I got a 14" cutting that is a bit soft feeling. I put root hormone on it and cut off leaves. Will it be okay?
Is it saveable if its soft?
Here is the top minus the leaves
Is this the cutting that you posted about in the other thread? It is hard to tell by the picture if it is dehydrated or rotted. You would know by squeezing it. I would put in on the hottest source possible and give it plenty of water and mist often if it is dehydrated. If it is rotted, you can see if there is any good wood left at the top and graft it.
I saw your other post about grafting stock on the other forum. When you use a seedling for grafting stock, you cut off the top and re-root it so you don't lose it. You have to pick a seedling that is tall enough to root the top while using the bottom. The top should be at least 6 inches tall, but 8-12 inches is preferable. If you don't want to use your seedlings as root stock, you can use any white that is a good grower. You can use other colors too. You use the bottom part for root stock and re-root the top part as a cutting. You can do this over and over once the cutting has rooted.
This is really not a good time of year to graft however. The best time is in the spring when there is active growth as Hetty said on another post.
This message was edited Sep 19, 2007 1:13 PM
I might have mentioned it but this I have never done anything to this one. if it is dehydrated, it would be soft. If it is rotted, how would I tell? it is not oozing or anything. Let me stick it on my heat mat
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Okay got it. My seedlings now are only about 1/2 inch and I really don;t know what kind they are. I only have 1 celedine that I know of plus the new one that I just got that i cut the leaves off of and grafted a part of.
If it is dehydrated, it would still feel firm but look wrinkled. If it is rotted, then it will give when you squeeze it. I see some discoloration at the base which is an indication of rot. Is this a cutting that you just planted recently? You can also feel the base below the soil to see if it feels soft.
Yes the thing gives. The base was harder but now it is soft although keeping soil dry. Should I cut it off higher and try and graft it before I lose it all? Can i yank it out of the perlite and let it dry a bit?
Is the top of it hard? Clare, can she just cut the top part --- above the rotted area and try to root it?
Yes, you can cut to clean white wood, sterilizing the knife between each cut and cut above the rot and graft the top portion. Make sure you have white wood that bleeds sap. If it there are any spots of brown in the center, keep cutting until it is pure white. The brown is rot, and you can't leave any of it, or the cutting won't take to a graft.
Teresa, yes, but what is good wood is probably only a couple of inches by the looks of it, and that would be too small to root so grafting is better. You just don't know what is good and what isn't until you start cutting. I just can't tell from her picture whether she has rot or not. Since her soil is dry, it could just be dehydrated.
SOil was moist, not dry and when I cut it, it was not brown. it was all green but i did cut high enough until I actually saw sap. it didn;t start bleeding until fairly hight on the branch.
Thanks
Flutter