part II on basic how to propagation based on my experience

Oh yea that is a nice thought. I have enjoyed our back yard . we have a covered patio that lets me just sit out and listen to the sounds. I love it

That would be the life...

Dave, I see you are a zone 6. What kind of tropicals can you grow outside? Jeanette

Cannas, we have to bring in everyone else. I have gingers, banannas, palms, hibiscus and some others. I just make sure I have everyone inside before it gets way too cold. But we get a warm season from (mid march-april thru october/november) everyone is still outside and happy campers. How about you do you do any tropicals or do you treat them all as annuals? I will be digging my sweet potato vine later this month so I can get more of them next year. I also have 36 cells of swt potato vine rooting out.

Ok Dave, talk to me about sp vines. I am digging mine now and taking cuttings also. Wow, that's a lot of cuttings. 36. What part do you take? What all kinds do you have? I don't have many, just a blackie, a black heart shape leaf, a tri-color, a green, and have to look. A few more.

Am really interested in how to do it 'cause this is my first year with them. One of the DGers in Iowa sent me several along with some edibles. LOL, they didn't do very good. I didn't have a very good place to plant them and also got them in pretty late.

Jeanette

Thanks Dave for your reply. Been out of town to answer back. That figues I'd pick the harder ones to start with! I have taken 6 or 7 cuttings of each type of plant. The gardenia and the Leyland Cypress are the only 2 that look really good. The others have all their leaves turning brown. I put all my cuttings in a large plastic bin ( I believe there were pics in "part I" thread) with the other bin on top. I mist them once a day as I work so I can't get out there until the evenings. Actually, the Leyland Cypress looks just like I cut them today. I will not give up on them then. You mentioned 8 months on boxwood. Did it keep it's leaves for you to know it was still atleast alive? If they had lost all their leaves, how'd you know they were still good? Thanks for all this wonderful information! Now, I'll go and finish reading the thread and catch up.

Cuttings first. yes my boxwood kept all its leaves so i figuired whats the harm in leaving them. If I am curious I give a gentle tug on the cutting if it resists then I know all is well and its trying to root if i feel no resistence then I proceed further. I look for one that seems to show absolutly no life and tug on it, usually it comes out and either has threads where the roots have died or its just turned brown/black and hollow on the bottom, which means it has rotted. I have started using an over the counter fungicide called Daconil. It works on a bunch of fungii.
The 3 big nasty soil borne diseases are Phytophthera, Botritus and Rhizoctonia. Hopefully I got the spelling correct. All are soil borne and they are looking for the optimum conditions. high moisture, humid and plants in stress. Perfect for the newly taken cuttings. I try to do a soil drench with the spray bottle I have which is little more than spreaying each cell with the fungicide. The funguii feed on organic material and most planting medias are full of it if not 100%. Anyone have anything to add.
Keeping the diseases at bay. It is best to clean all used pots in 10% bleach solution prior to reuse. I have used a trash can and a scrub brush. I like to let the pots soak overnight and then scrub off any debris left in them. stack them loosely off the ground in a well ventalated area to dry. once they have dried they are ready for reuse. Also cleaning all tools used in the greenhouse with the same solution is a good practice as well. diseases are spread bu touch, splashing water and the tools we use.

sweet potatoe vines are like most potatoes, in that they produce a tuber. tubers are underground and form of roots. Please read the following article as I am sure it is far better than anything I could write in a short period of time.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/1568/
this is an excelent article.

