Hi all,
I so rarely post here that I'm almost embarrassed to impose. I say almost, because I know enough to know when I need some good advice. And that would come from here... :-)
I have 6 cuttings that I rooted in a clear plastic cup and the roots are doing GREAT. However, only 2 of the cuttings have produced stems and leaves. I rooted them all at the same time (Thanksgiving) and they just went to town making gorgeous, fat roots. But then, nothing on 4 of them. Is there such a thing as planting them upside down? If I take them from the dirt and cut off the dry, upper part with no roots and "flip" them, will they survive?
Should I go ahead and transplant the 2 that have produced new stems? They look really healthy and strong. What about fertilizer?
Here's a link to my original post way back when. Just in case you want the back story.
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/554624/
I followed all the advice given me but now I need some more guidance.
If you've read this far, THANK YOU! :-)
LoraB
Lots of roots, now what?
Well Lora, I for one am mad you hardly ever post here. Just kidding! But you posted way back in Nov!!! I impose here all the time, so you can too. People here are so nice, they let you chat about anything and always willing to help. So please feel welcome to jump in daily!!!
I have no clue what happens when you plant them upside down. Can you look at the nodes on the ones with leaves and compare them to the ones without leaves. See if they are going in the same direction!
I would think you would get suckers coming up if you planted it upside down. Do you have a camera to take some pictures?
Why don't you take one and flip it? Or cut it off at the soil and then turn it around and try rooting the new piece. Then you still have the one rooted.
Are these all from your Mom's original plant? I am so glad you got 2 growing well for you!
The other thing is maybe they are waiting for spring to get here to take off. They are in soil now? Have your fertilized them?
Hi kell,
Thanks for the reply. And trust me, you don't want my clueless self jumping in on anything! :-) These are from mom's original plant. But not the one I had posted about originally. I felt that one was still too small and tender to cut from. My stepdad spent Tksgiving with us (our 1st w/out mom) and he brought with him some cutting he took from the giant in their front yard.
I've not fertilized any of the cuttings. What should I use and at what strength? I'm going to take a picture now and download it tonight after the kids go to bed.
LoraB.
You can slide you finger up and down cutting . One way it goes easier then the other .
The easy way should be up .
Does that make scene ?
Makes sense to me Tony! I will try it tomorrow! I usually tell by the little lip where the growth first emerges from the node.
I bet the holidays were very painful for you, Lora. I understand it does get better with time. I hope so.
We all are clueless at some time or another, so do not be shy!
I've been using the leaf scar as a guide to determine which way is up. New growth emerges from above an old leaf scar. I have about 4 cuttings that rooted back in November, but haven't put out any new growth yet so I fertilized them today with half strength Miracle Grow to see if that would encourage them to send out new growth.
Well, I ran my finger up and down the cutting and couldn't tell a difference. It seemed very smooth in both directions to me.
I took some photos to show. And tomorrow AM, am going to fertilize.
Thanks,
Lora B.
Here's another view.
OH NO Lora, you are nodeless!! LOL. See how your first one has put up a sucker from below the soil line? That one has a node under the soil line that has sprouted that sucker.
I wonder if the 3 that are just sitting there have no nodes below the soil line as well as none above it. In that case, I do not know where they sprout their new stems from. I have never run across that problem. On my cuttings I automatically make sure I have nodes. I have a feeling they will just sit there doing nothing till they die. Though I am not sure since I have never experienced this myself.
I went out in the freezing to take pics just now of some nodes just for you! And I just happened to see a pretty nodey one first off, LOL!
See all the nodes and the little growth spurs starting?
Here is a close up.
AH HA!!! I'm nodeless! and clueless! :-)
So that explains it. Thank you.
I went back and checked closer now that I see what to look for and there's definately no nodes visible. That's too bad. I was so excited about those healthy looking roots.
Should I just throw them out into my compost bed and give them up for lost?
And should I go ahead and transplant the other 2 into bigger pots ahead of spring?
If you are going to keep the other 2 warm and not drown them, I would pot up in a loose soil. Just do not overwater when you pot up. Keep on dry side till roots fill out a bit and spring is more here.
Well on the other 2......................... I would keep them a bit just to see if they will sucker. Or you could take them out of pot and see if they have any nodes below soil line. I think, though not sure, it is possible they may put a sucker out a at the very base of the cutting. But do not hold your breath.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh I am sorry too, for I know this is a special brugmansia.
oops! Misunderstood something and question/advice doesn't apply.
