I am using the "shoe box" method to start green cuttings. They are in a nice fluffy moist mixture of peat and perlite and kept at around 72F. The boxes are actually translucent refrigerator containers. The cuttings have been in for over three weeks. I checked them today and they all seem to be sprouting leaves, but I see no roots.

Does removing the sprouting leaves induce roots (or does leaving them on inhibit roots)?

Should I adjust the temperature?

Does the light transmission through the box have any effect on the success of rooting?

lost all my green cuttings. sooner or later they all dried up. however, they rooted fast and put out leaves very fast. as soon as i saw the root initial, i put them into cups with 50/50 seedling soil/perlite. then kept them in the bin. the temp in the bin was around 80-90. they were doing good until i decided to give them some air.. then they started to dry up and all died.

from the hardwood cuttings, right around 78-80 seems to be the best. next set of green cuttings will stay indoor with lid shut until i see some sign of cuttings hardening.

Taking them out of a humid environment has to be done gradually, to allow the cuttings/young plants to adjust. Gotta partially remove the lid and gradually increase the open area until they adjust. I guess it takes me about 3 weeks to accomplish that.

I would not remove any of the new leaves. Trust the plant - it knows better than we do what it needs at any given time - and what to use its limited energy producing. Make sure the leaves get some light in your bins for photosynthesis and producing more energy - as in next to a window, but no direct sunlight to increase temperatures. If it's healthy enough to produce new leaves, the cutting eventually, usually, will produce roots too.

Thanks Gina. Common sense prevails!