propogating

how do you propogate scented geraniums?

The easiest way would be to take cuttings and root them.

I tried rooting them in water but it didn't work

Try getting some rooting hormone powder and doing them in soil.

Right. Rooting cuttings in water is always a poor substitute for rooting them in SOIL. The only exception would be bog plants or plants that grow in shallow water.

thank you

good luck, tess

I tried about 20 of them in perlite in December (in my bathroom). They died. I tried about 20 of them in perlite / potting mix. They died. I misted. I moisted. I used sterile instruments. I kept them out of direct light (and tried some IN direct light). I started another 20 in my kitchen, thinking that my bathroom might be cursed, this time in plastic bags. They died they died they died. Not one single survivor. I've now taken so many cuttings off my mother plants that there are no more to take, so I CAN'T try another technique.

But I am curious how I managed to kill 60 of what are supposed to be among the easiest stem cuttings.

I might add that I tried an equal number of coleus under the same assortment of conditions, ONE has apparently accidentally survived.

I really can't take much more of this.

Maybe you're not using the right part of the plant for your cuttings, or your cuttings may be too large.

Start with cuttings that come from the TIPS of the parent plant you're taking them from. Make sure there are no flower buds. Don't use the hard woody part. Your cuttings should ideally be only 4 or 5 inches long.

Let the cuttings soak in water for a few hours so they drink up water to sustain them while they develop roots.


Strip off the foliage from 2 to 3 bottom leaf joints...this will be the part that forms roots. Leave no more than 2 sets of leaves exposed above the soil.

Pre-moisten some potting soil and fill your containers with it.
Take a pencil and make holes in the soil that are the same diameter as your cuttings or a bit larger.

Get some rooting hormone powder.

Roll the stripped ends of your cuttings in the rooting hormone so the whole thing is coated.

VERY CAREFULLY insert the ends into the holes in the soil, being careful not to dislodge the powder. Then gently firm the soil around the cuttings.

Don't water them after that. Watering will wash the rooting powder off the stems. Your soil should just be really moist...not wet, and not dripping out the bottom. Use potting soil, not soil from the garden.

Put them where they get bright light in a sunny window.

They should root pretty quickly.

If you want, you can cover the cuttings with a glass or a jar to increase the humidity...just lift it once every day to let in fresh air and keep mold from forming.

debih...i'll tell you what my grand-mother always told me if something was not working right...






"you must not be holding your mouth right"...


my grand-mother was a very wise woman...virginia

Jasperdale,

Thank you. As soon as my motherlode grows a bit more I'll try your technique to the 'T.' I was sort of hoping you would say "no one can make stem cuttings in December" so I could just give up, but noooo...

Virginia, my mother thinks she is a very wise person. From the age of 2 until present day, when I've asked her a difficult question she answers

'because the sky is blue.' I don't think she was hip enough to get it from the Beatles - and who knows, maybe the boys heard it from their mums growing up too!

Thanks to you, I can now say, 'Huh uh, ma, it's because you're not holding your mouth right.'

And I think that ONE time saying that will make up for all the times she drove me up the wall with that *@!*%! blue sky, and for that I am eternally grateful to your grandmother. Mine is still going mostly-strong at 94. She is my heroine, but she knows nothing about plants except how to kill them, so now I know where I got it.

Debi

I don't think having a "black thumb" is genetic ! LOL
For years, I thought only old ladies could successfully grow African Violets.

ahhhhh debih...looks like your grand-mother taught you everything she knew...lol...good luck with your propagation...another saying from granny...


"if at first you don't succeed...try try again"

so, there you go...me thinks that is what you need to do...don't let this thing whip you...i'm looking forward to detailed pics of your progress!!!

virginia

JasperDale,

You mean you DON'T have to be an old lady to grow african violets?

Virginia,

Ok, ok, I'll try again...thanks for the encouragement.

Debi

Actually, regarding the December thing, most houseplants don't tend to root as well during winter months. I think I remember something about the amount of sunlight telling them that it's not the right time for rooting. That's why our greenhouse staff recommends that our customers not repot or divide their houseplants at this time of year. I'd wait until spring to try again.

Plantfreak 78,

A ray of hope that I am not the plant-murderess that I feared...for that I thank you.

better hope your picture doesn't show up in the post office ! LOL

If it does, somebody will surely comment that something looks funny about my mouth...must not be holding it right.

Honestly, when I die I'm planning to be cremated out of fear that the plant world would otherwise take its final revenge on my coffin. Maybe I should post that as a new thread: Dave's Garden goes existential.

Debi

debi...i know from personal experience that plants are very forgiving...they are just happy you've tried to grow them...if anything you'll probably be a master gardener once past the pearly gates...i know i will be a great singer as i love it and can't carry a tune in a tin bucket...just ask my husband he'll tell you...LOL

Ethel Mertz used this line frequently when attempting to describe Lucy's singing: "She sounds like a wounded moose...calling to it's mate" !!!

Think about it ! LOL

so funny you should say this jasperdale...as my last name is moose...

You made me laugh. Loved it.

Ditto !

After much pondering, I still don't get it.

I agree with JasperDale.
I have rooted cuttings in a perlite and vermiculite with a ratio of 1:1. I used a plastic shoe box (Walmart) and filled it up to 1" from the top. If you can place the cuttings where it will receive bottom heat it helps, like top of refrigerator, etc. My cuttings were 3" long. Cut the end on a sland 1/4" from the axels of the lower leaves. Remove any buds and top growth. Leave 2 sets of leaves only.

Everyone has his own technique, but after I read what you did I can't imagine what went wrong.
Coleus really are about the easiest things there are to reproduce by cuttings. I lose maybe one out of 500 outdoors, and this year I've tried overwintering and have lost maybe 1 out of 25 indoors.
Everything's the same indoors except the light. Your cuttings can come from anywhere up and down a stem. Make them about 8 inches long. Strip the leaves off the bottom half. You will have a node or two buried, but roots will form all up and down the buried stem, although more at the bottom. Use ordinary potting mix, and forget the rooting hormone. Fill a 4 inch plastic pot or a drinking cup with holes punched in the bottom within an inch of the top of the pot. Punch a hole in the middle of the soil with a pencil or dowel all the way to the bottom. Insert a cutting. Don't mash the soil down. Tap the pot on the table to get the soil to surround and support the cutting. Fill in a little more soil if needed, but leave room at the top for watering. Press very lightly if necessary. Water slowly and thoroughly. Let drain, then put in the brightest window you have indoors or in shade outdoors. Water twice for about 5 days, then every morning for another week. Then water when the soil feels dry. When they begin to grow, you will know they have rooted and you can gradually introduce them slowly to sunlight.

I'm going to have to try your technique, dp72. I started another twenty in Vermiculite, followed JasperDale's program to the tee, and darned if they aren't all still dying. Maybe if I put them in potting soil to begin with I'll be better off.

Debi, you don't have much to lose if you try a dozen or so. I do wish you the best.

My pride, dear dp72, my pride.

However, my seed experiments have been tremendously successful, so I've refilled my pride cup a little. It's not at the 'runneth over' stage... which is probably a good thing...