Hey all, I'm from up in Maine where we don't have a ton of heat.  I just thought I would mention this propagation method that is working really well for me.  I have tried heat pads (mold issues), I tried the out of direct light (yeah that's bs plants need light), I have taken fresh in spring and potted immediately with only beeswax to seal and that worked 60%, humidity always bred mold for me. 

This method is in a bag, I fold a paper towel to a width of 2 inches, soak it, wring it a little and then cut in half. One piece goes under the cutting like it was sitting in a "U" the other wraps around.  I put them in their zip lock bag under grow lights with heat 75-85 degrees Fahrenheit.  I seal the first day to blast humidity and pop the nodes open, then crack it open the second after 24h. Top of cuttings faces the opeing of the bag. 

They will often make many roots before leaves, so you have to judge how long you can leave them in the bag without drying out the roots.  The same goes if you have one with lots of leaf growth, leave too long and the leaf drops and molds a little.  I have done this a few times now this season and I get almost all cutttings to start roots and or leaves.  Not all make it once you pot them but this batch I am going to to to bury completely those ones with leaves but no roots (if any appear) and see if that makes a difference.  All in all, the fastest cuttings are all done in a week and the slowest in two.  This was done with dormant cuttings, I don't know how the results will be for fresh.  I know some people say to leave the bottom half inch of a cutting bare so it callouses and doesn't mold, but frankly the entire cutting will make roots sometimes (yup 8" of roots bud length to 1/2" in 3 days) so what is the point?  If you don't pot the tree in time and cant remove the paper towel without destroying or damaging roots, just pot it.  I potted one with its towel and its doing great.  A big problem I have had with my cuttings is that they often take too long to begin growing and I lose a fair amount to dessication or bark rot in the process.  I much prefer that 90% take in two weeks and in less than a month those that cannot make it self select.   

Before I forget!  I thought of this method because I ordered cuttings from overseas that came wrapped as I described, when I opened that package all three had leaves!  I was amazed, but unfortunately should have left them in the bag a few more days to develop roots.  All in all, I am glad it happened because its really improved my propogation and my enjoyment of the process!
Thanks for reading!
-Devin

Thanks sharing your simple method to root cutings!

I have tried the similar bag method posted before but always kept them in the dark until after they rooted.  One problem I have had is that many times I get leaves forming before roots.

Next time I'll try your way and see how it goes.

You're welcome!  I do get leaves before roots sometimes, but I try to push it until just before the leaves drop and the buds of roots begin if I can, in that case.  I have never had any luck unless under light, I really tried, but it was pretty sad to lose a big batch that way. I hope that it works out for you!  I like to try new things, its not whether it works for all, just for yourself..

Ordering overseas will bring the usda knocking on your door,
It happened to me when I bought a wuhan from china.
Just a heads up for ordering from other countries.

Doug

Thank you very much for sharing this rooting method.  It seems quite straight forward.

I am new to rooting cuttings and I had lost several batches of nice cuttings by using(exploring) various rooting methods (two cups, shoe-box, etc).  I finally used the bagging method and it seemed to work better.  I at least had rooted several cuttings this way.  I'll definitely try this simple bagging method come next spring.

cool, I wish you the best of luck.

SCfigfanatic, did they actually show up at your door or call or how did it go down?

Thanks for sharing and like it happened to Doug, the USDA came to my door too! They really do show up and knock on your door!

They are probably reading this thread. Don't be surprised if they show up they are sneaky.

Thanks for sharing this method.  Which ones are you growing now? Do ypu have a greenhouse?

So this time I was working with two varieties, Norman's yellow  (a San Pedro type) and LSU Hollier, sourced from Fatnsassytexan.  I saw nearly every condition described above in this batch between the two bags of cuttings so thought I may as well take some pictures and share them here.


This one has enough root to pot but is making fruit buds as well as leaf buds. 

 

 
Since this Norman's yellow is a San Pedro I figure this late in the year it will likely drop its fruit, so I gently twisted it off.
 
 

This one I will leave in the bag a couple more days, the leaf buds are not open and full yet so there is no danger to them and the root buds at the base aren't quite developed enough.

 

Sometimes you get a cutting that makes roots galore but no leaf buds.  I left it as long as I could to try to encourage some bud growth but if you notice a few of the roots are beginning to take on a tan tinge?  This is kind of like a warning sign I find, if you dont pot it now, those tanned roots will wither. At this point I have actually left the cutting two days longer than needed but caught it a day or two before it was starting to damage roots!  If you look well you can see that the roots are growing through the paper towel.  If you feel confident and have careful fingers you can remove the towel, but it isn't easy.

 
 

The last picture of the above post is the cutting with too many roots (the pic just above that) after I carefully removed all the paper towel.

  The cuttings shown in the picture above and below have not yet made any roots or root buds, but at this point if left in the bag any longer the leaves will begin to develop mold from the excess humidity.  I attempted in the past to open the bag wider for them, but that was unsuccessful.  So these I potted because it was their best shot at success, even if its not optimal.    This last picture has begun to make roots, but is not quite ready yet.  If I remember well from yesterday's morning picture session it has no vegetative leaf growth yet.  I decided to leave it a few days more in the bag but to loosen to towel to improve ease of extraction when the time comes.
 
I hope that you have enjoyed my descriptions, pictures and discoveries.  Thanks,
-Devin

Devin I thought you did excellent. Everything made sense.

Thank you very much!