I wish you luck with them, I hate to see a good brug gone bad.
Heather
This message was edited Feb 18, 2006 6:54 AM
LoraB,
This is just my 2 cents worth, I am not saying the advise Kell gave you is wrong. On the two that have already made new growth, I personally would let them grow a little more in the cups you have them in until they fill up with more roots and then pot them up.
And giving them some fertilizer like you plan to do, is good too. I would give them a little bit of 1/2 strength fertilizer every 2 or 3 weeks until you can get them outside.
Kell's advice is good, but like she said, you will have to make sure they are kept warm and not too wet or you could risk losing them to root rot. I am in zone 6 too, so spring is still a good ways off for the both of us. That is why I would let them develop more roots. More roots and more foliage would help ensure that the roots won't rot when you pot them up.
On the cuttings that do not have any nodes, I would be patient with them. They have made roots, so they are alive. It is hard to tell when and where a sprout will appear, but I say they will put up a shoot sooner or later, just don't keep them too wet.
I have grown a mock orange shrub before from just a piece of the root, no leaf nodes, no nothing, just a piece of the root. I just kept a small section of the root above soil level. It eventually put out a shoot from the section of root that was above soil level and is growing just fine now.
JMHO
Puter restarted from automatic updates and had a double post. LOL
This message was edited Feb 18, 2006 3:28 AM
Hi again.
I've nothing to report. However, just wanted to tell you that after I fertilized the cuttings, the 2 with leaves looked so perky and happy!
I do have another question however.
Since the other 4 cutting are nodeless, would surgery help them sprout stems? Like making a small incision somewhere close to the soil line and giving a stem a place to exit?
Does that make sense?
Thanks again
LoraB.
LOL LoraB, try it on one. What is there to lose? But I have never heard of that working but then I have never heard it doesn't work either. LOL
I can't wait to see if your nodeless cuttings do sprout. You must keep us informed.
Lora,
I hope they are doing well for you. I would like to throw a little story at you.
Last December I moved from Zone 10b to 8B. I cut about 25 pieces from my Frosty Pink and put them all into 3 gallon shared pots. At the end of December I put them all into the ground at the new place. Every one of them had roots.
Now, over the next 2-3 months we had several freezes. The ground doesn't freeze but anything above can. In between freezes, all these rooted cuttings kept trying to put out new growth and they did pretty good.
The last freeze of the year was in the 3rd week in March. Any growth these babies had made was foiled. I waited another 3 weeks to see any activity. None, so I broke all the stalks off at ground level and said a prayer.
2 days ago my son was going to mow our newly seeded yard/dirt patch. I moved some of the other plants that were in the way and I found 5 sprouts coming out of the ground for these brugs. No nodes, no stick above ground.
Moral of story, where there's roots, there is life. Be patient and wait. They'll be there.
Molly
:^)))
Well, I'm still being patient! :-) The 2 that produced leaves have been repotted and are doing well. i've been putting them outside on warm days and then bringing them back in at night.
As for the other 4, well... They still have healthy roots and are still in the original cups. I think I'm going to take a leap and repot and fertilize them and see what happens.
If you're interested in the outcome, I'll keep y'all posted.
Thanks,
Lora B.
An added thought: I know I'm still new at this so don't laugh TOO loud at my questions, OK?
What if I repotted them on their side? Would maybe a root get confused and become a stem?
On second though, you can laugh however you want. Rereading that sounds ridiculous.
This message was edited May 1, 2006 4:34 PM
Lora,
I would just put them in the bigger pots the same way they were in the little ones.
Understand, once you give them more root space, that's what they are going to do is grow more roots.
I missed it, where are you keeping them? Is it warm outside yet?
Molly
:^)))
I know this post is 100 years old, but how did it end? Did your node-less cuttings ever sprout?
I've just started a few I bought as cuttings from a flea market, and now wonder if I should have checked for nodes before handing over the cash!
I'm a Brug beginner too.....
Hi Mary.
No. They never did anything. I ended up tossing them eventually. But the 2 that did sprout are now giants and beautiful!
Keep an eye on the brug board and maybe someone will be offering cuttings.
I can send you a couple later on in the fall if you want.
LoraB.