3 cuttings took root with burrito method! Advise needed for next

11 years ago

Hello everyone,

After reading the postings in other past threads about the burrito method of propagating (thank you, Kim, your advise was incredibly helpful and gave me the courage to give it a go), I decided to try when I pruned in early January. I took about 60 cuttings, followed the instructions and, though most of them died, I currently have 3 that are leafing out and have decent root systems. It's quite thrilling, actually! One is Our Lady of Guadaloupe, a rose that I really love, and the other 2 are mysteries for now b/c I lost track of some of the roses after I pruned them and so not all of them are identified. But I only used my favorites, so they should be something I will be excited to see!

I think that I would have had more, but somehow I misread the part about how much sunlight the cutting should get and instead of giving them 2 hours of morning sun, I just gave them dappled sunlight. By the time I realized my mistake and moved them to a sunnier spot, most of them were already goners.

In any case, I know that I am supposed to repot them into something bigger now, but my main question is about the amount of sunlight they should be getting once they are repotted. If Kim is reading this or anyone else who knows, please guide me from here.

Thank you to all!
Holly

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (6)

roseseek
11 years ago
Hi Holly, you private messaged me but didn't include your email so I couldn't respond. I did post a response to the propagation forum that day. I've linked it below so I don't have to respond twice. I'm a bit surprised how few you had succeed and wonder why the method didn't work better for you. I'm glad it's helped you take the plunge! Once you have the kinks worked out, it's great being able to reproduce roses virtually at will! Congratulations! Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: Response for Holly
danyoni
Original Author
11 years ago
Hi Kim,

Thank you I read your response from the other forum. Thank you for providing the link.

Yes, I did use the burrito method and I tried to take care to plant only those that were callused so I'm not sure either why I lost so many. Maybe the lack of adequate light, but I'm sufficiently psyched to try again. If I do the soft wood cuttings, I assume I do the same thing with the wrapping, cups, etc.

I just checked my 3 and, yes, they all have roots just beginning to poke out of the sides and bottoms of the soil so i think based upon your advice that i should lift them and add more of the seed starter soil to the bottom of the cup (I dont recall what size i told you i used but i think they are 16 oz. or maybe the next size up. They are long and thin styro foam from Smart and Final) and leave them be for awhile longer until I see more roots. At the same time it sounds like I should also start gradually giving them more direct sunlight. Does this sound like the right plan?

