I'm not sure where the best place to put this is, so I am trying this first. A friend, Karen in Illinois, has grown an unusual kind of datura and needs your expert advice on how to get it to root. Here is the email she sent me. I will send her whatever responses I get.
Thank you so much,
Carmen
I have an unusual datura. I am in need of advice from someone who has successfully started purple flowered datura from cuttings. Purple flowered types like 'black currant swirl' and 'double purple' datura seem much harder to root than inoxia, the white flowered type. I failed on 5 cuttings. I sent 12 cuttings to a plant co. and their professional has had nearly all die and ALL FAILED TO ROOT.
At the bottom of this is the methods that have failed thus far. Do you see anything else that should have been tried? The plant co. said unless this could be rooted it's chances were "grim" They did however leave the door open if I had any ideas. That's where you come in! I'd also like to hear a success story from someone who kept a datura inside their house during a long
(zone 5 ) winter and hopefully that it lived thru AND grew more for cuttings. I have a heater pad 70- 90 F and a 35 W fluorescent light on my datura but I wish I'd used real potting soil instead of loamy garden soil when I transplanted it from the the garden into
my house....( I didn't think I'd be in for the long haul but now I need more cuttings.) If you have any suggestions on soil preparation/improvement without major shock/root disturbance LMK. How about air-layering? I see the how to's at a website with brugs. I see here at Dave's Garden lists it can work with Missouri marble. Has anyone actually tried it with datura? Do I
follow the brug advice for datura?
Speaking of' Missouri Marble'. Am I right to assume it can't be done from cuttings as it was tissue cultured at Terranova? ??? If you have access to good data, actual experience,or know someone who did do share. If your thoughts are based on a guess not real experience please clarify that in your post.thx SO MUCH for your help! :) Karen
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Here is what the plant co has tried--
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"There are currently only 2 plants with signs of life.
We tried 4 groups of 3 cuttings each in:
Standard propagation mix-Sunshine #1, cuttings dipped in Dip'n Grow (double strength)
Standard propagation mix-Sunshine #1, cuttings dipped in Hormodin 2 Performa liners, cuttings dipped in Dip'n Grow (double
strength)
Performa liners, cuttings dipped in Hormodin 2
The 2 surviving cuttings were both in Performa, Hormodin 2."
This message was edited Nov 1, 2006 11:13 PM
Rooting Daturas
you can post it on the datura forum Pins. I would also email Tonny and see if he has any advice. its just so much easier to start from seeds then root these.
is she planning to bring it in overwinter in hopes it will produce seeds??
i have overwintered one in the house before and it survived.
I didn't realize there was a Datura forum. Thanks for the advice. I just posted there.
Karen has sent cuttings to a person who has determined that hers in unique in some way. But, the cuttings are dying. I'll ask her if she intends to overwinter them. Is that very difficult?
wintering isnt hard if the plant is rooted but to get it to root is hard then it will be hard to winter. some people have luck and others dont. i dont do rootings because its so hard to. the one i did have root i had put rootone on and in a warm spot but it is hard but can be done. rootings are a 50 50 chance.