PLANT PROPAGATION.....THE BASICS III

I am rambling JB thread seemed quiet so I thought I would ask about any propagation and ideas anyone might have going , just wondering kind of thing , sorry for confusing , I seem to do that once in a while....
YES IT IS 15 degrees here ,awaiting snow tonight and tomorrow , did plant some Centurea that germinated in the fridge and the cat grass oats are sprouting .
Mixing some indole acetic acid for plant cell elongation , acts as a growth hormone ......easy grow house plants seem to like or react well to that...some of the young seedlings also seem to react well to that , i will see as time goes on As soon as i stopped using my natural mix fungicide ,mold has appeared on some of my plant efforts.. . ..

Try cinnamon, that's been working for me.

Pam

I had forgotten that , thank you , in water ,or dry powder? I had been using some basil waters ,with an antibiotic amino that I have forgotten ,until I look it up again..(time to organize some files)
My mind sometimes .oh goodness ...
That little white parasitic mold gets into or on to every thing this time of year ,, Stiff can eat a plant pretty fast if you have ever sat and watched ,, and at one time or another I imagine all have ,, that or bugs ,, always something...

I remember something about sprinkling cinnamon on seeds ?
Maybe our host AmandaEsq will join in and say what she uses too, Thanks again ,

I keep it in a shaker and sprinkle it on top after planting or potting up. No mold, no damping off, no gnats. I also use peroxide 1:10 with all the water I use to moisten the planting mix and to water.

Pam, have you ever used cinnamon when you plant seeds? I use it on plants too.

Ju, Mix neems oil and dishwasher liquid soap like dawn or even a hand soap I guess would work, in water and spray the mealy bug. The pots and soil also. If you do not keep after them they will take over all your plants. I used to spray alcohol, but I found that some plants do not like that. The neems oil works best for me.

Nice to see you Pam. Stick around. Have a great day.

Hi Pam I had never heard of the cinnamon treatment. I will try it, how much do I use. My neighbor also has the gnat problem and we have been using the peroxide. I will tell her about it also. Jeez JB you didn't tell me this one, :) Huggs, Lee

Sorry Lee, I just started using it and I mix some in with my starting powder when I plant my cuttings. Not too much, no one every told me how much, maybe Pam can give us some measurements. Later.

Lee, I thought we had everybody on here using the vinegar for gnats. Vinegar draws them. Peroxide works but you have to spray it directly on them. jen

I have just been adding to my water that I water them with, wrong again. Really???? cinnamon really works???? Wow Huggs Lee

I use peroxide in water to keep the water clear and the cuttings stay nice and fresh. I never used it for bugs. Interesting, suppose you could.

I just do a light sprinkle from a salt shaker on top of the soil after planting. After a while, maybe weeks or months later, if I see one gnat I sprinkle everything again. A couple of weeks ago I even sprinkled the inside of my little propagator which was starting to smell musty... I washed it out well first, then dried it and sprinkled the bottom. Fresh as a daisy...

According to the peroxide website, using it straight or in high concentrations acts as a weed killer. I do 10:1.

Thanks, JB, I've been lurking, still learning from you all...

Pam

Oh Pam, don't lurk, join us, we always learn from one another. I wish you could meet Dave, the great. He has been our leader since I came here several years ago, Talk about knowledge, he certainly has it, I hope he can come back soon, The family hasn't been well, so guess he took time off, this is almost like a job for him, except we haven't paid him yet :)

I do have a question tho, were you talking about the cinnamon or peroxide in your last post? I know it is dumb ol'e me, but ------ consider the age :) :) :) Huggs, Lee

Oh, honey, I don't relate to numbers when it comes to aaaaage!!! LOL...

Sorry my post wasn't more specific...

The sprinkles are of cinnamon. The peroxide is diluted in water, 10:1.

I followed this thread a couple of years ago when I started on DG, and Dave was still very active on it. I remember him well. I learned a ton here, then I guess lost track, got distracted, whatever. Lately I found it and have been following it again. Dave was in a fair amount of pain then, I'm sorry to hear its gotten worse. I'm also sorry to hear his wife hasn't been well...

Well then, welcome back! Maybe if we get enough of the "old" people back Dave will visit just to say a hello. Sounds like you started about when I did, and I also, have learned so darn much and made good friends, Huggs, Lee

Thanks! I don't think I've been around long enough to qualify as one of the 'old' people... There are some major experts here, as I'm sure you know. But I did read way back into the old threads... It was like getting a graduate degree. There's always more to learn, though... The more you know, the more you know what you don't know, or something like that. I have many more successes now, but plenty of disappointments, too.

Don't know if any of you belong to the National Gardening site, but I copied this from today's report. I know a lot of you know about this but maybe it will be new to some. there was a nice picture with it and it didn't come thru. Will see if I can find it. Jen


Cuttings root quickly in this easy-to-make propagation pot.
Easy Houseplant Propagation

When wintery weather keeps me indoors, I can still satisfy my need to garden by taking cuttings from my indoor plants. Many houseplants are easy to root in water, but I like to make a special propagation pot for my indoor project.