Again, thank you for your time,
Holly
Related Discussions
Only 1 cutting to root: which method should I use?
Q
Comments (21)
Hi Jenn, you're welcome! It really isn't all that difficult to wring out the paper. I like using three full sheets. I unfold them, laying them out flat, then put my hand right in the center, wrapping them around my hand and wrist while dunking them into a bucket of water for a few minutes. I pull them out, gently folding them into a twist and wring them out. There is a little tearing some times, but not terribly. If you're careful, you can wring out most of the water with little tearing because of the thickness of the three sheets. If it's more comfortable for you, fold them the best you can and run an old rolling pin from the kitchen over them until they no longer drip, but are thoroughly wet/damp. With the wet paper still twisted from wringing them out, grab the "rope" of wet paper in the center then just gently shake it back and forth. It will begin to loosen and fall open. It makes it easier for you to spread them out as a wet, three layer sheet. Process your cuttings and lay them in the center of the sheet with a label. Once you're finished processing all the cuttings, fold over the top and bottom of the sheet, the ends at the top and bottom of the cuttings, then begin rolling them tightly into the "burrito". Make sense? I've also laid out the three sheets of paper on the deck and thoroughly wet them with the hose, but that uses more water, so I prefer the bucket. My concern is your spray bottle may not sufficiently wet the paper. Dipping or dunking them into a bucket of water does. If the paper tears a bit, don't worry, just spread it out as flat as you can and use it. You'll have several layers of damp paper rolled up encasing the cuttings to provide them sufficient moisture so it isn't a real issue. If you're doing several batches, just put each burrito into a plastic bag to prevent it from drying and add each one to the bag as you complete it. Once you're finished with them all, gently squeeze out the excess air from the bag and tie it shut. I then put this one upside down into another bag and repeat the process. I've usually used three bags together, each one reversed from the other, to provide as much of a seal against moisture loss as possible, then placed them in the dresser drawer in the garage to keep them cool. When the weather is conducive for the work room attached to the garage to remain in the sixties degree range, I've also just laid them on a shelf in that room where they've also worked just fine. I understand what you meant about putting them on the refrigerator now, thank you. As long as the heat from the motor doesn't warm them, and they remain in the approximate temperature range, all should work just fine. I'm excited to follow your progress! Many years ago, very dear friends retired from this area and moved into the mountains north of Los Angeles. She was sad she had to leave the three bushes of Circus she planted at that house shortly after they bought it in the early sixties. After the move, I knocked on the door and introduced myself to the new owners and requested permission to take cuttings, explaining why I wanted them. They were delighted to share them with me. Both Janne and I were excited when I visited and handed her several own root plants of her beloved Circus, propagated from her old plants. She had some of her old garden, where she'd happily lived for thirty plus years and raised her six children, to grace her "retirement" garden. That connection with your old plant is a happy one. Been there many times and plan on many more! Kim
...See More
Burrito method - cannot locate instructions for after roots form
Q
Comments (18)
I haven't wrapped azaleas yet because they rooted as easily as the hibiscus, the same way I rooted hibiscus. I have wrapped lilac and it callused. So far, there are still four pieces of lilac pushing new growth, but no visible roots in their pots. They're fresh and appear to be growing. I won't know for a while if it's going to work. Laurus noblis hasn't callused, but it also isn't deteriorating once planted (three weeks). I did the azalea out of curiosity, using various size and thickness cuttings. They took easily. I don't know if they flowered this year or not as I really don't have anywhere suitable to grow them except where they already grow and that's full. They were pieces which grew where I didn't want them to grow, so I tried rooting them instead of just throwing them out. They were cut in October of 2010 and rooted by spring/summer 2011. All I did for the hibiscus and azalea was to fill two gallon cans with Miracle Grow Moisture Control Potting Soil, firming it in very well by hand. I cut the various cuttings and stripped of all but the top leaves. I used Dip'n Grow diluted to between the 10 and 15X levels (probably about 12.5X), just because that "seemed" right, soaking the newly cut cuttings for about six seconds before jamming them into the moistened soil. Once all inserted, I watered a second time and left them in the shade of the house, north side, where they received strong, reflected light and all the rain which fell. It WAS a wet year and spring lasted until June. This year, there hasn't been any rain to speak of and "winter" hasn't happened. It's supposed to be nearly ninety here tomorrow. I gave away pots of hibiscus and azalea last year because they rooted SO easily. They were all varieties I already grow and I didn't need more.
...See More
Best Method for Rooting Cuttings?
Q
Comments (19)
There are three terms you might benefit from understanding. "Dormant", "soft wood", "hard wood". Dormant in my climate means wood which is removed in late winter/early spring BEFORE the plant begins pushing foliage and flowers. Some years that period seems not to occur, most years, it does. Hard wood is the growth BENEATH that which has most recently flowered. Sometimes it has older foliage on it, others, it doesn't. Sometimes that can be "dormant". Soft wood are the most recent flowering stems, usually those which have recently shed their petals. Wrapping, or "The Burrito Method", traditionally works most successfully with dormant material, though it CAN work wtih hard wood cuttings under optimum conditions. Most often, methods such as the "baggie", "terarium", mist, etc., require soft wood material, that which has recently borne a flower after the bloom has fallen. Dormant and hard wood material is "harder", it won't wilt easily and is usually more durable against harsher conditions. Its buds are more "dormant", requiring more time to mature before being stimulated into growing. Soft wood wilts rather easily as it is "softer", more juvenile. It usually contains more readily available nutrients, hormones, auxins, etc. which push new foliage and flowers. Under ideal conditions, it can often root very quickly. When I volunteered at The Huntington Library, propagating for the sales and gardens, I used soft wood material under their mist propagation set up. A flowering stem which had recently shed its petals could root under the usual summer conditions in the mist table in seven to ten days. Hard wood took several weeks under mist. Hard wood and dormant cuttings over winter in the green houses required three to four months. What is optimum for you to use depends upon a wide range of variables. You can study suggestions from other climates for each method, but you have to experiment with them where you are to determine which works best for you and at what times of the year. A rose breeder friend in Rancho Mirage has his best success in November using soft wood, if that helps. Kim
...See More
I need a few pointers / my first attempt at rooting a cutting
Q
Comments (8)
I have had good rooting success by sticking semi-green cuttings in damp, coconut coir (bought in a pet-shop). I filled a large soda bottle with this coir...after I cut off the top part...and inserted the stems into the coir. I snipped off all baby figs, and all the leaves except the topmost two or, three smaller leaves. I then cut another soda bottle at the point where the top starts to taper, and placed that bottle over the new cutting, to make a "greenhouse". This will conserve moisture and hold humidity. I left my cuttings exposed to bright light, but no direct sun. My cuttings rooted within three-four weeks. You will be able to see roots growing into the coir. When I pot up these cuttings, I will scissor cut down the sides of the soda bottles, and plant the root-ball, intact, into a good growing medium, in a one-gallon pot. You-Tube also has a video showing a very similar process. Look for a man named Ray Given, and fig-tree propagation/ green cuttings. Good luck. Frank
...See More
roseseek
11 years ago
Hi Holly, you're welcome! If you try soft wood cuttings, the wraps won't work. You'll need to either do something like Mel Hulse suggested in The Rose Rustler's Tool Kit (linked below), or the bottle method others have had success with and has been offered here on the forums. My micro climate doesn't work covering cuttings and it's arid enough that uncovered, most soft wood cuttings fail, so I can't offer you advice on that method.

