Cuttings Help

I bought a selinicereus chroscardium and this E. oxypellatum was a hitchhiker in the basket. Long story short neither plant was doing well so I separated and re-potted. The selenicereus is doing quite well now but the E.oxy never really recovered.

It was really going downhill and I checked it last night and the roots were goners. I cut off the healthy parts and I hope to be able to root them. Since I know very little about this type of plant, I have a few questions.

Can I root the cuttings as they are or should they be trimmed further in some way?

On one of the cuttings some of the plant has shriveled and died (circled in yellow), is this cutting a lost cause or can I cut off the dead part and try to root the rest?

What is a good medium to root them in, perlite, potting mix, etc?

You can cut off the dead and damaged part. Just let the cutting harden off about a week or more before you plant them, then keep the soil lightly moist but not soggy. I just use regular potting soil. Later after the root give them a richer soil, remember that they grow in leaf mold in on trees.

Sandy

Since both of the bad spots appear to be on the same cutting, you might want to either isolate it from the others, or trash it....just to be on the safe side.

It appears that the brown on the tip of the leaves was caused by sunburn. Our sunroom is all glass and sometimes the intensity of the sun burns the leaves. The reddish leaf appears to be sunburn also. The epi oxy likes the shade and is susceptible to sunburn if it gets too much sun.

Mine loves the full sun, but the younger leaves do tends to get burn. And they will turn red if left in the sun. You can also root them in water. Once you have establish roots, then you can plant them in dirt.

i have found with mine that any section of the leaf will root as long as it has a section of the main stem or vein in it. i have taken leaves that were a foot long and cut them into three 4" sections and rooted all of them. you can root them in a glass of water in a sunny window, you can add rooting solution to it if you like but its not necessary. you can also root them in soil if you like. once again with or without hormones. just make sure there is at east 1" of leaf above the soil/water line.

Michael

I rooted mine in just a little bit of ater. They have been there since the winter!! They are doing well. I have to plant them now that it is Spring. Yay!!

I would never have thought you could root epis in water - live and learn.

These cuttings, from the same plant, were recently given to me. I haved no idea which variety they might be. The long one is about 15" and the little guy is about 3". Do I need to cut off the dried ariel roots on the larger one or the little callused stem on the baby one?

I have found that it is easier to root those with the bit of callused stem, and they seem to bloom sooner. Just my opinion, but I would dip them in rooting hormone and poke them in the medium the way they are. You will have to stake the long one to keep it stable.

Carol

thanks, i'll try that.

I've rooted many plants in water and have Pothos that's been growing in a vase of water for a long, long time but I've never tried rooting Epiphyllum in water ... will have to give it a try. Usually after rooting plants in water I have trouble when I move them to soil, those thin watery roots just seem to have a difficult time acclimating to soil.

ardesia: I agree with OCCAROL: I wouldn't cut them, just pot them up in a well draining mix and place them in a bright but shady spot and they should be fine. I always let succulent type cuttings lay out a few days for the cut end to callous over before potting them up.

I have seen them rooted in water, but they were mature stems. I've never tried it myself, so I can't recomend it.

I have always rooted my epi in water. I usually don't even let a callus harden. I just cut off a portion of leaf and drop it in a glass. It tends to form two sets of roots. A large mass under water and smaller air roots above water. Once the air roots are growing the cutting can live there. I have had cuttings in water for six monthes before putting them in soil. I think my plant has a great will to live.

On the other hand I have also been rooting them in soil as of late. The only difference I have noticed is that the water rooted ones spend all thier time growing roots while the soil rooted ones spend more time growing new leaves.

Because epis want to be root bound before they bloom it is my opinion that it is best to concentrate on root growth before leaf growth. I like my epis in big pots so it's a lot longer before I see blooms but the greator volume is worth it.

Michael