Making a Rooting Pot

You'll need a medium-size plastic pot with drainage holes, a 2 1/2-inch clay pot, some vermiculite, a paper towel, and a small cork or a glob of florist's clay.

Line the bottom of the plastic pot with the paper towel; then fill the pot with vermiculite. Plug the bottom of the clay pot with the cork or florist's clay.

Push the plugged clay pot into the center of the vermiculite, so the rim of the pot sticks up just a bit above the vermiculite. The clay pot will serve as a water well to keep the vermiculite moist. Thoroughly wet the vermiculite and fill the clay pot with water. As the vermiculite loses moisture, it will be instantly replaced, provided you remember to keep that center pot filled with water.



Take Cuttings
Find a growing point where there are young, new leaves, and make your cutting 3 or 4 inches back from that tip. Cut about one-half inch below a node -- the area where the petiole (leaf stem) or leaf blade joins the main stem. Remove any lower leaves from your cutting that might be buried in the vermiculite. Buried leaves will rot and ruin your cutting.

Push the cutting into the moist vermiculite so the node is just below the surface. The node is an area of actively dividing cells and new roots will form at this point.

When you've finished placing several cuttings into your propagation pot, set it in a bright spot near a window. In 2-3 weeks you should see some new growth. Check to see if the cuttings are rooted by gently pulling up on them. If you feel resistance, you'll know they have rooted. Carefully scoop them out of the vermiculite and transplant them into small containers of potting soil. That's all there is to it!

I think this would work well with African Violet leaves JB...

Thanks for sharing Jeanette... I have been doing something similar for a while now and this does work really well. Nancy

I need leaves to make it work. I have not had time to find any. Will soon get organized here but just now, it is really busy. Just finished working in the greenhouse and I think all is organized and replanted there now. I need to do some replanting in the house but I think I will wait until Spring and give them some more time to grow. The early cuttings in the GH are having a difficult time just now because of the constant change in temperatures. One day it is freezing outside and in the GH it is 50 or 60 deg. and next day the sun is shining and it is over 90 deg. in there. It is difficult to water or to even guess if they should be watered with that kind of temp. change.
SEnd me some leaves.

I could send you some Devil's Wing Begonia JB. Cuttings that is. I could even try to root them for you. If you want to wait I could send both at the same time. I have not tried to root it that way, but don't know why it wouldn't. It is the same kind as the Angel's wing. If you want them, then I will look to see if I have any thing else.

Nancy, why wouldn't this work if you put coir in it instead of vermiculite?

I think I have some bricks of coir down stairs. I also have a bag of vermiculite I haven't even opened yet. Just curious about the coir. Where do you buy plugs? Corks? I suppose at the hardware store.

Wonder if I could put vermiculite on one side and coir on the other. Would the little water pot get confused? :0)

no, Jen, thanks, I was talking about African violets. Sorry for the confusion.

I used some coir last year and this year. I'm not so crazy about it. I think it may get too heavy and soggy. Some of my seeds I started Deno method- damp paper towel in a baggy. When I saw the little radicals I planted them in coir and they never came up. I'm trying vermiculite now, as a top layer over seed starting mix and to cover the seeds, depending on how much they need to be covered. I usually use a 4" pot for this step. Once they get up and have a couple of leaves, I give them their own cells or pots, depending how fast they are going to grow.

For that, I used coir as a top 1/2" over potting mix and right around the root. I wanted to give the tiny roots something lighter than regular mix to start with, but richer soil for later.The plants are growing well, but a white crust forms on top of the soil. It doesn't seem to do any harm, but I stir it up when I see it and sprinkle more cinnamon on it. You can see it particularly on the Platys in the pic. It's not fuzzy like fungus, but somewhat similar.

Pam, what is that big leafed plant up in the corner on the left hand side? Jen


edidted to add:

I meant to say that those Platys look good. I grew some, but they bloom so late in the season that it is just about to freeze when they bloom. They are so pretty. They look like a very waxy petal.

This message was edited Feb 6, 2013 7:02 PM

The big leaf is an orchid. I've never been able to get one to re-bloom here, it's a very dark apartment. I thought maybe being under the lights might work. When the babies need the room, out it goes. Actually, orchids do very well here. Because of the low light they bloom for months.

I was amazed at how well the couple of Platys I tried last year did. They were blooming in mid-summer before we went away, and when we came back in late September some were still going. So of course now I want dozens everywhere in every color!

Here is a couple from today.
I have some larger of the flowers in the first pic I just did not get a picture today , . the tomato is same from the pic previously

JBerger.
Have you checked Walmart for African Violets. They usually sell them during winter. At least they used to. I have grown plants from AV leaves. It is a slow process.

