Please NO more slimy water!!

How to keep the water from getting slimy when you are trying to root cuttings??
I thought that I read somewhere that you could put Clorox in the water to keep it from getting stinky and slimy, but I don't remember how much per gallon of water.
Can someone tell me the amounts to use, or how to keep the water clear and clean a little longer?
TIA

Mollybee,
I change it daily or at least every day or 2..
larkie

Thanks Larkie, But I was hoping to avoid the daily changes. When you have soo many cuttings and so many containers....that everyday changing gets a little much.
(This info is for my mom by the way, not myself. So I'm trying to make it easier on her)

MOLLYBEE, I can tell you from my experience, cuttings like coleus really need the water changed daily, or they will turn into a slimy mess. I would imagine just a few drops of Chlorox might work, but have not tried that. With my Brug cuttings, I leave them near the kitchen sink; they root so fast the low light is not a problem, and it is handy to change water. Maybe some of what your Mom is rooting would be easier for her in vermiculite or something? John

Actually John she is rooting a bunch of Brug cuttings, and I had found out that she could just keep them in water until spring time and they would be fine. So far so good on keeping them alive and well, just the smell of the stinky water is all that seems to be the problem. I have mine in the kitchen also and I really don't change the water in mine, I just add more when they need it. They really don't smell that much only when I have to add the water. Other than that you'd never know they were in water at all. But Mom's are different I guess, she don't really have the room in the kitchen so her's is not close enough to the sink like our's.
I think I am going to tell her to try about 1tsp of bleach in the bucket of water and see how that goes. Guess I better have enough cuttings to back her up in case they crock! LOL
Thanks!

I can't find my note book right now, so I don't have a "recipe". but you can start daylily seeds in water with peroxide, and grow them in the liquid until the sprouts are 3 or so inches tall.
The point of the peroxide is to keep the water from going bad and to avoid bacterial growth.
I think that would be a "healthier" mix to have your cuttings in.
I got in a panic over my lost notes, and tore through the house. Found it, what a relief!
Use 15 parts peroxide to 1000 parts water.
Use distilled or demineralized water, otherwise it will break down quicker by reacting with metals or organics in regular water.
It should keep you stink free for quite a while. Just make sure to rinse all the slime off the cuttings first.

So that would be how much per gallon? This sounds like something I myself might need to try too. I was never good at Math LOL So how can I figure the recipe on a gallon basis?
Thanks Soooo much!

I was hoping you wouldn't ask, LOL
The recipe is metric, 15ml to 1 liter. 1 liter is 1000ml so that is how I came up with the 15/1000.
I'm Swedish and never could learn the measures over here, but one gallon is just under 4 liters, and 15ml is the same as a table spoon. So just under 4 table spoons to a gallon. I don't think it is that picky. 4TBS/gallon should be fine.

Hehe, I did the math and came up with 4 TB to a gallon, but thought that sounded like WAY too much peroxide! Math is NOT my thing!! So, apparently that is the correct amount. My daylily seeds germinate so easily the usual way, I never tried the peroxide method. So, then, 1 TB to a quart should work for smaller batches. I wonder about the roots on the Brugs becoming too long and tangled though, but maybe in GA they will get planted out much sooner than here in NJ? I should have some backup Brugs too, MOLLYBEE! John

Thanks to you both. This will be a big help to Mom and I both. I had heard of this method for Daylilies but never thought of trying it on cuttings. I learn something new here everyday!
Hey John, Can I ask you a quick question? As you said the Brug roots on my cuttings are very long and full, on the other hand my Mother's doesn't seem to be getting roots at all. She says they are getting green leaves but no roots. Just the white knobs where the roots usually come out at. I suggested to her that she go ahead and plant them up since she is keeping them warm on the porch. Is this normal for them to have leaves before roots??

MOLLYBEE, usually I leave them in water for a week, then they usually have the pre-root nubbies, or sometimes real roots. At that point I pot them up, and leaves follow then! I guess they could have leaves first, but that was not my experience. You might want to ask the Brug people, but I imagine potting-up would be the way to go. Oh, are these going right into the ground outside, or will they remain in pots? I usually go from small pots under lights, to 1 gallon size, to 3 gallon size where they remain. Space is so limited here, that I use 3 g as being the smallest size that they are likely to bloom in! John

That is pretty much how I was told to treat them when I got my first cuttings from tiG. But since then in talking to Stormy19 she says that leaving them in water all winter wont hurt them at all. Soooo I am kinda torn on what to do here. I really don't have the room for pots, and keeping them in the bowls is about all the space I can get for now. I have several cuttings in the same bowl as where if I planted them up, I would have waaaayyyy tooo many pots.
I did tell my Mother that she should go ahead and try planting some of her's since she has a little more room than I do. So we'll see how it grows form here.
Thanks for the help John!

Good luck, MOLLYBEE! Will be watching for photos of your Brugs later on. John

Thanks! *Ü*