A very successful rooting method...

Having heard a lot about this, I tried it...and it may become my 'new and improved method for difficult starters:

I bought some plastic trays that go UNDER the big plastic terracotta planters...drilled holes in the bottom for drainage and am using them to start difficult cuttings....including long vines/stems with no leaves. Before I took the other cuttings out of this pot...there were 6 other cuttings rooting in here...all slipped into the medium at a SLANT (not UP and DOWN). Their root systems were eNORmous...and they were very healthy!!! The long bald vine you see in the saucer is a hybrid Ted Green gave me of (I think) Macgillivrayi X Archboldiana... I lay the bald vine down ON the medium, and covered the vine where there were no nodes. NOW, I see new green growth coming from the nodes. With fingers still crossed...I think we have 'lift off'.

Cool, Carol! Keep us updated on this.
Ann

Hi Carol
Oh you must give us an update as time goes along. I have a cutting that lost all of it's leaves. It was Just the stem standing there. When the leaves started to yellow I had put a plastic bag over the top thinking it was from lack of humidity. I guess I had given up on it and now I just noticed it has roots sprouting from the sides of the stem all over, not just at the node. Do you think I should lay in down as you have and see if and when it would send out something green?

Bea

I'm going to try something similiar to this, but use moss in a blanket bag, keeping it moist and on top of my light stand. Please do keep us updated Carol.

HI...will take pictures today. YES...leaves are sprouting from that vine....it is the H. archboldiana X H. macgillivrayi I got from TedGreen. I am so happy it has growth! I did not put it in a bag...and kept the medium 'damp' not soggy....it gets good light.

Tamif what is a blanket bag? I haven't heard of that one yet.

Bea

Thanks for the information--especially on vines don't have any leaves on them. I am going to have to try this method especially on some of the hard to root plants.

Here is the promised picture of new growth...hard to see.

And here is a pot of H. limoniaca that had about 3 feet of vine and sporatic leaves....I cut off the leaves that would have been in the medium...two new growth tips....and I expect more...

I'm trying this too :-) I trimmed some leafless vines today.....

Tami's Blanket Bag or Ziplock back would do the same thing...I have a natural humidity where I usually don't need a bag...but come to think of it...maybe I shoudl use one.

Keyring...keep us in the loop in your progress!!!

Oh Carol you are so clever! Your stems really are going to grow, that is one tip I am going to keep in mind .
I have taken and laid that one I have on it's side so those roots have something to dig into. Will let you know if it sends out leaves.

Keyring be sure to let us all know how it goes too.

Thank you for the info.Just in time for a newbie like me learning how to root stems.

well it's loopy alright. lol.

I just threw some barely moist potting mix in a 3" deep clear plastic deli container and then kinda tossed a couple of cuttings in there..... we shall see. The whole thing might rot..... I put the lid on because my humidity is unstable these days, and then plopped it under the light stand. At least it won't be cold, heh heh....

You grow keyring! Just make sure and pop that lid here and there so them puppies can breath!
Ann

Carol,

I have a question for you - something I've always been curious about. I imagine since you're so much closer to the equator that your day length doesn't vary as much as ours. Do your plants root easily all year long, or do you see a dormancy period, too?

I lived on Guam back in the early '80s, which is even closer to the equator. Our days were pretty much the same, 24/7/365 - 12 hours of daylight, 12 hours of dark, 20 minutes of rain, temp up around 90-95. I grew only a few plants at that time because I knew I couldn't bring them back with me, so I wasn't trying to propogate anything. I kick myself now because I suspect that it would have been a lot easier than it is here with the long warm days, high humidity and intense sun.

Just curious...

Denise in Omaha

Basically you are right...we have little difference in daylight hours between summer and winter but there is enough difference that the plants notice it. I would say there are about 2 hours difference. We live at 800' altitude, and our nights, in winter, can go down to the upper 50s (especially with a north wind over the snows on the volcanos).

I start to use the propagation mats about now...keeping the min. temp. at 73deg. The plants slow down their growth in winter because of the light, and pick up again around February. Propagation just takes a bit longer. The real warm loving hoyas like H. imperialis just tough out the cool temps and some of the others don't mind...it is when the H. bellas, H. thailandica, H. fusca and the carnosa gang just love it!!!!

I stopped in Guam en route to Oz...mighty small island!!!!

Ain't THAT the truth, Carol! I remember when my ex and I landed on Guam... They told us, "You'll probably get 'island fever' since it's only 30 mi. long by about 7 mi. wide (at the widest)..." I never did, in spite of being there 2 years. After all... Omaha isn't much bigger than Guam and I rarely leave here!

Denise in Omaha

I think 'island fever' could happen in NYC for some people!!! I never have felt it...my world is wherever I am!

Carol

I agree can't say I ever get the fever here either.I have been here almost 25 years.Carol how big is the island that you are on? May I ask when you were making your move years ago to the islands what made you pick that island vs the others? Was it the growing conditions? Obviously your hoyas love it, even if that one in the pot is only a stem:)

Bea

Bea..it's called the Big Island or Hawaii Island. It actually is quite big (you can fit all the other islands in it), takes the better part of a day to circumnavigate it (narrow roads). Population is about 120,000. We chose HERE because there was less (almost none) tourism, industry, development. This is changing but it has a long way to go. There was only one car dealer when we came here....now there are 3! We still only have one pathetically small mall with Macys and that is fine with me!!! We like the lush green and the growing conditions for most things...the quiet, the isolation and the laid back attitude.

For instance - yesterday I went to find a woman in the Hawaiian Homelands who makes wonderful bags (purses). I forgot the instructions to her house. So I stopped and asked two men working under a van, who directed me to a phone on a chair and when they heard my conversation with DH trying to get the directions they said "OH, Luanna, we know her...you 'say to dat lady in da van take you'". The woman in the van led me to Luannas' house about a mile away. Then Luanna took me the home of a friend to pick some Elderberry leaves that work 'miracles for arthritis' when you make a tea. In only saw the legs and bellies of the guys under a van, got hugs and kisses from everyone else. These people are wonderful! And they still have time to live aloha.

ok, I am counting the chickens before I even have eggs......

I set this up on Sept 11. It looks like this from the side.

and this from the top. two cuttings swirled around. Yes, there are tiny leaves on these but they are soooooooooooo spaced apart......

This message was edited Sep 14, 2006 9:16 PM

the one that had some tiny dry root nubs is definitely responding fast.

and finally one more. .....

This is only 3 days!

Good illustration, KR!!! More and more I am believing they are happy rooting flat or at an angle.

Carol

I think I may take my piece of kerrii and try this on it..... Would have to be a bigger setup and less humidity (or more frequent venting), but I might get it to grow faster......

Cool Keyring. And thanks for the photo illustrations!!
Ann

How cool :)
I didn't even know you could root a vine with no leaves :) thanks so much for sharing this with all of us!