Does it cause too much stress to change soil on young cuttings? I would like a change out my Miracle grow soil for a mixture of Pro Mix Hp and vermiculite. The Mg soil is holding too much water and I don't see much growth at all from my trees. I hope the new mixture give more oxygen to the roots and the new beneficial mycorrhiza in the pro mix will help. 

I just wanted to make sure the plant won't go into shock from changing soil. 

It will definitely cause some root stress, but as long as it's got plenty of roots and looks healthy, it should handle it okay.  What size pot are they in now?  If it were me, I'd just cut back on watering.. let them dry out more and water less.  If it's holding too much water, there might not be enough root mass.  I had one that the pot sayed heavy all the time, so i quite watering it.  Once it starting drying out, the tree started growing.  It's still pretty light on root mass and the pot stays heaver than the others, so i don't water it very much at all.  I have another new one that I just up potted that had very few roots and that pot tends to stay heavy too, so I don't water it until it starts to dry out some.

I use MG potting mix mixed with perlite and coco coir.. about 35/40/25 respectively.  I don't measure percisely.. just kind of eyeball it.  It's working well for me.  If the tree has enough roots to take in the water, I have to water twice a day.

The first picture is a nero 600m, the second is afganistanica, and the one in the 2 litre bottle is a UNK that was started around the same time and has exploded under the grow lights. 

The Nero hasn't moved a inch at all and the Afgan is slowly growing despite reading that it was a fast grower. I wanted to put them outside once I believe they have enough roots to help survive the heat here. I water outside trees before I go to work. 

I water these two about one every two weeks, maybe three. I don't believe I mix in enough perlite to make the mixture lighter and drain faster. The cutting in the 2 liter bottle has a mixture like this and it shows. 

might not be the soil mix. the leaves look good, and if you are watering every 2-3 weeks.. and making sure that they are on dry side before the watering, it might be some other issue. pushing roots instead of top? they look rather healthy to me. i have few cuttings that looks healthy, but have not pushed any new growth on the top for months. when i get around to them, i'll up pot them to larger container and give them more dolomite lime and fertilizer.

Stick a wooden/bamboo chop stick down into the mix, and leave it there.  Every few days pull it out and look at the chop stick.  If it's wet/damp....don't water.  When mix is drying out the chop stick will tell you what's what in the root zone area.  If stick feels cool to the touch, the mix still has enough moisture, so don't water.

Gro-Lights are no substitute for natural sunlight.  If you can, slowly introduce those rooted cuttings to some brighter, natural light, and a little sunlight.  Gradually, increase the sun exposure.  Cuttings will push roots before pushing new leaves.  New leaves need good root systems.  Few roots, few leaves.  The cuttings will reach the correct balance in due time.  Natural conditions, light, fresh air exchange, etc. are key to healthy growth.  Protect the new treelets over the winter months.

Hope this helps.


Frank

Have you fertilized?

I agree with Frank. Need to get them outside in the sun (gradually). The heat will help too. I think your soil is probably fine. Once it gets a good root system, it'll suck the water out of that pot (is that a 2 gal?).

If it's heavy, don't water it anymore until it begins to feel light, even it feels dry on top, it's probably got lots of water inside.