Using water crystals for starting the rooting process:

This thread of this post is also posted in my 'Overwintering branches without rooting' post also.

By the way, that title should have called the branches 'cuttings', as that's the term we always use here for that removed part.

The cutting has been a branch, above ground, but now we need a part of it to (1/2 ?) transform to a substrate rooting system.

Getting them this way before they shrivel up or turn to mush is the challenge, thus I suggest the crystals.

Shrivelling up is one of 2 things that I'm aware of 1) lack of water at the root area for too long in warm weather or 2)incapable of transforming to a root system, as would be a too green cutting. Usually these are taken off the end of branches with no matured nubs). People don't necessarily know you can't root this kind of cutting, not reasonably easy enough, so don't assume they screwed you over, ask first next time.

Booo on the mush....the dreaded mush. The value of the water crystals is multifold for us. Water crystals don't let chemicals caused from even the beginnings of rotting spread around the container which tends to choke out the oxygen, and creates a too toxic environment for roots to grow anywhere on the cutting.

Using water instead of cyrstals? The lesson here is, change your water every couple of days with room temp mineral/spring water and check for mush before it turns brown. See Checking below.

With crystals you don't change nothing, you check every couple of days out of curiousity, making sure they are getting their light and you give a sniff - it's not pleasant but you don't smell ammonia (rot) so of coarse you leave them in. The arguement being, the bigger roots there are to start in dirt = the less likely they are to fail. I had 3-4" roots on mine without mush but these are hardier brugs so don't be pushing it with yours - even an 1-2" is likely good enough. I stick mine right in a 2 litre pop bottle for the winter time - Should they get too big - old school is too big a plant for the pot is when the pot is 1/3 the heighth of the whole heighth but there are plants like figs that can get by with a whole lot less and brugs are similiar. I have a 6' plant in a 1' pot but it's not growing much taller...dwarfism/bonsai'd, so you call it.

A couple of mine had some mush on one of their ends, I suspect from too much cold exposure(?) over winter while in the bags (sticking out a bit), they were also in a brown paper bag (closed by folding over the top) which I will have to post to clarify as I neglected to mention it, which also helps to keep the temps stabler.

The rot didn't hurt the others because the rot stayed local - in the jelly crystals touching them. I simply cut off those end tips and reinserted the cuttings which grew fine (I did see roots coming in above the rotted area so I could of potted up at this time but I was experimenting and not planning to pot them ALL up).

In about 2-3 weeks (could be sooner or later)you'll be knowing it's time to pot up. Some would pot up as soon as the white nubbies had shown the transformation to root level stalk. If any sign of mush is showing at this point, (see Checking below)remove the mush and pot up. In this case, you may still lose it, if they are still only nubbies and the tissue is already showing damage and you can't grow the roots in the crystals, minimizing the cuttings contact with moisture further by potting in soil is your last chance. Just keep moist and don't overdue the watering. If you have a water meter, put it in as deep as your roots are planted and take the reading from in that area.

Pot up at the exact level that you rooted it at or a little deeper - don't confuse the plant.

If those white nubbies on your cuttings aren't growing roots but your cutting is fine, keep them in longer.

CHECKING THEM : Use your nose, if you smell something like ammonia, with clean hands, gently lift it out and run your finger down the cutting where it was in the water crystals - if any part is beginning to rot you will see it come off. If nothing slimes off put it back in. If the green outer layer, slides off you have mush, aka rot. If you don't have enough root growth showing, remove that end and reinsert in rinsed out crystals, or just somewhere else in the crystals where the rot did not touch or just use new crystals. If you have a show of roots, you should pot up right away. How to rinse crystals is up in this post.

If you use water (jelly) crystals, mix the water crystals in the soil to.

Any questions or advice? - Sandy