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Which rooting method do you swear by?

Quote:
Originally Posted by garden_whisperer
Might have to look into those root riot things


Hmm. Editing my last comment. It's $30 for 100, $20 for 50. Might be something to look into. By volume, if they work, they seem like something that could be worth it.

By far what worked best for me was to first start them in moist sphagnum
moss in a plastic bag till roots develop, and then pot in a draining potting mix.
I usually do this for small twig quantities.

For larger twig
quantities; I usually start then directly in the same potting
mix (2-3 parts potting soil; 1 part perlite) in 20-24 ounce foam cups.
I never expect a 100% success rate; but I am satisfied with (I guess) ~75+ %.

The Root Riot worked well for me.

But this time around I am also going to use those Uline bags. Just like the ones Jon pictures in the website.
I am going to wrap moist moss around the each cuttings and insert them (one each) into the Uline bags with the tip slightly exposed and place them nice and snug side by side into a sealed container and let nature work its' magic. That way once roots have been established I will simply remove from bag and into the pot.

I hope this works and I will post it when the time comes.

For me the best was been pro mix in plant plug trays, humidity dome with a heating mat, they get very small amount of light, usually I put rooting hormone but not always.  If I get gnats then cuttings fail unless I treat for them with vectobac (BT product).  I just prefer this method for myself, moss has been hit or miss for me and others it's fantastic.

The only thing I don't like about the root riot is once the roots come out you have to pot up the plant right away because the cubes are kind of small and  thats ok if you start a couple of cuttings but if you are nuts like I am and start 100 plus you have to be right there, 

The way I am doing it from now on is like George's method sphagnum moss in a bag my cuttings were ready to be potted and I didn't have time and it was no problem leaving them another week or two in the bags there was plenty of room for the roots to grow, 

Here's some pictures of some I am in the process of doing right now , from the bag right to 1 quart containers

This batch here that I just did was about 55 cuttings and I lost 4 

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I have started putting mine directly into 32oz deli containers with 1/2 perlite and 1/2 seed starting mix. I put the scion in after treating with dip n grow and dip the bottom in a rain water tub. Let the cup drain and sit it on the porch. Now I have to put them in totes so I can bring them in at night but worked like a charm.

How long does it take for a fresh cut to callus over? I want to know how long I should wait before putting these in fully, as I cleaned up the original cuts a bit.

I recut the ends as I'm starting them, I don't wait. I do wax the top though.

I don't wait for cuttings to callus over either. Cut, put in rooting medium and let em root. When I have used moss I noticed that some had a very distinct callus while others had no noticeable callus. Either way it didn't seem to matter, they sent out roots in any case.

Until I can go out to the bog to get some sphagnum moss, I just put them in some light potting mix layered on one another. I can't find anyone selling anything close to me at any reasonable price, so I'll have to improvise.

Home Depot has it cheap and so does ebay.

Every body does what they like best. Like others have said, you have find out what you like. I will say, I love the riot rooter cubes. I've have excellent results using them. BUT, come March I'm changing over to the bubble propagator. I've been testing one for 2 months with unbelievable results. I didn't beleive it but it worked. My coach used some special vitamins and the cutting had a massive root ball. Now, I'm sold on this method.

Dennis, can you please expound on this bubble rooting? I am intrigued!

So far no one has mentioned the use of 10% bleach solution. I only have one year rooting fig cuttings but my experience in general is that 10% bleach solution is very effective. I just soaked them for a few minutes in this solution and then put them in plastic shoe boxes with damp green sphagnum moss. I did not rinse the solution off after the soak. I didn't have any gnat or rot problem and out of 50 cuttings I think only 3 didn't sprout. I followed the information from http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL006C8FFCDC6EA136

Quote:
Originally Posted by gorgi
By far what worked best for me was to first start them in moist sphagnum
moss in a plastic bag till roots develop, and then pot in a draining potting mix.
I usually do this for small twig quantities.

For larger twig
quantities; I usually start then directly in the same potting
mix (2-3 parts potting soil; 1 part perlite) in 20-24 ounce foam cups.
I never expect a 100% success rate; but I am satisfied with (I guess) ~75+ %.


Took the words right out of my mouth 

Tami, it's a large spriter machine with 6 micro misters. The water is aerated using a bubbler and has some concentrated vitamins added. There is no mold. A set of 4 T5 grow lights hangs above the cuttings. The lights keep the cuttings warm. I mist the cutting twice a day sometimes but its not required. The cuttings root in 10 days and massive roots in 20 days. The vitamins are super concentrated. Only a teaspoon per 5 gallons of water. I tested some cuttings and every one rooted. I couldn't believe it. It sold me as the way to root cuttings. I have one bubbler and adding another one to my Christmas list to my wife.

my concern about post 23: seems that cuttings not like airlayers, need  air, so, mold does not develop, if all tied up, it will take lots of handling to air out.. best to put them in a plastic tub with moss or moist paper, cover them with a blanket of moss or paper and close the lid... at least once a week, open for airation and moist control, if place is too hot, you may need to remoist... if tied as shown, you are likely to grow mold, but again, you may do better than most of us.

Snaglpus, what vitamins nutrients do you use with your propagator? How much wattage do you recommend for lighting? I am looking into led for lighting purposes. Thanks, Rod!

The last few I did, I "sushi rolled" in sphag and newspaper in ziplocs and sat upright in a jar (helps keep the scion from sitting in a pool of condensation) on the water heater--great for small quantities. TIP: if working with sphagmoss, wring it out well until moist and springy--too wet and the cutting will water log and rot. PS> Sorry for the free Chevyman advertising. DOH! 
[figroll_zpsfa0a9be8]

Quote:
Originally Posted by recomer20
The last few I did, I "sushi rolled" in sphag and newspaper in ziplocs and sat upright in a jar (helps keep the scion from sitting in a pool of condensation) on the water heater--great for small quantities. TIP: if working with sphagmoss, wring it out well until moist and springy--too wet and the cutting will water log and rot. PS> Sorry for the free Chevyman advertising. DOH! 
[figroll_zpsfa0a9be8]


How wet is too wet, would you say? What I did was to take a tote container, lay down some potting mix, put down 4 cuttings, then repeat that twice before misting it down. Right now the potting mix is sort of like cake as far as consistency. Damp yet crumbly. Should I be doing more or less water?

I've never started cuttings in soil, so I can't say. (Actually, my very first cutting was dipped in powder hormone and stuck in a tray of soil and it died without ever rooting, so I abandoned the concept--was it the powder or the soil???) Soil has some problems: it's hard to regulate moisture through thick soil, you can't readily see progress, and if sealed, it might begin molding. Sphag is nice because it's fluffy, so it's moist but allows air flow. I'd worry a scion buried completely under soil and shut in a box would rot, but who knows, it's entirely possible I'm overcomplicating...

Good luck and report back,
Rick

2-3 weeks for my Kathleen's Black cuttings to put on roots in paper towel and ziploc. i'm not complaining :) time to go get some soil and drill holes in the cups again..

Quote:
Originally Posted by rafed
The Root Riot worked well for me.

But this time around I am also going to use those Uline bags. Just like the ones Jon pictures in the website.
I am going to wrap moist moss around the each cuttings and insert them (one each) into the Uline bags with the tip slightly exposed and place them nice and snug side by side into a sealed container and let nature work its' magic. That way once roots have been established I will simply remove from bag and into the pot.

I hope this works and I will post it when the time comes.



I am going to try very similar to this.  I generally do only a few at a time and if you do not have the root riot tray full, it seems to not work as well.  This will let me do a handfull at a time.  Already have the bags and cubes, just need to get some spagnum.

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