Clare. I have gotten roots as fast as 7 days on some plants like Coleus, cleome and maybe a couple others. Some take as long as 2 weeks, some longer depending on the plants. Tropicman mentioned "woody stemmed" plants give him trouble, me too. I always try to take cuts of the greener/softer parts of a plant when possible. From the looks of these cuts(meaning when I got them, they were all totally wilty), I think they will go2 weeks tops before showing roots out of the bottom of the cubes. I give credit to Superthrive and Maxicrop for them perking back up and rehydrating fast. I always foliar feed them 1-2 times a day for the 1st 7-10 days w/ that solution. When I say they root in 7 days, I mean I should see little white "spikes" shooting from the bottom of the cubes. I don't consider that to be enough roots to transplant into soil.
Did you guys see the lighting in those pictures? I bought those cheap 4 foot flouresent shop lights and use agro bulbs in them. I built standing frames from cpvc and I can slide the lights up and down as needed. I always keep lights 1-2 inches above cuttings and Ideally have lights on 24/7 till rooted. I'm soo crowded now, I have those plants in my bedroom so they are getting about 14 hours of light a day.
Are you guys using any supplimental lighting? I think that gives me another advantage over you 2. If you like, i can show you how you can build the same lighting stands for around 20$ minus bulbs. You dont have to use the hi$ agro bulbs, I just happen to have them from my aquariums. The stands only take about 1 hour to make 1, you guys could probably do it faster. I'm a paraplegic in a wheelchair and that makes a lot of tasks take a tad longer, not much though! LOL
I thought I had pics of the pink frosty in there Clare. You would of thought it would be doing the best of all the plants since it had the biggest rootball and was more established. All the big leaves are very wilty still and I may have to top it off if they don't perk up soon. As long as they stay green, I'll let them lay down there a while longer.
TROPICMAN. I was certain I replied to your email, maybe not. I'm very eager for some so I'll reply again. As far as where I get most of these supplies, Hydroponics stores. Thats the ONLY place I've found the tall humidity domes, I wished they made taller 1's. I also get my rooting gel and oasis cubes there. There is only 1 hydro shop in the KC area, it's Green Circle Hydroponics in Overland Park. I believe Witchita has many more hydro shops than here.
http://www.greencirclegardencenter.com/
They have a small site and you can browse there to see what I'm using. I've been expiramenting with hydroponics/aeroponics and aquaponics. We have tons of tropicals we have to bring inside every fall, this year I took a tropical hibiscus tree and have in connected to 1 of my fish aquariums. I'm using a small, syphon like "auto waterer" to suck water from the fish into the pot. I never have to water it and its the best looking hibiscus out of the 4-5 we have indoors. There are places that use huge containers of fish(Tilapia, species of African Cichlids) thet they raise for food. They also have huge beds of lava rock like grow medium(grow rocks made for hydroponics) that they pump all the fish water/waste into the beds of rock and grow tropical greens in. This 1 place is in Branson. This systems has zero waste, they feed the fish, the fish via poop feeds the plants and the growrocks full of plants filter the fish tanks. The fish grow fast and are sold locally as a nice white fish for food and also provide several greens for the same use. Someday when I have enough room, I'm going to do this on a smaller scale.
Hydroponics is done much the same way except we have to supply the fertilizer for the plants. I've made several small hydro units and have had incredible results. You can literally grow anything in them and the growth rate is several fold faster than soil. If you look closely at different hydro systems, you can copy them for fractions of the brand name systems. If your interested, I can teach you how to start. It's literally too easy.
I've seen that mushy/hollow stem thing happen in several applications. Usually tweaking around w/ it, you can make it work. I think it would work excellent in you buckets if you took the humidity dome like off and added the airstone. That mushy stem is usualy a result of too much humidity. I don't know for sure either, I've read a few different explanations for it. I think it's all in playing with it until you get desired results. BTW, via adding that airstone, you are already doing hydroponics called "Deep water culture". I have some instructions and examples in the hydroponics forum if your interested.
I sure hope I covered all the questions you guys asked. If not, remind me please. Right now, you guys make it sound as if I'm the expert here! LOL I'll be needing your help when it comes to Brugs and Datura's. The only Datura I have is from seed my nieghbor, he called it "Moon Flower" and I had no idea it was a Datura until meeting you guys. Now I want as many Dat's as I can find! BTW, I have millions of the white moon flower bush seeds free, just ask.
I'm going to need some advice on amending my soil in the yard as soon as I test it. I wanted to have the local exstension office do it but I'm told it takes 2-3 weeks for results.
