Propagation: part X based on my own experience

Howdy: sorry for the long away.
My brains not doing well at the moment. I am going to have surgery on my shoulder to remove spurrs and realign the bone and sockett. I will let you know how it goes. It seems my body at l;east the right side is falling apart.
Dave

Take care Dave.

Wishing you well Dave. Been thru that myself. Very painful.

See you when you get back Dave, wishes for a speedy recovery.

Jeanette

Dave,

sorry to hear that you now have to have surgery to get better, praying for a wonderful outcome with as little as possible in the way of pain.

Have that sweet wife of yours post so we know your surgery went well and you are doing ok.

Janet

Happy Happy Birthday JB

happy birthday JB

Is today your birthday JB??? Mine is Friday the 28th... another great person in August LOL

Hope your day is wonderful.

Janet

Have a good one JB. Don't work too hard, it's a day to take off work and pamper yourself.

Jeanette

Heya pilgrims: I have been following these threads with a lot of interest. I am retired & my wife and I are starting a small nursery. On e question I have is does anyone know a link where I could buy a mist controller (commercial if possible with two water outlets separately controlled. Hopefully will have the intake and exhaust fans with a a thermostat to control them with in a month or so. The threads are great. apprecitate it.

Hi Rand:
I found this sites to look at:
http://www.growersupply.com/ne80witi1va.html

Its a neat little self contained valve and timer all in one that is installed dirrectly to a 1" pvc line. time from 1 min to 12 hours per cycle 6 times a day. Now in south texas that might and most likely is not enough but for some northern locations it might be ok.

More to follow
Dave

hi:
I believe this is the one you would need to do what you need. you will need to adjust it for you specific crop and weather pattern.

http://www.growersupply.com/in10mintim.html

this is a bit of overkill but hey I am flying without a net.

http://www.growersupply.com/stercon.html

you might like to look these items over as well

http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/203-283-Misting-Systems.HTm

This is what I have used in the past and is adjusted acording to evaporation of moisture off the leaf surface so its set for the specific conditions at all times. all you need is an am/pm on/off controller

http://www.growerssolution.com/page/GS/PROD/Mist/Mistamatic

This is the way I would go as its dependant on gravity and evaporation. I have worked with a system like this and it is very dependable. of course any system needs to be monitored daily at a minamum. I hope this helps

Dave

Rand: What are you growing? any pics....we love pictures... we are here for advise anytime you need it
Dave

Before anything else, I just want to say Mucho Gracias Beaucoup. I have had success with oleander, hawaian snow bush, waffle plant, coleus, amaryliss and mountain laurel. Some success with texas sage & azalea. I hope from all I have read from your thread and the TX A&M site, that with the intake/exhaust fans and intermittent mist, I should be able to grow what will sell. We started as a nursery, but my wife started painting terra cotta pots and she has a real talent as well as a wonderful imagination. She's sold over a thousand $s worth at her work alone. Nice dove tail. If I can get a mister that I don't have to mess with all the time, life in the O nursery should be more prolific.

Rand:
I assume you are growing on benches? Are you familiar with the inflatable plastic tube used to distribute air equally throughout the green house? I might suggest running one under the bench. By distributing heated air under the benches will help increase the temperature of the root zone.
Have you given any thought to root zone heating by the use of small tubing on the bench's that cirrculate heated water through the tubes which gives radiant heat to the root zone as well. i have seen it set up using hotwater heaters and thick platic tubing. I don't have or know where to get the plans but I will do some looking later on.
Even though you are in texas you do get snow and freezing temps so a rootzone heating system would be a good idea. Its kind of like the infloor raidiant heat being installed in bathrooms and kitchen floors (burried in the concrete).
I hope I am not being to forward but I thought the idea was worth mentioning.
Dave

Hi, I have a question. Can delphiniums be rooted. And water or soil? Thanks,alday

Heya folks: I call the company who sells the mist-a-matic and Dave was right , it is just what I will require. He said it has been around for 60 years and is the most convienent & effective mist he has ever used. I asked him if it would still work in the heat of Texas and he said he used to propagate in Texas with it. Said he would just put some shade cloth over a quonset hut type frame and place his cuttings in it and it seemed to meet all of the plants traspiration needs. Anybody else used one?

Good idea about the heating of the roots. I understand that most azalea propagators do so in late fall and winter with a system to heat the roots. Both of your ideas are something to consider, as the propane heater I will have to use ever so often depending on the temperture will escape out the top and certainly miss the roots. As I understand it, the stems and leaves need to be 10 to 20 degrees colder than the roots, so a root heating system is to be desired.

Howdy:
with using gas to heat you might want a carbon dioxide monitor or a warning system that will call your phone if your greenhouse has any issues with heat. Lets face it the heat will give out at 2:00 am in the heart of an ice storm. Its amazing what is out there to automate your operation.
Are you on a well or city water? How will you handle run off? I am not sure what the state of texas will require for run off whith chemicals involved in a greenhouse operation. A nice pond with koi would be the way I would go That way you don't freak out the neighbors but have a controll for the eco people. I realize its a good thing I just think they go abit off the deepend sometimes....
Hope this helps
Dave

HMMMM delphinium??? I will do some looking and get back to you...BRB
Dave

Alday:
from what I can find I would definately give it a whirl. The Delphinium ajacis - larkspur calls for seed or division.
Belladonna varities are suposed to be able to be done by cutting. with that info I can't see why you couldn't get the hardy annual to root by cuttings as well.
acording to the book "plant propagation A to Z" - fresh basal cuttings in the spring. The interesting note is that they prefer to be grown without mist in a cool bright location.
I hope this isn't as confusing as I think it sounds.
If I ever wonder on a plantI will take a cutting and try it. i love doing things they say can't be done.
Dave

Here is a post from the seed propagation thread that I thought interesting:

Ronnie, The vermiculite is very loose and doesn't mold. Great for those itty bitty seeds. I have found that some soils mold if the seed requires a lot of moisture for germination. The vermiculite is so loose that the seedlings roots grow twice as fast, and you can virtually pull them out. Therefore no root damage and extremely easy transplanting from the vermiculite to soil. I use little cups and fill them with vermiculite and water. Sprinkle the seeds on top. Place the cup in a ziplock bag. Usually within a few days they sprout. I also get lazy and they can live in there for quite some time. With the baggie I always fill like I have to get the newly germinated seed potted up or in the ground. Vermiculite It's just a really nice medium...

