I just received a few new cuttings and I really don't know whether to start them now with no heat other that what is in the house or just keep them until spring and start them then. Any suggestions would be welcome. I wish I had a green house..... but don't we all.
Kim
New cuttings
Hi Kim, Another plumie newbie here too. I was brave and started a cutting in early Sept where I live. No greenhouse, instead I bought a heat mat for about $25 to put it on and moved a fluorescent desk lamp over to it to provide enough light (did buy a light meter too for about the same). I made a humidity dome for it out of a cut-off soda bottle and I check the moisture level of the potting mix (used C&S mix amended with perlite). I've been told to just leave it be for a while, being a dwarf plumie it most likely won't be rooted until next month. I'll leave it on the mat through the winter. I was afraid my cutting wouldn't last through the winter for spring planting.
Kim, I agree with Beverly that it is best to start cutting right away while they are still fresh and hydrated and reasonably nonstressed. I bought my little mini-greenhouse for $9, and I put some heat mats in it. It stays very warm inside, which is just what cuttings need to root. Check your local Big Lots or big box stores for a mini-greenhouse if you want one. If you only have a few, you can put them outside on the hot sidewalk or cement driveway during the day and bring them in at night and put them on the water heater or gas stove top.
Our hot water heaters are in a closet. I have thought that I might put them in there with a light and turn it on for a while every day. How long should I leave the light on? It is so cool here today. We lived with 100* + all summer and I am not complainging even though it is only 49*. I have the three plumera that I have inside. How long will it be before they start to shed their leaves?
Thank you both for the thoughts. I appreciated them very much. Have a good day and stay safe.
Kim
Kim, you could put a Metal Halide light in there and leave it on for 12-14 hours a day, but the natural sunlight during the day would probably be best if you can manage it. It was 48 here last night also. My plumerias outside start to shed their leaves when temps drop below 50, but it is a slow drop of a yellow leaf here and there. The most drop will occur in the low 40's/high 30's. When a plumie has dropped all of its leaves, it has usually entered dormancy. Very little to no water should be given during this time.
Clare, I saw you wrote to put the cuttings on a gas stove top to keep warm. I just got a new range less than a year ago- no pilot lights, no warmth either. I think that's true of all gas ranges and cooktops nowadays. And the compressor on my new fridge (redid entire kitchen last year) runs only once a day. I think most of us will have to buy heat mats.
I will have to get a heat mat. Any suggestions? I realy want to try getting some to root. The cuttings that I have were sent to me from my cousin in Hawaii so I realy want them to root and bloom someday. Thanks everyone for the help.
Kim
I didn't know that. Thanks for letting me know. I guess my stove must be an old one. Here are some heat mat choices: http://www.growerssolution.com/page/GS/CTGY/heatmats and http://www.safehomeproducts.com/shp2/es/gro-mat.asp and http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw/102-6740378-7424143?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=heat+mat
Thanks Clare I will look into these today.
Carol, I wish I had pilot lights for some things (like bread dough rising or melting butter), and on the other hand, the kitchen is a lot cooler without pilot lights and with the fridge compressor running so little. So it goes.
I bought mine on eBay from Sunset Hydroponics, he has a real store in NY, and doesn't charge shipping. I bought my light meter from him too. I highly recommend him - toll-free number, street address, not a fly by night operation at all.
If you have a water heater in a closet, you might want to check the temp, it might be good for the plumie or something else you are trying to root. years ago while a grad student at Stanford and DH was a post-doc there, we could only afford to live about 30 miles from school so going in on weekends was a big deal. DH is a microbiologist, so he took his agar plates and cultures home to incubate in the closet with the water heater, because it was body temp in there. His experiments went 7 days a week! Instead of metal halide light, you might look into Ott-Lites, which have the full-spectrum of natural daylight, for use in the closet.
Beverly, we're just renters here so the appliances came with the place. Having those pilot lights keep the stove top warm is handy sometimes for sure. Talk about handy...that is so neat that your DH is a microbiologist! I've heard about those Ott-Lites. They sound neat!
Carol, you're lucky you got the appliances, my folks had to buy theirs when they rented in LA.
The Ott-Lites I bought initially for crafts but decided to put them to better use growing the plants over the winter. I read that Ott invented stuff for Disney studios, like the Ott-Lite to grow a pumpkin under fast so the animators could draw it and create the scene in Cinderella where the pumpkin turns into her coach.
Yep, DH is a microbiologist, I am an immunologist, can't take my experiments home to sit on the hot water heater !
We've rented here in different places for 20-plus years and never had to buy appliances. Now, who is Carol? ;-)
Big Lots sells good heat pads for 7.50 some of mine are five years old and still work great regards Paul PS five years ago the cost was 5.50
OMG, I am so sorry, I wasn't looking as I was typing this morning and thought I had typed in Clare!
Wonder if it's different in Ventura County vs LA County or elsewhere, when I lived in San Mateo and Orange Counties, I didn't have to buy them either. But everyone in LA County, at least 20-30 years ago, had to. We found it peculiar coming from NYC where everyone rents and no renter ever buys an appliance.
Phicks, are those heating pads for aches and pains or heat mats for seed germination?
LOL, Beverly. It's okay, really. You did it on 11/2 and 11/3 so I thought I would rib you about it! LOL!
I think those kind of heating pads will work too, but I'm not sure if they are more expensive or less expensive to run. There also might be a fire hazard problem to consider if they are not meant to come in contact with water.
I was completely shocked when I moved to the LA area in 98 that I had to buy appliances... refrig, gas stove etc. When I moved, I did not need them and did not have time to sell them so I left them... they got a real deal!
Tammie