Topics

Rooted Cutting in Vermiculite now what?

I had a couple of cuttings in my fridge from my fathers tree.  I started 1 cutting about 6 weeks ago just to see what happens and practice.  It rooted well and i just put it into  wetted vermiculite with a 16oz water bottle over the top for humidity.  How often do i need to water this thing? 

When mine are just developing roots and not showing any significant top growth, they don't drink a lot of water.  I haven't had to water mine that are rooting well in cups the entire time they've been in them (3-4 weeks).  The best expression I've heard to measure moisture is ... if you can see the soil is damp through the holes in the bottom of the container, then you probably don't need to water.

If you go to the store and get one of those handy-dandy moisture meters for plants, most people aim for a steady 2 or 3 reading on their pots, with 3 being close to too wet, 2 being perfectly fine, and 1 being close to too dry.

Be very careful. Vermiculite holds a lot of water. You might not need to water for quite some time. Overwatering will kill roots very quickly.

Satellite is also right, plants without leaves need significantly less water, also.

First time at rooting using Vermiculite and all cuttings died due to rot. Jon is very correct about vermi holding lots of water. I used 100% Perlite before with good results(my standard). Now I have gone 100% Spaghamum Moss or a mixed of 80% SM with perlite as SM have good traits of anti mold properties.

Reply Cancel
Subscribe Share Cancel