I have purchased bare roots of the Maypop but they came with no planting instructions. How deep should they be planted and do I place the root in a flat position or up and down in the pot?
My thanks for any assistance.
Mary
Please Help .... Passi incarnata - Maypop root pieces
I could not find anything relating to position, but hope that this
information can help you. The website listed below has some
additional information than what is posted that I found elsewhere.
http://www.thegardenhelper.com/passion.html
Growth Requirements
pH Range 4.5–8 pH
Precipitation Range 38–38 inches/yr
Planting Density 1746–3450 indiv./acre
Soil Textures Coarse, Fine, Medium
Soil Depth for Roots 12
Minimum Frost-Free Days 160 day(s)
Salinity Tolerance None
CaCO3 Tolerance Medium
Mary, just place them with the roots down in the soil. You don't have to lay them flat tho I doubt that would matter. Firm the soil underneath first, cover with a few inches of soil with the stem out of the soil. Firm the soil again after planting. It may take awhile for them in your area as they like the soil to be fairly warm. Keep just moist don't over water. If you are planting them in pots and keeping inside you may see growth in 4 weeks or so. Maybe sooner/later.
mjsponies,
There are no stems, just short sections (3-6 inches) of small root. I expected to see little eyes, shoots or a beginning stem coming off of each section of bare root but it looks like a small underground root that was dug up and cut into short sections. Do you think these pieces of root have the potential to develop into a plant?
I purchased them from Viola Valley Wildflowers Nursery.
Mary
oh..well, I've never planted them that way before...always had a bit of the stem. If they don't root let me know, I have it.
mj
mjsponies,
If they do root, please post back here, we'd all love to be able to do it ourselves without killing a plant to find out.
maryleek, did these ever root for you ?
When doing new cuttings I snip the stem at the leaf nodes. dip in rooting hormone, and stick in vermiculite and set in a saucer with a little water in it. put in a bright but NO direct sun light place, and keep warm. Mine root here in the summer in about 7-10 days. If I'm working with a plant that has some roots but not much, I do similar except use potting mix and vermiculite/perlite mixed in. Unless the plant is really stressed, it should root.
mjsponies,
No, the roots have never produced anything above the soil surface. I bought ten root pieces and planted and not one produced a plant. I've recently purchased two P incarnata vines.
I've also purchased and been given many seeds of this vine and have yet to get one seed to germinate. Some seed I've been trying to germinate since October of 2009. I've tried various suggested ways of treating the seed, etc., but nothing.
Once my vines get some growth on them, I'll try rooting a cutting. For being a native vine, this is one difficult vine to get started (at least for me).
Mary
Once you get one going, it's downhill from then ok. They root from cuttings, from layering a vine under soil, and will spread underground as well. Leave the roots alone for the winter and they will come back up next spring.
Poetinwood,
I surely hope so (that they will come back). LOL, this has been one of my most difficult plants to get started. The two small vines I purchased are doing well. I planted them in a big pot, with a big wooden teepee trellis for them to climb on. If I could figure out how to keep them from running, I'd build a big raised bed just for them but I don't want them to get out into the rest of my very small garden area. I'd thought about maybe putting down mesh window screen or perhaps the black weed screening and then filling the raised bed box with good soil. Do you think 10 inches of soil would be deep enough? Maybe I should just try and build a raised bed around the big pot and let the pot sit down into the soil about 10 inches. This might keep the deepest part of the pot cooler during our very hot summer days. I could plant million bells or something that is everblooming through the summer in the bed around the pot, that would also help shade the pot. I so want to grow these vines for the butterflies.
Thanks for your encouragement.
Mary