I've never had much luck rooting green tips but now have one that I really don't want to lose.
What's the best way to root it? She's about 4 inches long and the top looks great but about 2 inches down she feels really soft.
Can anybody help me?
Thanks,
jen
Rooting green tips
I wish I could help you.Green cuttings do not do well for me. I am sure someone will be along soon .
If it's already feeling soft, that sure doesn't sound good. I have rooted tiny cuttings with Rapid Rooter plugs and then I put them in a tiny "incubator" by using 2 clear plastic cups. I used clay balls to hold the rooter plug upright.. I was able to root a 2" cutting this way twice!
if i put it in the fridge, should i leave it in the pot/soil that I put it in? I did dip the stem in to a rooting hormone.
Thanks for all of the ideas!
I did put it in there, so hopefully i'll see a change!
What is a rapid rooter and please, more info on the clay balls?
I love this forum. Thank you's to both ZZ and gordo for great tips rooting green cuttings. Mine always rot!
Tussee
Gordo I have a silly question for you. What does putting the potted green tip in the fridge help to get it rooted?
:) Donna
Sad to say, it only prolonged the poor girls death. Yes, I have killed a Rubirosa. I don't think it gets any worse than that, lol
Gordo where can you get the Rhizopon? No one on ebay is selling it.
:) Donna
Rapid Rooter plugs and the clay balls are sold at the hydroponics store. I only use the clay balls to hold it from tipping over. I also use them in the bubbler, so they are not necessary really, I just had them handy.
The plugs are really small, I wouldn't buy them just for rooting cuttings. I had them for starting seeds... otherwise, I wouldn't have even thought of it. I doubt this method warrants purchasing them.
It was just my two cents. :)
I just found a supplier in Canada. Just sent an email asking the price.
I agreed with everyone about green tip rooting on brugs. By my experience some of those proven to be challenging. Not unless they have sufficient snubs on them such as certain virgorous pink brug. I've tried two 4" cuttings of Sang. and it didn't take.
My current experiment with a yellow brug's small branch that accidentally broke off the mother's plant. Note the flower is intact. Lo & behold; while it's forming nubs, the flower is trying to open.
The leaves were getting dehydrated; so I created a temporary 'dome' to hold the humidity. It worked. This is how it looks this morning. Off with the dome, the leaves are on their own. When trying to root your brugs in water, remember to change out the water every few days. Some will drop some hydrogen peroxide (few drops) into the water to keep it fresh longer. I just mark my calandar to remind myself of the water change regimen. I'll keep you posted if this cutting makes it, or not.
One of the things the frige may have done is slow down the bacteria/fungii that kill the little guys. That's what you're really battling. Two different ways to perhaps accomplish the same thing are
1) Chammomile tea in a spray bottle. It naturally kills the fungus & bacteria that attacks the cuttings. Use the 100% natural kind, no extra ingredients, and boil enough water to brew 1 quart with a teabag until it cools. I water with it initially and spray very lightly every day or two (humidity dome or plastic covering is a must for these little cuttings). I also lightly mist the top of the soil and the inside of the dome to keep it closer to sterile.
2) Perfect drainage. Air is actually the best killer of the fungii/bacteria, and sharp drainage is what gives you the air that the roots need to survive. Choose or make a mix that is very, very high in porosity, such as perlite/vermiculite/and 1/2 portion of peat moss. Some have had good success with 100% perlite. No organic or soil type ingredients, it must be sterile or close to it. You can get away with the peat because of it's natural aseptic properties.
Very bright light, no direct sun at all. Just a little bottom heat speeds it up if you can keep the near sterile conditions mentioned above.
I sure agree with Gordo that the Rhizopon (get the AA #3) rooting hormone is the best for these little brug cuttings. I got mine from the Wilbur Ellis Company in Auburn, Wa.
Lily since it's an experiment you probably don't care much, but if you really want that cutting to make it you should snip that flower off fast. Plain water doesn't have near enough nutrients for that much flower growth, so it just sucks it all out of the cutting. It really reduces your chances of success. :)
- Tom
Great info, Tom! I still haven't heard back from the Canada seller that I had found.
Tom;
Your advice is well taken. It's filled with the love of gardening and desires to see others succeed. Unlike others that get online and tried to advertise for a product or something. The mentioned cutting is well on its way. The flower grew about an inch, then tried to open but quickly got wilted. Luckily, the cutting itself continues to thrive. I now can see 'nubs' formation, and I'm getting ready to pot it with some root-stimulator hormone. :-)
Here is its original bloom (from the parent's plant), an unknown yellow/orange brug.
Thanks Tom, gardeners like yourself makes DG's a great place to visit.
Hopefully with all the info here I'll have a better chance with the next green tip cutting. Just hated to lose one that special.
I can almost feel your lost. I traded a cutting of Plumeria for two green tip cuttings of Sang. brug with a fellow DGer from Ca. this early summer. My plumeria was rooted, hers bid me bye bye. I seldomly failed with my rooting before. So I can relate with the lost.
Today's the little cutting that I posted above; it's making progress. I took the 'dome' which helps to keep the humidity off the cutting to get the pic. then still need to replace it afterward.
You can clearly see the 'snubs' formation at the base...