Can you guys recomend a brand/type of soil test kits? If not, I'd planned on just picking 1 up at Home depot or lowe's. I'm betting Tropicman can help me best there since our soil types must be similar, both being from Kansas and all. PLEASE ADVISE;)
Well I'm off to the grocery store darnit, I hate that place. Atleast it's nextdoor to Lowe's so it's not all bad.
I'll talk w/ ya'll soon, JD
This Is a Test,from the ....
http://davesgarden.com/t/407774/
http://davesgarden.com/t/407350/
Here are 2 places I wrote up simple hydro plans in interested.
Hi JD,
I definitely admire your enthusiasm and your energy and your ability to work in your wheelchair. Thanks for offering to show me how to set up the lights, but I'm afraid I have no room for such a set up, and I don't really need them. Since I'm in Zone 10, most of my plants can live outside for most of the winter. I do nearly all of my rooting outside in the spring and summer, and hubby prefers it that way. This was just an experiment for the winter, and boy did I hear the complaining! LOL! I don't think anything will be brought inside next winter:-)
As for hydroponics, I've heard wonderful things about it. Someday, when I have more time, I'll look into it in a little more depth.
I grow Daturas too and love them. Many people do call them "Moonflowers" still, but that is confusing because the vine Ipomoea alba is also called Moonflowers. I've included a picture of one of my Daturas below.
Gosh, JD, something terrible must have happened to your package because you said it looked as if it had been sat on. The cuttings were wrapped with moist, even wet, papertowels. Don said his cuttings were perfect with very little wilting, but he got his in two days, and you got yours in three days. I wonder if your package was subjected to extreme heat or cold or something. The Charles Grimaldi and the Frosty Pink cuttings should have bounced back in a day or two because they are well-rooted. Feel free to remove all of the leaves, if necessary, because they will grow back. You can also top off the cuttings, and they should respond well to that. When I have a Brugmansia cutting that I don't like the shape of, I can cut it off at the base, and the roots will send up a new shoot, which usually grows straight up for several feet. This should only be done with a very well-rooted and established plant. Remember that next year if you want to change it's shape. Anyway, I feel just terrible that they arrived in poor condition like that. I won't send out any more unrooted cuttings from now on. I couldn't afford to send them overnight because shipping costs would have been about triple what they were.
Edited to add: I would just use a soil test from HD. They also sell soil ammendments which are good. They should sell Peat Moss and dried manure as well.
This message was edited Mar 15, 2004 6:03 PM
Clare.
The Grimaldi and pink bower are in excellent condition. Both are growing new leaves. Don't be hard on yourself, I know for a fact those cuts sat in a freezing truck or wharehouse. I've had these problems in the past. In summer, the plants cook if not overnighted. Winter is usually ok, I think this is well worth our while and I'd welcome more someday. But it's my turn 1st!;). The frosty pink is bouncing back, it looks better every day. On sending Passiflora's, I'd try to keep as many leaves as possible on them and only take cuttings from the soft green tips if possible. I've found the more "woody" like stems are much harder to root fyi. I must have said something wrong in describing all that, the above pics show everyone looking good I thought. I didn't shoot the frosty pink since I felt it's condition was bad on my end! LOL I was embarrased. I'd pay you to send me more just the same although rooted is always best. Do you have any datura seeds to spare? You guys have me hooked bigtime on these plants.
I can't thankyou enough for all you've done.
Goodnight all, JD
JD, How do you know for a fact that the cuttings sat in a freezer truck or warehouse? Were the moist/wet papertowels frozen or really cold? I don't see how the cuttings could live through that, and I don't think the U.S.P.S. should be freezing people's packages. I may make a complaint with my local office.
I'm glad that some of the things I sent you are doing well. I thought the pictures looked good too, I just felt bad because you mentioned several times that the cuttings looked wilted and terrible coming out of the box. You said, "I know this looks like hell but up close they look so much better than when I opened the box." You said that it looked like someone had sat on the box but that the cuttings didnt appear to be affected. Well, as I said before, this is just a fun experiment. I'm trying to root them on this end also, and I think I will have better luck in the summer.
I don't think I sent you any hardwood or woody Passiflora cuttings. I don't think I have any Passifloras which have hardwood stems. They should have all been green tip cuttings or cuttings near the tip. The white Brugmansia Suaveolens cuttings were probably woody, but those root easily in water or soil and actually do better than green cuttings. Green Brugmansia cuttings rot fairly easily. Here's a link on rooting Brugmansia cuttings: http://www.americanbrugmansia-daturasociety.org/brugcut.htm
I can't send overnight mail because it usually runs between $25-$30, and I can't afford that. I've never had a problem with Priority Mail before because it usually takes only two days.