Jeanette

Great suggestion

Heya Dave: About heating a greenhouse. All of your suggestions will be investigated. Got a weird idea. We have a two story house with the green house backed up behind it on the south side. Why don't I run a duct from the upper story (where all the hot air goes) to the green house?

sounds like a neat idea. It would make good use of heated air that usually ends up going out the roof. I would pipe it to the floor so you get good use of the air. They also make a fan that fits inside the ducts. I have used it in the past to vent to the outside but it would be good for your idea.

Has anyone started thinking about winter preperation? I am getting as many of my seedlings potted up as possible. Also I am rearranging so everyone has as much protedtion from the north wind as possible. I am using the hardier plants as a buffer from the outside winds.
The 2 things to remember is proper moisture and as strong a plant as possible (proper feeding, insect and disease controll)
I will get some before and after pics form everyone can see the way I do it. Any suggestions on anything I have missed or any other ideas???
Dave

Hi everyone:
I had a request for some Royal Paulownia HARDY Empress Tree's. (Paulownia tomentosa). anyone no a source to help out? Its a guy in south texas.
Dave

What is he wanting Dave seeds or a seedling? I have seed but not the plant.

He has alot of land and wants trees. not sure if seedlings would work. but I am sure he would consider anything
Dave

They do have them on ebay sometimes . I think right now there is a couple of good size trees on there . Not real sure. Might take a gander and see.

Good Grief, wouldn't seedlings need an awful lot of irrigation? I know the smaller our Christmas trees are, the more water they need to get a good hold. Just a question?

JB: I have found that cuttings do take a lot of water but my seedlings I run on the dryside because it forces the plants roots to reach for water. Now with that said its important to say that needled plants are a bit trickier in my own opinion. Leafer plants show stress quicker than needled plants.
I am sure itsw a fine line between enough water and not enough.
I am curious do you have any pics on how you trim your trees to get the exact shape? also any pics of the fields and how many do you grow?? you know me I like pictures

Try Fast Growing Trees.com for the Royal Polownia I planted two this year and for a tree that is very hardy I lost one completly the other was eaten by deer 3 times almost to ground but came back it now has a fence around it with bells hanging on it. I have heard that it is intrusive because the seed pods have hundreds of seeds and they start fairly easy. I have plenty of room and don't mind the seedlings.

The trimming of the trees takes place late summer and is done by my son in law and his brother by hand, each and every tree. Electric trimmers and it takes about 3 days a few hours each day when the time is right. Usually late afternoon or early morning. When they find the time. I have some pictures of the old fields but the new field pictures are filed someplace and I can not find them. When the rain stops I will take one for you. You can also see the farm on http://www.Roblynfarm.com which is their website. That is updated each year with pictures and dates, etc. We will soon update it for this year. We do not have alot of trees to sell this year. Maybe 600 or so, but usually there are 1500 to pick from. We are very small compared to some tree farms. But. this is what we can handle and considering we have no help except family, it is enough. Yesterday I cut the baby field grass between the trees. It takes me an hour to cut that field. The big field takes alot longer because the rows are more difficult to get between with the big trees growth in the way. We use alot of weed killer in the tree rows. I hate to see a tree farm with weeds between the trees. Here is one field.

Another Roblyn Tree Farm field

And, another Roblyn pic. These are the concolors.

I have to get busy now. Rainy, very windy, stormy and tornado watches going on today until Lord knows when. It sucks. I had so much to do outside...my daffodil bulbs are arriving and we managed to get 300 more planted before the rains came, plus we had to mow all the grass. We have another 300 more that arrived late yesterday but rain had already started.
All the tropicals have been moved inside and I am praying the three days of no sun we have had does not make them yellow and moldy. It has been high humidity and no sun. I have not watered them for two days due to the lack of sun.
This is a sad day for us here in NJ with memories of 9/11 and so many people from the area that were lost. Not a great day but we must keep up our good spirits and faith.
Have a nice day and keep your friends and family close, you never know what tomorrow will bring. Hugs. JB

JB:
great pics... They are so nicely shaped beautifully. I know my DW is fond of the colorado spruces. Its a sad day for all of us. My fear is that we have not finished the job of getting the mad man and his followers under controll. Of course controll is not the right thing to say coming from a free country where we defend the rights of everyone to think how the wish to. Its only when someone else forces their beliefs or idealisms on others who do not want or need to be followers instead of free thinking humans.
I have strayed too far from the subject and am preaching so I will just shut up.
Have a great day everyone. JB said it best.
Dave

Hey Dave, did you have a good week? How are you feeling? I told you I would send you pictures of our baby trees so here they are. After more than 2 inches of rain and wind gusts up to 50 mph, they were looking o.k. this morning. I took these with my phone, so they may not be as clear as the others. Have a nice weekend. JB