Dumb Question.....

When rooting indoors using 1/2 peat and 1/2 perlite... Do you add water? I was reading (not here) and saw instructions to not add water... just the potting mixture.. Just seems weird to me, but what do I know?

Well, it depends. If the soil is already damp and you are going to put it under plastic to hold in humidity, it may not need much more. If it is dry, you need to add water, even a drop or 2 at a time, so you don't make a swamp but get it humid with barely damp soil..... With my pineapple, I put it on a pot of dry soil and just let it sit for 2 weeks in the sun before I watered it the first time. It depends on what you are rooting, too.

Its this darn Large Leaf Scheff.. I thought this thing was supposed to be eager to grow.. It has some very tiny hairlike roots but that is all is has after more than a month-- probably more than 6 weeks.... I was reading to find out what to do and that is when I came across the original reason for this thread. So I put it in 1/2 peat and perlite.. We'll see what happens now.

I'm probably just impatient... : )

quit looking

Yes'm

At this time of year, your scheff isn't any more interested in growing roots than it is in increasing above-ground mass, so even though it's slow cooperating in people time, it's probably doing just fine in plant time. ;o) They're just pretty lethargic at this time of the year. What 3js said is sound advice. Every time you peek, you break the newly-forming hair roots, which sets the plant back and increases the time it takes for it to establish. It can also compromise the viability of the cutting, because cuttings are in a race to see if they can establish roots and a connection from roots to vascular tissues before rot organisms compromise other tissues essential to the formation of that connection. IOW - time is important and faster is better.

FWIW - Rooting success hinges primarily on 3 things - a little moisture, lots of aeration, and a sterile medium. The right temperature can also play a significant part. You'll go a long way before you find a better medium than a 50/50 mix of chopped sphagnum moss (not the same as sphagnum peat) and either perlite or screened Turface MVP.

Al

That sounds like good stuff, Al, it's all sterile so no baking required, lol.

Very true.

Al

Sphagnum moss, not yet chopped. Buy it chopped or chop it in a food processor with a little water.

This was a given to me late in the season. Had I requested it, I would have opted for spring. It has been rooting for well over a month.. -

I will just leave it alone and let it do its thing in its own time...

Thanks to both of you. I appreciate knowing you are going to shoot it straight and tell me stuff like Stop Looking. ; )

lol.

Tracey, I agree with all thats been said. Your Scheff cutting looks quite good to my eyes. Keep that baby in a warm bright spot and I bet it really takes off in spring. By early - mid summer it will probably have such a great root system you will need to give it a much larger container!

Lin

I just love you guys !!! I will leave it alone and let it rest.... and I will let you know when I have to move it outdoors because its outgrown my home... lol ... ; )