I plan on digging up my tubers and letting them dry on the garage after I have cut off all the above ground greenery. Next year I will slice up the tuber in to small pieces with each one having 1 or 2 "eyes". just like the eyes on the potatoes we eat at dinner. I figuire whats the worse that can happen? I end up planting the rooted cuttings and throwing away the tubers.
Most of the cuttings I have of sweet potatoe are 2 to 3 nodes each as the eyes are so far apart. I removed all leaves except for the terminal growth on the end of the runner. There it is so small at does not hurt to leave it. The reason I remove all the leaves id they are just going to fall off anyway. I like to scrape the eye of the cutting I am planting under ground and cut off the leaf , leaving a bit or the leaf stem (petiole) attached. this allows me to know which way is up. Hey it gets confusing in my brain... lol I tend to set the cuttings in the rooting hormone container so they can absorb more hormone and have a greater coverage. its just me, I may be wrong but untill someone proves its wrong to me I am going to do it. Yes I realize if the cutting has disease it can spread to all the cuttings I set in the container. But hey we are talking about one of the easiest things to root.
So Jeanett how many cells are you filling? I di 40 about 10 days ago. 15 purple and the rest the chartruse green. How cold are the night temps for everyone now?
I am hitting the upper 40's to mostly upper 50's... its nice outside.
Dave

I was at a large propagation nursery a while ago. They had fungicides by the 55 gal barrel. They put the fungicides in there irrigation system.

Gary

It is amazing what all can be run through the irrigation system. Have you ever thought about doing a co-op for plants from them in the future? what plants do they grow?
Dave

They specialize in flowering shrubs, a lot of hydrangeas. They have the new Annabell..cant remember the name but the flowers are supposed to be two times larger than Annabell. They just changed there minimums two 15 flats. That cuts out small fries such as me. I would do a co-op but it would have to be at least one flat per person,

Gary

I am sure there are some on here that would buy a flat of this or that. I guess the question I have is if all the flats are the same and say you get 10 people that want 10 different things could the flats be rearranged to hold equal amounts of each? say flats of 100 and 10 people order so that means they each get 10 of each shrub to total 100 liners? Just a thought. It could get mind blowing if it got real complicated.
Dave

I found this little thread on SP vines. thought you might like it jeanette. It has an extra step I was un aware of for starting the vines.

http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/694728/#new

Dave

I just got in from looking at my sw plants and was going to ask how to keep them. Don't know whyk, but I didn't think about them being tubers. Duh!!! Sweet potato. Duh

So when I dig them up, there will be little taters there? And that's what I save?

Hi Lorraine, one of mine had little tubers if you want to call them that. Others just had fiberous roots.

Jeanette

I dug one up the other day and it had a red potatoe on it! Think it tastes like one? :)

S'posedly they're edible - just not as good as regular sweet taters and not as big. Let us know how it does!

I have tried to propagate most things in my garden - I have had really good luck.
Trial and error were my best teachers

I still have yet to dig mine up. I do have several starts from them in the GH though. I thought this might be a good thing to chat about beacuse I know a lot of people just buy new each spring.
Also if you have any geraniums those can be pulled up and stored roots and all on a shelf in the garage just mist the roots a few times through the winter. Its funny how we never think about saving some of our favorite plants. we are so involved with growing and propagation that we don't realize they can be saved from your to year.

I have always heard you could keep geraniums like that, but mine never seem to come back out. ( ok 1 does, but not the ivy geraniums) am I doing something wrong.

Oh Btw, I found a set of rope lights today and I bought 2 totes. I am going to set up the heated germinator I saw in a post. I will post pictures and let you know how it works.

I would really like to root chocolate vines too, I pinned some down this year, but they haven't rooted yet. Any suggestions for cuttings this time of year?
Thanks, Ibartoo

My folks have an Oak tree they would like me to prune to reduce fire danger. It needs some shaping too. Does anyone know if they will root from cuttings? I'm guessing not because it wasn't listed in the papers posted on the subject. Even so, I'd like to try. Anyone have tips on what time of year, and cutting types to try?