You don't have to send me any plants. My garden is too crowded as it is, but I would like to try those Oasis cubes you talked about. If you can send me a couple of squares, that would be great.
My Passifloras have been cut back now as far as I dare, and most of them are putting on buds. I'm afraid I won't be sending out any more packages for awhile. Your package was the last one for the year. The cutting, labeling, packaging, and mailing is time-consuming, and I've got to focus on other things for awhile. I'm sure Rootdoctor and other members here will help you get whatever you are looking for.
This message was edited Mar 15, 2004 11:22 PM
Clare, I sure hope I didn't offend you, I'm very greatful and happy to be a part of this. I must have had my wires crossed bigtime and/or need to re read my posts before submitting.
I have a couple doctor appt.'s today so I have to run for now. I will email you later to further explain myself and praise YOU!
New revision in the works: Clare I did single out you and your methods and I didn't mean to. I used words that directed everything to you and I was trying to address OUR experimenting. I will be much more careful in the future. I'm editing this post to reflect what I was trying to say. I sometimes forget to "engage my brain before opening my mouth" as my father always said. I call my mistake "A case of acute dumbassness" coupled with my pain medications.
I have 1 more Doctor appt. now. I'll get back with you when I get home.
This message was edited Mar 16, 2004 2:29 PM
JD, Don't worry, you didn't offend me, and you don't need to praise me or explain yourself. I understand that you were not happy with the conditions of the cuttings when they arrived, and that is okay. We are cool:-)
I was actually through trading for this year before you joined Dave's, and I posted that on my Home Page, but I made an exception for you. Tropicman and I agreed on this recent trade a long time ago so we completed that one at the same time that I sent yours. I get email requests for stuff all the time, and unfortunately, I just can't do it. It is definitely fun to share plants, but it is time-consuming and expensive, and it is sometimes stressful.
My garden is so full that right now more plants just look like more work to me. It's time for me to pull back and focus on some other things in my life which need my time and attention. This is a wonderful hobby and wonderful therapy, and I will always retreat to my garden when I can. Anyway, spring and summer are coming, and that means less time at the computer and more time in the sun.
I look forward to sharing our rooting results!
Have a great day!
WOW Clare. It's 35F here right now and the only green in sight is parts of the lawn and the daffodils. Here you are wrapping up and we're dying to get started. Someday I'll get into a zone 10, I hope.
Just 1 more statement and I'll leave all of this alone except for sending some stuff to you. I was a little discouraged when I got into the cut box. That had nothing to do with ANYTHING you did or did not do nor the quality of your plants. I was and am like at kid a Christmas, blessed w/ a box of suprises. I hope you'll get to know me well enough so you can understand what I'm trying to say and not what I said.
Man I understand what a hassle it is to label up and package plants and cuttings, I don't think many other people do. It all adds up real fast, buy bubble wrap here, buy a box there, spend a day preparing/labeling then racing to the post office just to spend more money. I do not have the words to describe how honored I am just to have recieved your babies nor the words to describe how small and sickened I felt when you thought I was complaining. I'll leave it at that and on with the expiramenting and documenting our results.
The pink bower looks like I bought it from the nursery, it's perfect. The Charles Grimaldi has grown several new leaves and is a few nodes taller already, I've had to raise the hieght of the light over it twice. The frosty pink's big leaves are still a little droopy, but they aren't showing any signs of trouble. I'm thinking if it keeps improving like it is, I won't loose a leaf.
The 3 Brugmansia Suaveolens are in different locations, 1 is in the tray with the Passiflora and shows signs of new growth at every node. The other 2 cuts are in my fish aquarium filter box. Picture them in a cup of water except the water is changing automatically and constantly with aquarium water that is circulating so much, it's at the maximum level of saturated O2 that water can hold. I put them in an actual cup at 1st and they tipped over for about 12 hours of nothing. They will root as you said, I can't wait to see if it's faster in the fish water or a cup. Hopefully the aquarium water doesn't contain too many nutrients for a cutting. All the cuts in the dome are doing well except for a few that didn't have any leaves left on the stems. A few is 2-3 of the cuts and I don't remember which 1's right now.
This pic is out of focus but you can see the new growth already on the Brug. Suaveolens. This 1 is in the dome w/ the Passifloras
A better view
If you have a photo program to zoom in on these, you can see P. Morifolia and P. Alata with new growth tips. If they only had roots!
