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pacifica

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 

I have received some valuable cuttings from a nice people. I found out all end cuttings were sealed with max (looks like) for protection purposes. Please help to adv if I should remove them all before I insert the cuttings in the dirts ? or keep all cuttings remain with sealed max (looks like) unchanged in the dirts ?

Pacifica
OldOneEye

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
I'm a little confused by your post.  Do you mean the ends of the cuttings were sealed with what looks like wax?https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wax

If the cuttings have been sealed in wax, you will almost certainly need to remove it if you are going to root them.

In fact, the sealed end should probably be cut off, insuring that the end you try to root is clean and wax free.

I'm just making an educating guess.

Someone with more experience than me please chime in here...
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pacifica

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
Hi OldOne Eye : Sorry for the typing mistake, it should be sealed with wax and they should be removed right ?
Frankallen

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
You DO NOT remove the Wax, it's there for protection and to keep moisture from escaping. It will root with the Wax on! ....Trust me
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Charlie

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Frank is right.  Don't worry about the wax.
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COGardener

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
The roots will push right through it with no problem, DO NOT REMOVE THE WAX!
pacifica

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Hi Frank, Charlie and Scott : Noted with many thanks. I will proceed as per your direction immed.
OldOneEye

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Well I learned something... I'll have to try preserving cuttings with wax. What kind of waxes can be used? I have plenty of bees wax.
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Charlie

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Posted Reply with quote  #9 
Quote:
Originally Posted by OldOneEye
Well I learned something... I'll have to try preserving cuttings with wax. What kind of waxes can be used? I have plenty of bees wax.


I don't know for a fact but imagine bees wax would work.  Paraffin tends to be brittle and crack off, especially if stored in the refrigerator.  I used food grade cheese wax, normally used to seal the ends of mushroom logs to keep out competing fungi and other nasties.

Mind you don't dip the whole cutting, just the very ends.  I use a wax dauber, also used in the mushroom log industry, to seal the ends of any limb cuts that might be along the side of a cutting and difficult to dip in the wax.  The hook on the dauber handle hangs neatly into the molten wax from the top edge of my melting pot

My melting pot of choice is an old fry daddy with temperature control that I set on 250 F.  If no fry daddy, you can make a melter by setting a pan with the wax into another pan of boiling or very hot water.  You don't want to heat directly with either gas or electric since you might catch the wax on fire or scorch it.  Beeswax has a lower melting point than either paraffin or cheese wax if I'm not mistaken. 

Everything mentioned except the fry daddy can be purchased online from Field & Forest Products. 
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RegencyLass

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Posted Reply with quote  #10 
As soon as my cuttings arrive in the post, any that aren't already waxed, I dip the ends as well as any other any exposed wounds (i.e., side limb cuts) in melted wax.  I melt the wax over a bowl of hot tap water to avoid getting it too hot.  The wax tipped cuttings root and leaf out just fine.
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eboone

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Posted Reply with quote  #11 
Last spring I used candle wax, poured it over the side of the candle onto a piece of foil, dipped the ends into it there.  It adhered very well, a little thicker than paraffin.  No issues with roots not getting thru it.
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Ashita

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Posted Reply with quote  #12 
Really happy to read this. Recently I followed Charlie's advice and dipped the ends of my Qing Pi cuttings in cheese wax before storing them in the fridge till February. Every now and then I inspect them and didn't know whether I should take the wax off. Now I know! Thanks a lot.

Some of my cuttings are the same thickness all the way up. Hope I'm going to know which is top and which is bottom when it comes time to plant them!
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