As far as any bugs, I use Malathion. First I spray the plant with water, especially the underside of leaves. That will take care of lot of them. Then let dry. Mix, then spray Malathion on the plant. I place the plant in an open plastic bag while holding the pot, then spray. Close the bag around the plant. This will make sure you get every inche of the plant and air to kill bug. Leave the plant in the bag over night. It is not a one time fix. Eggs may not be affected so another spray the following week should get them all. Adult are already dead. Malathion stinks so if you can do it in a garage, etc. I use it for every bug inside or out.

If it is scale, you can scrape them off with a knife, careful not to hurt the leaf. They remain in place all their life, laying eggs.

Thanks so much. I appreciate your help. I will check out Walmart. Also, I found that AV are also marked with a PP number if they are patented. Many places do not mark their plants much less tell you they are patented. I have to be so careful because of selling on eBay. I do not want to loose my State License by getting caught for selling patented plants.

JBerger,
You are welcome. Any plant that is marked with a PP number is registered to the hybridizer so ofcourse you can't sell it without the owners permission. That means that they would want a cut in $$. Any plant that don't have the PP number you are free to duplicate and sell, unless it states otherwise on the label.

I am not sure the state would do anything. However, the original owner of the PP plant could and would sue you for what they consider loss of revenue ($).

Have you considered hybridizing (cross) 2 different AV for the seeds. Then you can sell those seedlings to your heart's content and even register them after they bloomed. Just a thought.

The hysterical part of this is that I CAN NOT PROPAGATE AV. For some reason they do not like me, they rot before they root, they never bloom, they just hate me. I have decided since I am now 84 and all grown up, I may just want to give it another try and what a challenge it will be because I can grow almost anything from cuttings but not seeds. That is another crazy thing, I can not grow plants from seeds. I overwater I am sure. But, I have decided I am going to conquer these two little set backs this year. Starting with seeds from a star magnolia I had in the refrig for three months (just like the book says). I planted them last week. Now it is time to think about the AV. So here I am and I have no clue where to begin except to first find out which ones can I grow and sell. I hate wasting time and not having an outlet for the babies.
I have jasmine that I have propagated and sold for years. I have gardenias, begonias, black pussy willows, holiday cactus, orchid cactus but no AV. This is the year for them. Thanks for your help. I may just consider beginning with starting one of my own. ☺

JB, have you googled them? You should be able to find a place to buy them, and a place to discuss them, how to grow and propagate them.

I love the hat/scarf you made for your daughter. Wish you had posted a picture of the hat. I never did find the site to look at Teresa's hats on Etsy?

Jen

Whoops wrong thread. With the hat and scarf. Sorry, Jen

JBerger,
Here is a website that may help you in sowing. The only change I would recommend is that since AV seeds are tiny, they should be surface sown. I use a clear deli container filled with damp peatmoss (if it is too coarse rub the peat around in your palms.) Then scatter the seeds in the peatmoss and lightly tamp it down. When they have germinated and large enough to handle, just move the peatmoss/seedlings to a container with seedling mix
OR
follow the instruction in the link below. You can do it. You just need to know how.

http://nadeausafricanvioletseeds.com/Instructions_for_sowing_seeds.html

This message was edited Feb 8, 2013 8:05 PM

JBerger,
Google germinate african violet seeds and you will get plenty of info. It is how I found the link.

Here is one hybridizing AV

http://www.rachelsreflections.org/hybridizing.htm

You are all set now. I used to grow AV years ago. Strangely, it was the only plant Mom could grow and have it bloom, bless her soul.



This message was edited Feb 8, 2013 10:29 PM

Great pictures on that site. Too bad those seeds are so small, I would not be able to deal with that since I only have one eye and that one is now beginning to fade. I just may give it a try since I am one stubborn old lady. Thanks. JB

JB, don't worry about sowing those seeds one at a time. I think Park Seeds show that they have about 50 seeds per pack. I wouldn't try to sow them all at once, but instead of sowing one at a time, just sow, sprinkle, some in one pot.

Think there was a way someone suggested one time about using a salt shaker and having the seeds mixed with some very fine sand. Then just shake it over a pot. Spray with a fine mist of water, then cover it with a piece of saran wrap. Put it in a light window and wait for them to germinate. When you can see them with your one eye, then they probably are ready to move to separate pots.

Here's a larger Centaurea;

How long before you can plant them outside JU?

End of May? About that it usually is .. Feels like forever from now...

Imagine how I feel, my date for tender annuals is June 1. But by then the perennials will be long gone from the house, at least I'll have some things to plant out earlier.

Blomma.... I have a question related to your earlier post about the bugs... you mentioned spraying the AV leaves with water (especially the undersides). I have always heard that you should avoid getting the leaves wet when you water them. Does this cause any issues for you? Just curious... I don't grow AV anymore... but I used to have 3 gorgeous AV's in my kitchen garden window... but they have since died and I haven't tried again. I often had problems with those little tiny white bugs... I think they are 'foliar mealybugs'.... and I would just take a q-tip and brush them off... I read that dipping a q-tip in alcohol and wiping them off would work... but boy is that tedious work! -:) Your thoughts? Nancy