Got nubs...

now what?

lol.

I know that title may not be appropriate, but...y'all know what I mean.

I had 6 meat stalks on my 'Peach Parfait'...which ( I say this with cuation) after searching to see if this plant really is what it is, my googl'ing efforst took me to some websites (whose names I can not mention, or Dave will get upset) and 'Peach Parfait' ...again, according to certain websites...may actually be called 'Maya.'

I left the 1 meaty stalk on, this was the blooming, or with bud stalk, the others I cut into about 18 pieces that are about 8" long each, give or take. I have them in containers, am changing the water on a daily basis, and noticed today that they all have nubs, EVERYWHERE...I did not realize these things sent out roots that quick...holy cow!

Ok...so, I have nubs, now what?

Do I wait for the nubs to send out actual roots? Or, do I plant the nubs about 4" deep or so, sprinkle with some rooting hormone and pot them up?

Any and all information would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks,
Thom

Thom.. It's kind of late to start them this time of year unless you want to pot them up & keep them under light & heat in the winter. They will start roots very soon so don't pot them up now. If you want to keep them in water until spring put them in a 5 gal bucket & use a air pump like the kind you would for a fish tank & use a air stone in the bottom of the bucket, Keep the bucket half full of water & then plant them in the spring. The air stone & pump will keep the water fresh.
Jerry

Jerry--

I can do either way. I'm investing in a 3' tall expandable light garden. I was going to keep the small banana pups that I have under the lights, along with my variegated shell ginger. It would take up that much room to add the brugs to the light garden. I could either pot them up, and put them in the light garden, or place them in a 5gallon bucket and put that in the light garden. Not sure which one is the preferred method of doing this. This is my first year with brugs.

The cool thing, I can sell these cuttings next spring, for a heck of a lot cheaper than I bought the original, and still make a few pennies...to support my daylily and hosta habit :-)

What would you recommend?

Thanks again,
Thom

Thom, How much time do you have before the cuttings have to be taken indoors? What you do with the cuttings depends on whether you have room to overwinter potted cuttings or not. If you have the space, you don't have to wait for roots. You can pot the cuttings in 4" pots or in 16-oz plastic cups with holes punched in the bottom. Keep the soil slightly moist at all times so the roots that develop don't dry out. You could also wait until small roots develop. Once the cuttings are inside, you will have to provide a light source. Florescent lights left on for ~ 16 hours and suspended an inch or two above the growing tips will keep the new growth from getting leggy. You'll have a larger number survive winter if you don't let them go dormant.

You could also do as Jerry suggests. Since the cuttings are 8" long, 5-gal buckets are overkill. You'll need a shallower container. Something that allows you to separate and prop up the cuttings. Some DGers have gotten very creative with their set-ups. Of all the ones I remember reading about, I like the one made from a clear plastic bin. The designer cut the tops off water bottles and cut holes near the bottom of the bottles to improve circulation. A toothpick (plastic if you can find them are better than the wooden ones) is driven into the bottom of the cutting (just far enough to keep it from falling off). This keeps the cuttings off the bottom and also aides in water circulation. One cutting was placed in each bottle. Having a one cutting/one bottle set-up keeps the roots of the cuttings from entangling.

Ok...

I have a few ideas to figure out then.

I only have maybe another 2 weeks or so. The weather is progressively getting cooler, the forecast for the next week isn't to awful. But, there have been a few nights where the temp dropped into the upper 40's. So, I would safely say, about 2 weeks, and everything needs to come inside.

I like the idea of the individual containers so the roots won't get entangled. So, I will more than likely come up with some system set up like the one you mentioned!

It would be really nice to see these cuttings survive the winter.

On a side note, and I know it's not the "right" forum, I also have several pups from Alocasia and Calocasia that I am bringing in to grow. The one EE sent out side shoots that looked like leaves, but there were roots on them, so I potted them up, all 11, and they all rooted. Another EE I purchased as a "premium" annual, and it was a clump of smaller EE's, about 15 in all...they are all potted up. Then I have the 2 banana pups...oye.

I might need 2 light gardens...lol.!

Thanks again for the tips!

Thom, I'm not an expert like these others, but if I were you, I'd keep them as cuttings over the winter. The ones I got in December and rooted and then potted up under the lights did really well until they got infested with aphids. Then they lost all the leaves and I lost a bunch of the plants as well. The lights are good for some things, but these guys grow fast and then they outgrow the lights. I have 4 very large light carts that I use for coleus cuttings all winter, so I know about the light thing.

Juanita

Thom:

I have THE BEST PERFECT SOLUTION to your sudden overpopulation of plants (brugs, EE's, etc.)...find the BIGGEST box that you can and sent them all to me...LMAO!!!! Just kidding, but-WOW-way to go for a beginner. Just out of curiousity, what color are your thumbs?!?!

Jan

Jan--

Come spring time, I might have to take you up on the offer! My gardens and my deck are not nearly big enough to contain the amount of plants that I have...lol.

~Thom