that rooting in a solid medium is a superior method to rooting in water (on you). You have established nothing in the way of sound reasoning, avoided any discussion involving applied science or horticulture, and have have used flawed logic in attempt to avoid admitting there is a better way. Now you want someone to go chasing after clinical studies? Pick up (and read) any entry level book on propagation and you'll be embarrassed that you ever argued the point.

No one really gives a whit about how you or Dipsy (or anyone else, for that matter) root your plants. The point I wanted to make clear is there is a better way aside from rooting in water. I went through the effort of describing the science behind WHY there is a better way, and ran into a steady stream of refutation by anecdote. That doesn't work, and the defense "It works for me" is no defense at all.


Ahhh - you played the experience card. ;o) I might point out that when you do the same thing over and over, there is very little difference in the level of experience between someone who has done the same thing in the same way for 50 minutes or 50 years. I'll trust the judgment of a person who has tried 10 different ways over the course of a year, long before I would trust the judgment of someone who boasts 50 years of repetition because "it works for me". I've propagated thousands of difficult to root species and have a very good understanding of horticulture/plant physiology/soil science, so whose side do you think experience might favor?


Al

Mr. withad, sir, my reference to you as a female must have stemmed unconsciously from the now-politically-incorrect term "old wives' tale," which is valid when applied to the hoary, disproven notion that somehow starting cuttings in water gives them an undefinable advantage long-term.
Congratulations on your half-century in the exciting world of horticulture. Imagine what one can learn and how one can grow and get better as plant science advances and knowledge through evidence-based research increases over 50 years! Sometimes ideas that were assumed to be true are challenged and refuted, and scientists embrace the new when proven by the scientific method. Whether you are a professional horticulturist or not, I hope you have the same attitude.

Well, I posted as a nubie as well. In my unscientific opinion, really whatever you feel works for you is your best method. I say if it makes you happy do it, your at home not at work. And if you were at work you'd use whatever method your boss told you to whether you agreed with it or not. Or at least I would. Heck it's not my cash bag, if the boss is happy so am I. Then I'd go home and do it my way LOL!
It seems like you guys are awfully worked up (forgive me if I'm wrong) and DG is supposed to be fun right? So one person likes the dirt method & one person likes to use water. No biggie :)

OH! Cute puppy picture!

"Darn it! I know it's in here somewhere!"

Now you're assuming I'M a male. Or did I leave a clue somewhere? That's of no significance.
I have no idea who Al is or whether he is "worked up," but I happen not to be, and he doesn't sound worked up to me either. I don't speak for him, but it seems to me that it would be more accurate to say that we both are quite familiar with the rules of logic and the methods of scientific investigation, and have attempted to counter a "know nothing and proud of it" and an "I do my thing and you do your thing and it's beautiful" approach to propagation in particular and life in general. Some remarkable statements and dodges and non sequiturs have been made so far in this thread- enough to take up at least an hour in a college philosophy class in logic and argumentation (in the classical sense of the word).
Your comment that "really whatever you feel works for you is your best method" promotes ignorance and inefficiency and frustration unless you are easily pleased. What if most people worked out their own methods for sewing, woodworking, photography, cooking, and on and on? Why would anyone bother taking classes or learning from skilled persons? I would not want to let anyone who "does his thing his way" and disregards methods that are proven to be effective to work on my car or computer or paint my house or cook in my restaurant or be my yard man.
To take your line of reasoning to an extreme, here's an example. Several centuries ago blood-letting was considered a good treatment for a variety of illnesses and diseases. Somehow the idea got spread around that an excess of blood was bad for the body. Now, keep in mind that many illnesses are self-limiting. That is, the patient gets better with or without treatment. As a result, a fairly large perecentage of people who submitted to blood-letting (or the application of leeches) eventually got well (Unless, as in the case of George Washington, or so we are told, he was bled to death). Guess what? The blood letting was declared a cure. This is a classic error in logic. If B follows A, that in no way proves that A was the cause of B. *******
Is your photo recent? We in Texas are having temps only in the high nineties, which is a cool snap for us in late July.

Taplia " I pointed to Dipsy's error in logic"

If you actually read my first post. I said I AGREE BUT THIS IS HOW I DO IT. The point of a forum is to share how different people do things, and not to call me cheap, and basically insult everyone who does it different to you.

Tapla "The onus of the burden of proof is on those that cannot/will not agree that rooting in a solid medium is a superior method to rooting in water (on you"

I don't think either myself or withad stated that water was better than rooting in soil, we both simply stated that is what we have done, simple as that!

I am not a carpenter so I went to Lowes " how to library" to see how to replace a window frame, they gave you step by step instructions, the tools I needed and the supplies I needed to purchase. I did what they told me, and replaced my window frame, pretty neat accomplishment for an old coot. Today I go to Lowes " how to library " to see how to propagate plants, low and behold the first line states " some plants like African Violet and Wandering Jew start well in jars of water"
I guess I better inform them that they are violating the rules of applied science and scientific investigation. I guess you just can't trust anyone these days. But at least it's nice to know that the place where I buy ALL my gardening supplies and plants doesn't think it is so wrong to water root.

oh and by the way ILUVCATZ, I don't think there is any set rule on how long it takes to root. Not being college educated or anything I would say it depends on the health and size of the cutting. It a trial and error thing, sorry I couldn't be more scientific but I am just a old gardener set in his ways and not an expert like some of the people in this thread.