Thanks, David

Howdy:
On the vine I would tend to do it more either in the late spring to early summer. It might be a good candidate to use in the heated germination chamber. I know vines are tricky. I have been trying a pink mandavilla that is giving me fits. I am sure its just timing. I did not start trying it until late fall so I am sure it has to do with day length and night time temps.
As for the oak tree cuttings. the book I looked it up in says in the summer and winter. I would try the pencil sized cuttings in sand over the winter months. It just seems to make sense for some reason. Is there a reason you can't just collect acorns and grow them that way? Or is it just the challenge of it that has you going? I do understand that. especially if someone says it can't be done or challenges me. I am kinda funny that way.
ibartoo back on the 3rd you asked about spagnum moss and rooting a camellias and bottlebrush. The one way I have done it in the past was Iaerial layering and is best done in the late summer. In your location I would try it now. You take the long spagnum moss, soak it over night. Take a good sized piece of polly (about a foot square) and wire ties wire ties. Start with a bout a foot from the tip of the branch.You stip off the leaves at one of the leaf nodes you cut the bark away about 1/4 inch in length about half way around the stem. now brush, pour or dust some rooting hormone on the wounded area. Take a handfull of the spagnum moss and ball it to in your hand to remove some of the excess moisture and pack it around the stem. Now you wrap the moss with the platic and secure it with the wire ties. Its kind of tricky to do but once you have done one it gets easier. You will want to check the moss from time to time to make sure its moist but not wringing wet. This process can be done an a lot of different trees and shrubs and is just another project you can do to make new plants at home, with a little bit of effort and some time.
I recomend that everyone should try this at least once to see how easy it can be. Dave you may want to try this on your oak tree just for fun. The long spagnum moss can be bought at most big box hardware stores, wally world and most garden centers. Its not the big bale of spagnum moss we all use to make soil. Its long and fiberous see the picture. I happened to have some because I have a staghorn I am planning to mount as soon as i get a free moment.
I hope this helps. if I have confused anyone please ask and I will try to explain it better. I am not sure how my explanations are to day as I am a bit off today.
Dave

Will anything other than that moss work?

You know I never thought about it. I am sure it might work as long as it holds moisture and breathes. You might try shreaded newspaper, or shreaded junk mail if you have a shreader.
I just know the long spagnum moss works well and is not too expensive. should be about 15 dollars and you could probably order it from like amazon or ebay or your favorite garden supply magazine.
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=7257&s=7257%20&cid1=-99&cid2=-99&cid3=-99

Next spring I plan to do this process and post how 2 pics here. Please let us know what you try and how it works

Also anyone who has been with us from the start or has taken the time to read everything knows I am a big fan of the next product. I use it on my unheated greenhouse and managed to grow begonias last winter, and last winter was the wonderful ice storm. I lost a lot of plants I thought I was doing better by bringing them inside for the winter. To make a long story short cold weather really makes me roll up into a ball and want to hibernate and sleep so I can avoid the pain from what it does to my body. Well when the ice storm took out the power I was in no mood to schlep the dozen or so plants out into the greenhouse. anyway I lost most of the inside stuff (all my hibiscus). This material helps hold in the heat while allowing the sun to penatrate and give the much needed light to the plants inside. If you are able to I highly recomend this product as an addition to your winter tools against the cold.
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=1338&s=1338&cid1=-99&cid2=-99&cid3=-99

Additional things that can be done to help hold temperatures inside the greenhouse. We will call it passive heat storage. I have filled about 10 gallon milk jugs with water and have them on the south wall of the greenhouse. I plan to put as many as I can inside. water has a way of storing heat and releaseing it over time.
Concrete pavers and steping stones work well as does gravel on the floor. Anything you can think of to store the suns energy during the day and release it back into the greenhouse at night when its most needed will increase the survivability of your plants you store in any structure, wether its a greenhouse a framed house you cover with plastic or a cold frame. used for starting seeds in the spring. One thing time has taught me was that you do not have to have the fancy aluminum framed greenhouse with its triple walled sheets of clear plastic.
I had a friend that had 55 gallon barrels she stored water in, to passively heat her greenhouse. At the time I thought she was nuts, but now I realize she was onto something. Anyone have any other ideas on how to store passive heat from the sun. Or an economical way to do something we have not thought of.

Thanks Dave, I am going to try a few things and I will post results as I go.

I'm concerned about how much sun the extra layer of plastic will block. I guess it will still be better than fluorescent lights in my basement, though....

