Last fall I had a branch from my Sally Moragne break off. It had three branches with one branch having two tips. It was about 30" tall. I didn't want to root it over the winter because I thought it would rot if it stayed too wet and it was cold. I don't keep my greenhouse that warm. On very cold nights I try to keep it above 40 degrees.
I stuck the cutting upright on a shelf behind some other other containers I had in front. I didn't realize it at the time but about two to three inches of the cutting was sitting in a plastic bag that I had some other things in that I just left on the shelf. I just shoved the cutting in a free space without looking. Well, the bag was kind of pushed against the cutting. We had an unusually cool spring and between that and some projects in the yard my wife wanted done, I was slow taking my plants out of the greenhouse.
I finally got around to potting this cutting today and when I went to get it, it was then I realized it was sitting in a plastic bag. To my suprise, the cutting had roots.
The more I think about it, with the cutting being in a plastic bag and the greenhouse being much warmer than the outside in the spring, the plastic bag intensified the heat and there was just the right amount of moisture (which was not noticeable) to trigger the rooting. Wouldn't it be sort of like starting seeds between two damp paper towels?
Now I want to see if I can duplicate this situation. I am going to try taking some cuttings on my older and less expensive plumerias. I will let you know if I have any success.
It just astonished me that here you are when you are rooting a cutting, you want to be so careful to balance the moisture and the heat and you want just the right blend of rooting mix, and in this situation the darn thing rooted from neglect.
This message was edited May 9, 2007 10:52 PM
Unusual Rooting Experience
It is always a nice surprise when cuttings root in spite of you or me! Thanks for sharing this info.