OK.. first the water rooting question... mother had a dozen or so long 3' cuttings laying down in a galvanized trough... from back in November ..they have a full root system... of maybe 12 " of roots.. she has never changed the water all this time.. only topping it off as it evaporated.. no sign of any rotted cuttings... in this brackish water.. no fungal problems.. could it be the galvanized bucket it's in.. causing a hostile place for bacteria.. to survive...I get an occasional one to rot after a few weeks in a plastic container I use . how can she leave a few dozen in for 6-7 months... and have them rooted out the bottom... with 2 ' of white nubbins along the side...and a pile of leaves growing nicely on top.. Can it be the galvanization...
OK..anyone near the AL /TN line... right off I - 65 and would like some well rooted cuttings... for a Friday/Saturday / Sunday pickup ...going . going....
Water rooting.. & Free rooted cuttings
what ?/ Pick-up only ? Lol I would love some but I can drive that far. darn
Elva
Gordon, I can't answer your question specifically, but I have a bit of experience with galvanized livestock tanks. Stuff will eventually rot in galvanized water troughs, but it takes a long time. I still have all kinds of bruises from cleaning a few inches of sludge that has accumulated at the bottom of each trough.
Zinc the major element used in the galvanization process. I'm just guessing, but based on what I've read, among the things zinc does in plant tissue is the tendency to replace Fe, thus reducing the oxidization of plant tissue, i.e. tissue aging. If you combine this with zinc's tendency to reduce micro-organism activity, you've got a drastic slow down in rot.
Finally, zinc can interrupt the activity in soils, as it negatively influences the activity of microrganisms and earthworms. The breakdown of organic matter may seriously slow down because of this.
@Gordon: Excellent and useful observation! Does your mother put them in a basement or garage where the temperature is cool but above freezing? That was my grandmother's method with Confederate Rose cuttings. Cooler temps also slows bacterial growth.
@bettydee: Thanks for the reasoned hypothesis. It makes sense to me. I immediately thought of the zinc oxide cream my mom put on burns when I was a kid. It's still standard issue for the noses of lifeguards.
well.. I've got to get my galvanized rooting chamber into the market.. you heard it here first,,,
Elva..yes.. shipping is out of the question for me now... I'm away from home..my supplies.. and the cuttings are 4-5 ft long.. I've two more days here with mother .. sorry...
Elva, good to see you. I have been wondering where/how you were!
Paul
Elva,
How far is Premont from San Antonio?
Hi Paul doing ok.. Thanks for asking
That's ok Gordon !
Yardqueen, its about 2 1/2 hour drive from where I live to san Antonio..
have family there , daughter, aunt, uncles etc.
Elva
Silky... well she has them in a sun room.. with a bunch of cats through the winter ... that was my other thought... was it was cat urine that did the bacterial control during the 6 months they were rooting without the water being changed once.. ..I'm sure the day air temperaturs in the winter were in the 70's .. it's all galss made out of the standard replacment size for an 8' sliding glass door... as it is such a standard replacement,, they sell them pretty cheaply.. and it's the double walled insulated.. so it gets warm.. and holds onto it.. it has a 500 gal fish/water flower tank inside to help even out the temperatures.. and hold some through to the next day
Going...GONE... I drove them up to Betty... [ Picabo ] she'll perhaps grow out some ..and give others to her master gardeners sale day.. [ she's certainly a master gardener ] One I'll place one.. remaining..1/2 in the drainage ditch.. out from the house ... and observe the growth.. in an intermitantly very moist .. naturalized location.. What a joy to walk into a garden... and see ..experience the beauty of piles of happily blooming tall brugs... just the sight of them waving the big blooms again.. WOW..
Oh Gordon, I'm so glad you've found a good home for your brug cuttings. I wished I could have made the trip with you to visit with Betty and Roy. I missed seeing you both. As you're getting ready to return home to NY, have a great trip my friend. Let's hear from you soon.
Kim
OK..so this is what a long 4' standard cutting looks like...after 6 months in the water.. and the water never was changed
these all were just laying in the water... but in a galvanized trough again.
with a large knot of roots..
Well figure out for yourselves..if the galvanized rooting chamber is a breakthrough.. pick up one of the Hawk certified rooting systems.. available online..and at your local brug supplier
mercy what roots.. good idea.
well here's another showing roots along the side as well... 2 ft up from the end
