I'm rooting in five gallon buckets about 20 - 25 cuttings to the bucket. A very small amount have mold on them and I would like to spray them and the other non-moldy cuttings with something to kill the mold. Of course I cannot rinse them afterwards. Would a bleach solution do the job and at what percentage? Would you recommend another product. Some of the cuttings are pushing leaves so they would be tender.

physan 20. kills mold on contact, but if it's going to get mold it will get mold. tried bleach at 10%, and also peroxide. physan kept away mold longer and in some cases got rid of them.

Great timing, I was just getting ready to start a very similar thread!

Is it ok to spray bleach directly on newly-leafed cuttings in a humidity bin?  Does bleach hurt the baby leaves?

(ditto for the other chemical solutions--are they gentle on baby leaves, and can I spray it straight into the humidity bin?)

Thanks all,

I've heard good things about Physan 20. I'm not sure if it is available here. Seems like I looked for it once. I believe Daconil is here. Really good to know and thanks for quick replys.

OK I bought Daconil at the big Orange box store in a spray bottle ready to use. Instructions said shake and spray! Hhmmm Sounds too easy and it was. The product is thick and their spray setting on the selectable nozzle resulted in a forceful stream of gooeyness that targeted only one cutting. I checked the stream setting and it was worse. The stream was so forceful I worried about damaging or even completely dislodging the new tender growth coming from the cuttings. In order to spray all the cuttings in one bucket resulted in a very wet surface that looked well disgusting. Kind of reminded me of a spittoon. I did these three days ago and I checked the results today. The mold was effectively knocked down however there were some in each bucket that evidently I did not get (maybe it was the backside of the “spray”) even though I rotated the bucket to try and get all sides. Some of the cuttings still looked like I spit on them. I can’t believe this is healthy for them although I believe the mold is worse. I left the covers off all day today to see if I can get some of the humidity out. Except for the mold I believe I was on a very good start. I am very confidant that the cuttings are growing roots as during the course of applying the Clonex I occasionally applied it to the wrong end. I caught and corrected those however I see aerial roots forming on those If there are aerial roots I believe all viable cuttings are rooting.

My original thought was that I could mist the Daconil covering all surfaces of the cuttings with several well placed sprays.

Has anyone else experienced the thick non spray of Daconil. I tried a different hand sprayer and it clogged immediately.

I know I can dilute this but how effective would it be then?

Thanks I appreciate the fast response! I feel that I really added a lot more moisture than I wanted to with the "ready to go" Daconil. I'll cut the remaing batch till I get a sprayable consistency. I assumimg your ten squirts were in a standard one quart bottle? Did you finish filling the bottle with water or how much?

what works best for me, is a combination of airation and fewer cuttings in a box.  the bucket idea sounds perfect, but cuttings seem to do best if not touching one another, where they tend to keep moist in one area.

if I were you, moisten some newspaper, and remove all cuttings from the bucket,  let them dry up for a few minutes, clean them and reorganize them... stacking them up like a tower, crisscross format - as to light a bonfire, line the bottome with newspaper, interlayer a few papers up and down do you can replace the paper if gets too wet. you can control the moist this way... air them out, cover them again with a moist, but mostly drier paper.  condensation raises, so you take the top paper and replace it... the cuttings only need very little moist of their own to root. 

 a flatter box is better, to open and inspect them and leave them alone. I also learned they do not like to be handled much.

Best luck there...

I started venting my boxes and using small computer fans on timers. I came up with this when I was going to be out of town and thought I would come back to containers full of black and gray mold... I haven't had a mold problem since....I got the idea watching a video about commercial micro green growers and all the fans they have to prevent mold.  You can see the holes cut into the box and then sealed with gauze to keep out gnats, which is something else I am finally free of!!! 

Chinosol, highly recommended but pricey.

http://www.piwine.com/chinosol-fungicide-powder-1-lb.html

Physan20 is a concentrated liquid that you dilute in water to your desired strength.  It comes out of a spray bottle just like water, not goo.  I've had no trouble misting it on trouble spots.  Available in reasonably small bottles mail order...
Cheers,
Jim

Thanks all,

The Daconil is working but I think I will try to locally source the Physan20. It sounds like what I want to use.

I had to search to find where I saw this... from the orchid forum on Gardenweb:

Quote:

Before you go spending $20 - $50 for a bottle of Physan 20, go to your local pool supply or Home Depot.
The main ingredient is:

n-alkyl (60% C14, 30% C16, 5%C12, 5% C18) 
dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride� 10%
n-alkyl (68% C12, 32% C14) dimethyl 
ethylbenzyl ammonium chloride

Which is the same ingredient that is used in most pool algicides, but t a 5% ratio, as someone who commercially grows, we use the pool supply version which is just as good. Instead of 1 capful of the Physan 20, we use 2 of the pool algicide and the pool algicide, last we bought it, was in the range of $5 - $7. A no brainer. Also, what works well is hydrogen peroxide H2O2 at a 3% solution, what you buy at a drug store.

I'll be at HD this week and I'll look for that.

Hi Darkman,
I would make two buckets - one with the always clean cuttings and one with the moldy ones .

I was getting ready to spray my outdoor fruit trees with copper and it dawned on me that it might be good for fig cuttings to reduce mold. I found this thread and thought it would be good for a bump. A few other threads mention Actinovate to reduce mold and fungus also. Does anyone here have updates or other inspiration?

H2O2 (Peroxide)  3 parts water to 1 part H2O2 sprayed does not seem to hurt young leaves,  you decide what works for your plants.

This is a newbie question for sure, but is mold prevention necessary after leafing? I guess I never took that into consideration as I didn't have a mold problem my first year.

Here is my latest. After spraying with Daconil I did not have anymore mold issues except one or two cuttings occasionally. The mold also seems to attack the smaller cuttings and not the cuttings 3/4" and larger. The buckets have been outside in shade for almost a month now. If the temperature was going to be under forty I would set the lids on but most are over the top of the bucket now. I took my best looking bucket which had TX BA1 cuttings and potted 15 plants. All are doing well now and soon will be exposed to more sun. Only four cuttings did not have leaves and only one did not have roots. those five went back in the bucket and were sent to friend in Biloxi. I will start potting up more of the buckets next weekend