I'm sorry. I've had the same thing happen occasionally and I'm not really sure of the cause. I can't tell what kind of potting medium you have but it looks like it has a lot of peat. I'd add lots of perlite, coir or vermiculite to the soil and use a smaller cup or pot with lots of drainage holes. Allow the soil to dry some between waterings. Keep them at least at room temp and cross your fingers and toes! See what suggestions other people have and don't be surprised if we contradict each other. lol We all use what works best for us and what works for me might not work for Mr X. Just try what you feel will work the best for you.

I've been in your shoes! Jeri sent me some wonderful cuttings a while back and I couldn't get a single one of them to root. :-( I was so disappointed in myself.

Hopefully someone can provide you with answers.

Thanks Karyn for answering.
Indeed the potting medium you see in the picture has more peat in it. When I saw what is happening with my cuttings in a desperation I moved them in a clear plastic cup with a different potting mixture which had peat moss and perlite in it and put them in the house. I thought the soil might have had something in it and cause this but the process of destruction continued. In the original potting mix (bought from nursery) I did not put peat in it just vermiculite and perlite. I used the Moisture meter to check the soil.

figara, I am so there with you, I donÂt know either sorry I just wanted to lend my support and tell you, I fell your pain! I lost a good portion to that same thing, I thought maybe IÂm just fussing to much with them.lol But now IÂm gonna take a different approach, doing the rooting in water with air bubbles and pea stone cups, and yes IÂm so gonna add superthrive cant hurt. wink!. I am hoping by doing this that the cutting will get a bigger root system to better handle soil. If Im wrong some please enlighten me to lol. I thought that happened because of over watering. I also heard that you cant go wrong by misting them instead of watering them.
In the same boat and leanding my support,
Cassie

I found this happening the most when I planted deep. I just use a couple inches of potting soil now and then lift it and add more underneath when they get rootbound. It is rot even though its green.

So sorry, but know lots of us have been/are in your shoes. Our wonderful, generous brug friends share cuttings with us, or we buy them on ebay, and this happens. It's disappointing when you are able to root them, deal with the gnats indoors and then they die once planted. Hang in there as eventually some will take and you will be rewarded for persevering.

I feel your pain too! Last year- I won a brug contest & lost most of them the same way! I was able to stop the rot from the top down by cutting below the rot- then soaking the top with a cotton ball soaked in Listerine... This year I am trying the sphagnum peat moss jelly roll method that Karyn mentioned, also the toilet paper roll method... I'm collecting those rolls like a fiend! Winter is just not the best time to start cuttings! I took quite a few cuttings at the beginning of summer,& they rooted readily- I didn't want to take any chances this year! But unfortunately, I am a Brug addict- & have to have new varieties, so I will attempt these new ways to start them... I also bought shop lights with grow bulbs to keep them growing through the winter- I'll let you know how it works!
kasha77

Yes its definetely harder in the winter. I forgot I used yellow powdered sulfur to stop the rotting from the top thing and it worked as well. Also I noticed as long as the weather is above about 45 I try to leave my cutting in one spot where they get good sun. Its not as strong this time of the year. It seems like mine don't like it if I move them in and out and much as just leave them in one spot. Once I move them in I try and give them as much light as possible and leave them alone then too. They might lose the leaves but they will grow new indoor ones. Its better to leave them a little on the dry side and don't water until its dry when you stick your finger down under the surface. You will still have this happen to some but these are some things I have found that helps with most of them.

Anybody out there that does NOT have this ever had happened to them?

Lots of broken hearts :-( But the only time my heart breaks is when someone SHARES their cuttings with me and they do not make it. Then it hurts...not because I do not know by now that it JUST HAPPENS and has nothing to do with how I try to root them. But because I lost something a friend shared with me.
It is different when I buy it...then I ONLY lost the money.

But as we keep on trying...there will be a few that WILL make it and thrill us the coming season :-))))))

Lucy

Yes , I am heart broken because I lost the cuttings a friend sheared with me. A friend who put so much love and care to pack them to arrive safely. A friend who took time from her own to send packages to make other people happy. I am heart broken because I did not know how to take care of them and I feel like I let her down and all her efforts went to a waste. I want to learn from people's experiences and I know that you forum friends can understand what I am going through. I know my friends outside the forum would not understand if I tell them. It is hard to understand somebody unless you've been in their shoes.

Pat

Pat, I am SURE your friend knows exactly how you feel because it has happened to her again.
I am also sure that she send it out of love and KNOWS that you tried your best and I am also sure that everyone will share with you again...because we all want you to have a happy heart :-)

That is why I try to send rooted cuttings that I grew during the summer. Especially for newbies, so they do not get their hearts broken right the first time!

Hugs...and more hugs

Lucy