hi everyone! it's been a long time since i've been able to post due to going back to grad school and work stuff, but have been trying to still follow the posts:).

so, i am able to get to the small roots stage and have had ok success with getting through to the cup stage, but always seem to have failures once i pot up into a larger container.  either i get fungus gnats (aka rotten wood) or it goes ok for a little bit and then i probably am overwatering and kill the poor babies...?

i was hoping for some tips from you all since lots of folks are successful because it sure is sad to lose a bunch of cuttings that are rooted x 2 years!  any wisdom is much appreciated!

eun

Eun,

Do you have any pictures that show how the cuttings look leading up to their demise?

unfortunately no photos... but usually when i pull them up from the small pots, the wood is really soggy and looks like it is rotting and there were fungus gnats. 

Sounds like too much water without seeing any pictures. The plants are probably being overwatered or potting medium is holding too much water or both.

Sounds like overwatering, but pictures are worth a thousand words.

FYI, you can terminate fungus gnats by mixing hunks of 'mosquito dunks' in with your watering can water.

What soil mix do you use? For 1 gal I use 50/50 seedlings soil and perlite. It dries fast. I killed my last batch to not watering often enough.

Pete

Yep, the strong suspicion is over watering. I did the same thing to a few of my cuttings this year. I left them under the Oak tree to long. Soil was not drying out fast enough.

I'm no expert, but I agree with 7deuce. When I use MG potting mix, I always get fungus gnats. I have had success controlling them with mosquito dunks. Put a piece of one in your watering can over night  and water. Hope that helps. 

If your tendency is to kill them with love (too much water) then try adding lava sand or bonsai soil to your mix. 

All my trees are in

I've never seen/used a more productive or more forgiving soil.

Al

Looks very much like a succulent mix. Is this what you use for rooting only or do your full sized trees go in this too?

thanks so much everyone!  i have been using MG 50%/perlite 50%...will get some mosquito dunk as well!  hopefully better success this year!  will take pictures of the failures, but hoping not any (or at least not as many!)

:)

I can echo that miracle grow organic choice potting mix will result in fungus gnat problems.  I'll never use it again for rooting cuttings. 

I just threw out a rotted cutting myself just this week. It was the only one in MG soil and it was also the only one crawling with gnats.

Add my voice to the comments about Miracle Gro.  Fungus gnats in every pot where I used that stuff (including fig cuttings and other kinds of plants), and no gnats in any of the pots where I used other brands of potting soil.

last two times, i used MG seedling soil, and MG perlite. no issue here. maybe seedling soil is different. not hold as much water as their other soils? anyway, i only water the pot when it becomes very light. if the leaf droops and pot is still heavy, i mist the leaves and top of the soil. so far so good.

pete

As a note i have gotten knats with many different potting soils rooting indoors during winter not just Mg.
Years ago one used to be able to buy "Sterile Potting Mix" .

Seed starting mix is usually just peat moss mixed with vermiculite.  Should be sterile.  I think they heat treat it.  Has no nutritional value, so if you use that you'll need a bit of fertilizer before too long