Our club president grows the best everything from streps to AVs. I was complaining that I couldn't keep my baby streps in 21/2" square from getting too wet when wicking. She said that she keeps both her leaves and babies wicked on capillary matting until they were big enough to go into a 3" standard or 31'2" pot . Then she moved them to permanest trays for wicking.
I am so excited to learn this and am going to spend all day tomorrow 're-doing' all my streps just like she said. I do fine with the 3 and 4" pots on the grids wicking.......just the small ones have a hard time wicking on the grids...........back to the capillary mats until they get lucky enough to be potted up in bigger pots.
Learned something very important!
That is great, Gail. The best thing about gardening is how we can learn new things to try. I love to learn.
Thanks for the info Gail. I'm finding the smaller ones are staying too wet also.Nice tip.
She even uses capillary matting on the leaves she has stuck as it raises the humidity level (and she wicks the pots even for leaves)
I stopped wicking a few months ago because my plants seemed to be taking up too much water and were staying too wet. I have always used lots and lots of perlite in my mix for every plant I grow so I'm not sure what was going on. I like those self watering ceramic type AV pots, they seem to work well but when I was using wicks everything stayed way too wet.
Hi girls,
I have a question.
when you do leaf cutting, do you plant them in potting mix and perlite or just perlite? what is the best way to do them?
I have done both but prefer the potting mix with lots of perlite mixed in.
I have always used 1/3 soil less mix, 1/3 perlite and 1/3 vermiculite, but I saw Brenda's new babies in 2/3 perlite and 1/3 vermiculite! I am going to copy her and see what happens. She did say that you sometimes have to mist the leaves even under the dome,though.
I Love this place..I just learned something new again! I am going to try that capillary matting with my next leaves ..Excited to try it!
She wins all the prizes at the local and state level with her growing. I decided to copy what she is doing and never look back. It makes sense to me why my little pots of streps aren't as happy as they should be!
Thank you.
Don't you find that the vermiculite makes the mix too heavy? I can't do anything right with it.:o(
Thank you for the info. I will try the mix when I do my leaves.
I quit using vermiculite in my mix last year. I think that vermiculite helps retain water and I know perlite helps with drainage so I thought it was a bit contradictory using both. I guess if you could get the quantities in the mix right it would work but I just didn't see any difference that it was making so I stopped buying it.
Brenda indicated that she is forced to use vermiculite as the perlite alone just couldn't hold enough moisture for the newly stuck leaves.
I have good luck using a little soil -less mix with the perlite and vermiculite........even just using a little African Violet soil=less mix..........or Pro mix or whatever you have.......but not a lot of it...........
i use vermiculite, pearlite & potting soil for everything. I also keep my baby streps on wicking mat rather than on pots until they are big enough to go to the pot.i do use stright pearlite for strep leaves as it works best for me, althou i did use spag. moss once or twice in a baggie for streps & it did work.
bmrsbonnie
Although I have all my leaves planted in every kind of mix (LOL).........I have been taking all the small streps this morning and putting in trays with capillary matting. This will be boring for everyone except strep addicts like me!
Some of the stuck leaves don't have capillary matting yet, but they will before the day is over.
more leaves that still need capillary matting
moved all the small streps from wicking in permanest trays to capillary matting
More small streps onto matting
I think that they will be so much happier and grow better when I can keep them from getting too wet during this early stage.
I have worked my buns off this morning
I am so anxious to see the difference in healthy growth.
I am trying the mid sized streps on individual reservoirs.
A few more mid sized streps
These are the leaves and plants still in their pot from sticking........have to pot them up in regular soil today...........
Happy Time is just blooming away in her leaf pot (LOL)
Looks Awesome Gail!
Boy, what alot of work you have been doing but they look SO wonderful!
I'm thinking that maybe I better try this new method too. Thank you for sharing it as I have been struggling between Texas Style potting and just individual wicking and have problems with Texas Style not wetting some of the pots so I think this might be a better method. I already have matting down, I just need to put little wicks in each cup.......oh goodness........maybe I better wait for the next rainy day *lol*
Kim
I think I need a good nap before I pot up those streps (LOL)
My, My, My ... haven't you been the busy little gessie bee today! Wow! That is a LOT of work. Gail, I want to know what type of vitamins you take! Really! I just can't imagine all that tedious work but Wow, your plants truly show the care you give them. Everything is just beautiful! I might just have to order some of those permanest trays from Parks seed and some of the capillary mat stuff (where do you get that?) and try that method on some plants! It sure would help keep things on an even keel and from drying out so quickly. I quit wicking - didn't like those reservoir pots at all, I was constantly knocking them off the stands and plants, dirt and water would fly everywhere!
Great Job!
Lin, I don't need vitamins when it comes to plants! You ought to see my house from company this past weekend. I am just now finishing up the last load of sheets and towels (and they are not on the beds and in the bathrooms yet) (LOL)
I only have energy for my plants. Lin, you don't need as much capillary matting as I do. I ordered mine from Cape Cod Violets but it comes in 5 yards and you don't need that. There is some old used matting in your box that you can get at Walmart or just use felt from the dime store. It is the same thing, but I do love my permanest trays from Parks.
This is really the easy way to go and not knock over everything........I have all my sinningias in the trays with capillary matting, also.
See how easy it is to root sinningias with a dome. One has already started blooming and they have only been rooting for less than two weeks.
before you ask me again about the vitamins, take a look where plants have come before housework! (LOL)
Company left Sunday afternoon......today is Wednesday and this is where I am with housework.
Folding required (LOL)
Have one more load in the washing machine........going in the dryer next and I am through
Gesseigail, great job!!!
I have never used wicking. It looks to complicated.
I noticed that you don't cover the leaf cuttings with a dome. Do they root well without it? Should i uncover mine? Do you have to water them much? Do you spray the leaves?
Gail, in the post 5230056 you showed a photo of some streps. Which one is the one in the far left? The flowers look like a light plum colour.
It is beautiful!
Spider,
Starting at the very left side is a seedling I grew from seeds from Iced Pink Flamingo...........those are old blooms as she has normally a white throat.
Beside her is the purple and white Night Beacon.
In the back is the brightest most beautiful hot color of Raspberry Truffles.
The lighter on the right is a purple and white called Shenandoah's Sugar Plum.
Gessiegail,
they are all gorgeous.
I took some photos of mine but now i have to convince my son to post them for me. He got a new camera and i am not comfortable with it yet.
I have a new camera and all I know how to do is use the little flower for closeups and automatic!!!!!!!! I haven't even taken the time to watch the two CDs that came with the camera (LOL)
Oh, tell your son we really, really want to see your pictures! You can tell him we said "pretty please". I hope he will post them for you.
Do you just put the memory card into your modem?
Hi girls,
Photos posted on the July thread.
Yeah.........I will head that direction now!