The only thing I can add is that I'm putting in my gh (or "hoop house") in an area where we pulled out a swimming pool, so it will be about 3' below the soil surface on one end, coming up to level at the other end (the area slopes). I'm hoping the low spot will protect my gh from our western winds a bit.

Edited to add - I was just on Charley's site and they're advertising an insulation that strongly resembles bubble wrap....
http://www.charleysgreenhouse.com/index.cfm?page=_productdetails&productid=2520A&cid1=843&cid2=380&cid3=-99 . I wonder if I just applied bubble wrap to the plastic?

This message was edited Oct 10, 2008 8:07 PM

Yes you can use bubble wrap. It is bubble wrap. If you can aford it they make an inflation kit for a double poly on a hoop house. Its like a giany air pillow keeping the cold outside. If you do a double polly remember to remove ice or snow buildup you should be able to unplug the air blower and the heat inside should melt ice and snow.
I think you are correct about the below ground area being more protected. Does that end fill with water or drain well on its own?
The single layer of poly should not cause too much shading its almost non-exsistant. What are you growing in the hoop house? sun or shade? If you need to shade the house they also make a paint that provides some shading from the direct sun.
Not fair... LOL..., how big is the hoop house?

Pagancat, back to your question of "other than the moss", what about peat moss? You probably have some of that. If so, I think even mixing the (cripe I can't think of the word, the white pebbley stuff) You know what I mean, with it. Like Dave said anything that will hold water. Also, I think the white crap, that I can't remember the name of, might help with some oxygen.

Jeanette

Pagancat, back to your question of "other than the moss", what about peat moss? You probably have some of that. If so, I think even mixing the (cripe I can't think of the word, the white pebbley stuff) You know what I mean, with it. Like Dave said anything that will hold water. Also, I think the white crap, that I can't remember the name of, might help with some oxygen.

Jeanette

Peralite

perlite ... ???

I'm just "thinking green" - trying to use what I can without depleting more of the peat bogs. It really is a great medium - holds some water without getting too drenched or compacted .... thanks for the ideas - if I do something that works, I'll let you know. I have the coco fiber, and it stays pretty fluffy - maybe some of that with a bit of perlite? Hmmmsk.

I thought it was bubble wrap, ha! Well, I certainly have some of that around.

Must be from all that on line shopping. LOL

Jeanette

Green is good

>grin<

Oh, busted....

I was under the impression that sphagnum moss was renewable, and that only peat moss was harvested from peat bogs. Please explain if there is a difference between the two, or if it's the processing that is different. Kinda off the subject.

Thanks, David

Good question - you made me look it up! It looks like the proper name for the plant is called Sphagnum, commonly called peat moss because it grows in peat bogs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphagnum explains it better than I can. They call it unsustainable - I think really it's unsustainable at the rates that we (meaning the world, but probably more N. America more than anywhere else) consume it.

If you care to look into the coco fiber (which I'm beginning to think is a superior product as it re-wets much more easily) the best price I've found for it is http://www.kalyx.com/store/proddetail.cfm/ItemID/766252/CategoryID/12000/SubCatID/2470/file.htm .

Good link
It looks to me like the long spagnum moss is the live stuff with the organisms in it. the peat moss we buy is the dead cells called hyaline cells. at least thats what I got from it. I do understand the wanting to be green and all but it looks to me like its twice the cost of peat. The rate the nurseries in south florida consume peat in their soil mixes there is no way to slow down the consumption, unless everyone boycots peat based nursery products including those plants grown in it. We used to go through a 100 yrds of mix a week during busy season and we were a small nursery. imagine those huge ones down in miami and all the tropical growers in apopka florida. I hate to be the one being negative here but its just reality.
Good thought though, i really do want to try the stuff so maybe next spring when I am getting ready for transplanting I will.
Dave

Well, look at it this way - if the resources dry up, then you will already have and be familiar with the next best thing. Who knows, you might just like it better.

I agree with your thinking its just a tough road to go for the nurseries that are cut to the bone as it is. I do plan on trying it out to see how it does.

Please let me know your experience.