If the material you wrapped wasn't sufficiently dormant, it may not have contained sufficient stored nutrients to carry it through the rooting process. They won't absorb nor generate food until they have roots and leaves, so the several weeks required between cutting and wrapping them, and formation of new leaves and roots all require the food the cuttings already contain. That's why in my garden (climate) I don't have success with most until late December to mid January as they don't shut down enough to contain what they need until then. In particularly warmer "winters", they may not store enough nutrients at all, as they never really "shut down". In colder climates, they could probably be successfully wrapped earlier and even much later than here because they remain dormant longer. Mine began growing and flowering in February, so my window was quite short this year. I did have success with cuttings taken from my sister's garden in Newhall up in the Santa Clarita Valley, where it's been colder so the roses didn't begin pushing until a few weeks after mine did here in Encino.

If you're seeing roots out the soil bottoms, sure, lift them higher, exposing more of the cuttings. You might want to do that first while leaving them in the dappled light, unless it's very damp/humid in your garden. In wetter conditions, you can safely put them in greater sunlight without the fear of them frying. I'm experiencing a bit of fry now that it's getting a lot more intense, but the only ones not succeeding are the ones I expected to have issues with. I wrapped some I've never had much luck with to see if that would vary from year to year. I also wrapped material which wasn't in the greatest shape to experiment. Those are the ones which aren't doing as well, but most are coming along as I expected them to. A few probably too well!

The Smart and Final (great place!) 16 oz foam cups are what I've found the most cost effective and easiest to use until they out grow that size. Then I put them into gallons, but the 16 oz size is fine for quite a few weeks and I'm getting my third year of use out of most of them so they're particularly cost effective. Good luck! Kim

Here is a link that might be useful: The Rose Rustler's Toolkit
kittymoonbeam
11 years ago
Kim, your aftercare method worked great for a little piece of cane I had from Reine Victoria with only one scrawny bitty root. I treated it like a burrito rootling and now I have leaves coming out of 3 places on the itty bitty cane. Thanks again! Kit
roseseek
11 years ago
Marvelous, Kitty! Congratulations! I'm glad, but it's not really "my" technique. It's what has been suggested for bare root planting for many decades. It's "heeling the plant in", keeping it cool, damp and moist so it doesn't dry out until it has a chance to develop roots and grow. Warm and bright pushes leaf, cane and flower production. Cool, damp and dark stimulates root growth instead of top growth. It only made sense to encourage them to do what was desired, that was the way to go! I'm glad it's done what it was supposed to with your Reine Victoria. Nature is pretty amazing (and logical) isn't she? Kim
roseseek
11 years ago
Cuttings turning brown instead of callusing appears to me to be either insufficient stored nutrients and/or too wet paper. Fuzzy mold sounds like too wet paper. Once they've begun turning brown, they're toast. Good callus and root with a bit of fuzz at the upper end, as long as it doesn't involve all the growth buds, can often be cut off after they are potted and doesn't always grow back as long as the surrounding air is dry enough. If the whole cutting is fuzzy, don't fret with it, just dump it and try another. Kim

3 cuttings took root with burrito method! Advise needed for next

Comments (6)

roseseek

danyoni
Original Author

Related Discussions

roseseek

kittymoonbeam

roseseek

roseseek

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

3 cuttings took root with burrito method! Advise needed for next

Comments (6)

roseseek

danyoniOriginal Author

Related Discussions

roseseek

kittymoonbeam

roseseek

roseseek

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

danyoni
Original Author