We planted 12 of these (4 groups of 3 plants) and they grew nicely over summer and fall. However, the two freezes we've had took their toll and I cut them down to 3" above ground level. Can you tell me how to propagate the stem sections, please? They are 3 to 4 feet tall and I pulled all but the top leaves off them. They are sitting in water at present.
Thanks for your help.
Barb
There are two ways that I know of, hopefully others will chime in. You can cut sections of the stem and lay them horizontally on potting soil; scrunch them in about half the thickness of the stem. The advantage of this is that they can sprout in several places so you can get several new plants off each section of stem. Or, you can just stick them vertically in soil. I usually cut long stems into several pieces and put 3 or more in each container, depending on it's size, for a full pot. It is important to remember the direction the plant was growing and only stick the bottom end of the stick. I sometimes mark them so I don't mess up. I have also read that you should always make a hole with a pencil or other stick before inserting the cutting; just sticking the stem into the soil can damage and clog the pores.
Have fun.
Thank you, ardesia. I wasn't sure if you could start them as log cuttings or not, so I will try a few that way and the rest upright. Good reminder about "this end up"! I have started my share of cuttings upside down. :(
Thanks again.
Barb
Barb,
they will grow back after the freeze, but, like you have found, they will never attain the stature they had.
The best way to use them here is in pots as accents.
I always root my Ti's by just sticking the stems in the dirt. But you can also make new plants from root cuttings and these seem to grow faster.
Dig the plants up and remove all the dirt from the roots. There will be these white parts that almost look rhizomatous. Remove these and pot with the cut edge just above the soil line and keep warm. New plants will sprout, and you can also re-root the original plant, which should still have a lot of roots afyer you remove the white bulb thingies.
This always works great for me and I get plants a lot faster than stem cuttings, or 'logs' as they are called
GQ, if I leave those rooted plants in the ground and mulch well, will they go dormant until Spring or will they begin to re-grow if a warm spell comes along? I'd hate to see any tender new growth pop up and then be hit by another freeze. I have a seedling heat mat I use over winter, so I will cut the stems up and pot them individually and see how they do. I guess it's a bit like rooting Brug cuttings, which I've done a lot of.
Thanks for your help.
Barb
Mine make it through most winters but last year we had a late cold spell that shocked them and all the leaves browned off on a couple. When they came back in the spring additional stems sprouted from the ground and the plant was much fuller. I have no problem sacrificing tall for full. LOL
Barb...all of that is good advice...right on. It is a pretty Ti, isn't it?
Hi Carol! Yes, I was surprised at the intensity of the bright pink on it. Sure does look *plain* over in that area of the yard since the freeze hit them. :( Next season I hope we'll have a dozen or so to line the fence. Now won't that be something!
Barb
Do you think that if you mulched a bunch of them heavily and then put a blanket over them at night when a freeze was expected it would work?
By the way...be careful with the city water where you are....Ti absolutely detest flouride and other chemicals in the water....so be careful. When you have logs propagating horizontally, you will get a number of eyes to grow, each one will be a cane. You can also put the logs in vertically and usually get 2 new canes on it as it grows....
Carol
OMG, you have mentioned that before and I had forgotten that. I have a whole pot ful of assorted Ti's rooting and they do not look happy. They will get their soil flushed with rainwater in the morning.
Good idea, Carol... add another 4-6" of mulch over the in-ground plants and cover them when we have a freeze predicted. Gotcha. Had no idea about the city water! The sprinkler system is on cw here so I'll have to refigure the head that covers that area. Makes my stand for a RO barrel stronger, eh? Thanks for the heads up!!
Barb
I have tried protecting mine with Agricultural Grade frost cloth before in freezes that go below 27F and it doesn't help. The leaves burn and the plants defoliate anyway. By Agricultural Grade FC I mean the stuff that is spun and think, that resembles felt. Not the thin stuff sold at Home Depot and Lowes.
To be honest, and I hope I am not sounding like a snob here because that is not at all how I want to come off, Red Sister Ti is so common and so cheap here in Florida that it can be used as an annual. Its like the Psitticorum heliconias. Many folks here do use those as annuals.
The Ti that I would sacrifice by planting out in the yard would be the cheap ones like Red Sister and Ruby. The ones I would never sacrifice would be ones like Wili's Gold, Peter Buck, Midnight Magic, Sherbert, Kiwi, Pue Ele Ele, Auntie Lue, or anything that Novelty TG sells, LOL. Cultivars that are less common and harder to get.
I used to keep a lot of Ti in my greenhouse, and once the plants got to be about 7 ft tall I would top them to both control them and make them branch, propagate the tops, and plant the tops outside. I eventually removed all the Ti from the greenhouse, though, except Midnight Magic, because they are veritable mealybug MAGNETS. They seem to ALWAYS have a mealy infestation. I got tired of trying to eradicate them, so I removed the Ti's.
I only kept Midnight Magic because, for some reason, it has gotten extremely expensive around here. It used to be very cheap, now it's pricey.
I am trying my luck with some seeds this spring. Last year I collected seeds and they grew beautifully, but I have flats of BORING Ti....the parents were boring!!! This year I am only going for the Blacks, Tsunami (for the folliage) and some other really outstanding ones. Both Troy (Novelty Greens) and his Dad play around with seedlings and have come up with some unique! Ti colors!! Gotta wait and see what gets pollinated, they are just starting to bloom. If i have luck, will give seeds away....
You don't sound Elitist at all...sounds practical!!
Carol
Thanks Carol! You can get a 3 gallon Red Sister here with 3 plants in the pot that are about 4 ft tall for $7. That says 'annual' to me if the need be and I want an accent plant for a certain area. You can also 'rotate' them...buy some, and when they go down in winter, dig them, pot them, and let them regrow to a large size under protection for a season, in the meantime buy another and replant, and follow the same cycle. It's a kind of sustainable practice, but you have to have the time and be willing to go to the effort.
I wish I had the patience to deal with seeds, but I just don't. I could probably grow a ton of stuff. The only seeds I have growing at present are some Anthurium hookeri, Anthurium vittafoliam ( i know I misspelled that) and Anthurium gracile. Anthurium seeds are very easy for me to collect and germinate, but I have very poor luck with stuff like Palm seeds.
The only other worthwhile seeds I have ever gotten were seeds on my Green Jade Vine.
I hear you on "life is too short to grow seeds" but Ti don't take long at all and it is fun. other than those, I do Anthuriums and some Mucuna vines (the yellow sets seeds....). i may start to sell seeds... easier to wrap and cheaper to mail!!!!
I love Ti...and it is fun here to "trade". There are over 400 different ones with more coming everyday with sports and seeds....
Carol