Can you believe the new growth on Charles Grimaldi and Pink Bower? 2-3 inches easy.
I'm trying to get close ups of the cut stems with now leaves, you can see TINY but new leaves sticking out of each node. I can't seem to get them focused.
Here are the cuts I spoke of above. If I had 1 of my image enhancers, I could sharpen it up I bet. I'll keep trying.
Thanks again Clare;) Jeff
Hi JD! Thank you for the kind words. I know you weren't disappointed with me, and all is well:-) You are most welcome, and I am happy to help out a fellow gardener.
I have to run out the door right now and will return three or four hours, and I will read your other posts and look at the pictures then.
Hugs:-)
Wow, great pictures, Jeff. You really did a lot of work getting them all into their new homes. I'm very impressed with how fast they are growing under your care. You do have a lot of bare stems, but I've had cuttings root that had no leaves or that had dropped their leaves. Hopefully, they will grow some quickly.
The Brug cuttings will love the nutrients that you are providing. Brugmansias are very heavy feeders, and the more fertilizer that you provide them, the more they will flower for you. Brugmansia enthusiasts often fertilize their brugs with a balanced fertilizer twice a week in the growing season, but I don't fertilize that much. I probably fertilize once every other week, and I use fish emulsion, Superthrive, and Epsom salts as supplements. Some of them tend to bloom in cycles. Have you been over to Dave's Brugmansia Forum yet? Check out their pictures! Some of the colors and shapes are awesome.
Thanks again for sharing your pictures. I've got nothing new to report as I have not removed the plastic cover for more than a week now, but they still look good through the plastic!
LOL! I'm not ready to wrap it up quite yet. We've had a few days in the high 70's and low 80's, and I've been doing some pruning and spending more time in the garden, but I'll check in in the evenings to see what's happening when I can. I'm just getting so behind on some of my other responsibilities that I've got to spend less time on the computer!
Talk to you later!
I have a question friends. You know how passiflora incarnata dies off every winter and pops back up in spring? Well I'm wondering if these 2 pots I have that had live Passiflora's in them until the wife stored them w/ no light could come back when conditions are better. They have been stored inside all winter and the temps never went below 65F where they were kept. Do you think they could come back from root stock(if that's what the roots are called) like the maypops do? I almost through them out until I thought of that.
Any ideas or opinions?
Thanks, JD
JD, I have no experience with P. incarnata, but from what I heard, it is fairly hardy and hard to kill. I would definitely set it outside in the spring to see if it comes back for you.
Jeff,did the roots dry out completely?
Tropicman & Clare
I don't think the roots dried out. What little looking I did, I found pliable roots. I wished they were P. Incarnata! Those babies survive our brutal winters with no problem, I was very suprised.
WOW! Rootdoctor just left my house, he left me with 6-7 rooted Brugs and soo many different seeds. Looks like I'm in the Passiflora and Brug market! LOL I didn't even know what a darn Brug was til I met you all. THANKYOU.
Jeff
Wow, that is great, Jeff. Rootdoctor is a really cool guy. It looks like you are set and ready for the spring:-)
My P. Belottii is in bloom today. The fragrance is enough to lift any spirit.
I'm thinking if it was were still pliable/flexibe, it would have to have some moisture in it. No i don't think they dried out, I'm going to watch it and see. Just curious, wouldn't those conditions be somewhat like a Tropical winter? I don't even know if that season exists.LOL.
One of my favorite passifloras, Clare. Mine in the house is budding now. Can't wait for spring and some real good growth and flowering.
As I was taking plants out of the greenhouse to start the hardening off process,look what I found blooming.
Belotti has been blooming for the past couple weeks but not incense.
Shirley, your house must smell wonderful with your Passifloras and Brugmansias blooming. P. Belotti is one of my favorites too.
Neat picture, Don. Those epiphyllum leaves look pretty healthy too. I'm still waiting on my epi cuttings to do something. They are just sitting there. I am really starting to like Epi's more and more because you can grow them in a hanging basket and forget about about them -- until they flower, of course.
Jeff, I would definitely hang on to it and see if it will come back for you. Do you know which Passiflora it is?
Clare they do get big even in 10 inch baskets,these are hanging down 4ft or better.
Wow, neat, Don! They do like to sprawl, don't they. Today, I noticed some very small growth starting at the nodes:-)
Well stand back and lookout,where you live won't take the 4 yrs that mine took to grow,and they get heavy too!
I can't wait! I have a couple of different colors in a basket.
I know this is a Christmas cactus, but I want to aim for this effect if I can:
Well you'll do it too!
My white one has 4 flower buds on it now,maybe tomorrow or saturday it will bloom again.I met a lady,who said she had over 40 blooms on hers at one time,if you could imagine the fragrance that had to put out,mine take your breath away with just 4 when you walk into the sunroom!
Oh, Don, you simply must take pictures when they bloom. I need a flower fix:-)
Maybe this will hold you over for a day or two,I think this flush of flowers are about half the size as normal,never had it flower four times in one year before.
Thanks, Don:-) Now, that's what I call a good bloomer!
Good news on the Passiflora front. I have all of my Passiflora cuttings in the glass jar of water in the blue bucket as can be seen above, and I have left them outside on my covered patio. Well, today I checked on them, and they are all green! This is definitely a good sign. I hope to see some sign of roots in a couple of weeks. How are yours looking, Don?
Clare, no brugs blooming, but Belottii will be opening soon. I have really enjoyed watching this thread. So much information here. Thanks everyone.
Hi Clare,
I have one putting on new leaves,I think its Ruby glow,the rest are still green but not doing anything.
I think it has a lot to do with the mode the plant is in when you take the cuttings,if it is putting on new growth,it probably will root easier,because it is in the mode to grow.
Heya friends.
Just checking in and wanting to add some clone photo's for the cutting experiments. Mom has the camera right now for my nieces soccer game, I want it back so I can show what everything looks like at the end of week 1. No roots yet but substantial leaf growth. I'll get this done asap.
Tropicman. You hit the nail on the head w/ the time of taking cuttings. The ideal time imo is also when they are in vegitative growth mode opposed to flowering growth. Flowering growth doesn't totally shift until the solar equinox takes place and the days start getting shorter.
Clare, I have a box of goodies ready to close up and send your way. I'll get on it asap, thanks for your patients and gratuity.
I'll drop by later w/ some photo's I hope;)
JD
Don, I think JD is right that you've nailed it exactly. That must be why it is easier to root them in spring -- because they are in a growth mode! Yes, that looks like Ruby Glow in the picture. Ruby is the only one with the square stem, and it doesn't flower until the fall.
JD, I can't wait to see more pictures! I am looking forward to my box of goodies. That is really sweet of you. There is no hurry because I'm not going anywhere!
YAAAHOOOOO! I have roots on 1 of the cuttings as of this morning!!! Sadly they aren't where I wanted to see them, but atleast I know it's working. The roots are barely ABOVE the Oasis cube shooting from the stem into the cube!LOL go figure. I think it's day 8 or 9, I've gotten roots that fast w/ other plants but never with Passiflora. So far I've only lost 2 of the cuts and they were stems w/ no leaves. Oddly enough, there are several others that are bare stems and they're doing fine and growing very very small leaves in the crotch of each node. The 1 thats showing roots only has part of 1 big leaf. I have never had any luck w/ bare stems on any kind of plants before, I sure would like to know how/why. The only thing I did differently was 1, I changed brands of rooting gel and 2, I didn't place any vermiculite in the floor of the tray like I usually do. I still think I should add some vermiculite to hold moisture and give the roots a place to reach for after they emerge from the bottom of the cubes. HMMMMM
I'm going to my mom's to get the camera back! LOL You'll see some tonight.
Jeff
OH BTW. I've had people tell me that what I think is P. Incarnata is not. I've had it for years and nobody has ever said that, I wouldn't be upset if I am wrong. It would mean there is another strain of Passiflora out there I can leave outside over winter! That would be great. Will you guys please give me your opinions? Thanks
This is the same flower with it's fruit incase that will help in the ID..
JD, Congratulations! Which Passiflora is producing some roots? I have always removed the leaves before rooting, but I usually try to leave one or two at the very top. I have been told to tear the top leaves in half if they are large so that energy will go toward producing roots instead of toward maintaining the leaves. Even if I leave on a leaf or two, it usually drops in time. I'm so glad that you are getting some roots.
A very long time ago I took a cutting of a Passiflora from Walmart. (I don't do that any more because my husband says that it's stealing! Well, I don't think they will arrest me over a cutting, but I guess that's not the point.) Anyway, the cutting did root and grew and grew and two years later it is huge and has flowered. I didn't know what it was then, but I know now it is Passiflora Belottii.
I'm sorry I don't recognize your Passiflora, Jeff. It sure is pretty though. Here is a good web site for finding an identification: http://www.hewo.nl/Thumbnails.html
Jeff,
It does look like P. Incarnata to me: http://www.hewo.nl/passiflora%20species/incarnata%20Lorayne.JPG
1st to root, P.Amethystina
