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Plant Propagation

The best (simple) media for rooting cuttings?

fabaceae_native

12 years ago

Hi all,

Is 100% peat a definite no-no for rooting cuttings in? I used it because I thought it was the most sterile of what I had on hand at the time, but the hardwood cuttings (pre-callused and a few showing roots) in it are leafing out but starting to mold and decline.

If I bought a single bag of planting medium from the local Home Depot, what would give me the best odds with hardwood cuttings?

Perlite?

Vermiculite?

Seed-starting mix?

Generic potting soil?

I've not seen this question addressed in a straightforward way, although there seems to be much discussion of differing opinions regarding mixes for specific plants such as figs on that forum. The products the folks named were totally unfamiliar to me, thus my no-BS style of question here...

Thanks for any input.

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Comments (4)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
12 years ago
no matter what you buy.. use the link to sterilize it first.. no matter what is claimed on the bag ...

pure peat is good for just about nothing.. other than mixing with other things ... in my non-professional experience ...

when i did some hardwood cuttings in one gal milk jugs with one gal bags over them.. i used straight perlite.. which i had sterilized.. along with the jug [the rest with 10% bleach] .. the bag [i did presume a new bag was sterile].. and all tools .... and some bottom heat ... here is a pic

{{gwi:5067}}

without knowing what you are doing.. when.. nor how.. its really hard to give you the type of answer you want: no-BS style of answer ....

if they are rooted ... get them out.. remove all the peat.. and get them into a cactus type mix if they are shrubs/trees/conifers.... these type of plants.. once they have roots.. like a bit of water ... and then drainage.. which pure peat does not .... even if they remain in a humidity chamber ...

in other words.. the rooting media.. is not the same media to use with rooted stock..

nor the same media to use once you start potting them up ...

ken

Here is a link that might be useful: link
gary77788
12 years ago
Hi,ive been doing a wide range of cuttings,both hardwood and softwood,in a 50/50 mix of peat and sharp sand for years with good results.Last year i ran out and used quality top soil instead and the cuttings did even better in the topsoil!I do all my cuttings outside though as this ensures adequate ventilation and sunshine.If your hardwood cuttings are inside this time of year the warmth may be making them leaf when there is not enough light to substain them hence the die back.
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Ciao ox, I should have worded my last post more indepth. I root them like everyone else in newpaper and bag, once they root, I put them in a LARGE pot that they will be in permanently for a few years or whatever then they grow and root in the pot. I use just Bought garden soil. Our soil is very clay In Pennsylvania and not good, surprisingly for being in the mountains there. I put them in vertically all the way to a couple nodes, almost cover the whole cutting about 75%. Thats all. I won't put any of my prize figs in the ground we have at home because we are planning to sell our home in near future, I don't want to leave any of the figs at the house. I want to take them with me, they stay in their pots until we get our more permanent old age home. We will be moving out of that City. My older relatives who are here now, do not even root in bags, they just dig a hole and lay them Horizon in the ground then water then they get their new trees, but they are all on our land and we don't intend to sell the orchards, they must stay int he family. They cuttings always root well, sometimes not, but the relatives almost have a 95% rate with this old method. It is the same as how Loslunas said to do it in the ground. I showed My Uncle's how to root them in the bags, they thought that was a very interesting way to root fig trees. I wonder if they will catch on. Okay, time to eat something, Ciao.
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I also when they're stuck, immediatley spray them with a fungaecide/algaecide and watch for disease. If I spot any disease I use the fungaecide algaecide again. If any disease looks too bad, I remove those/that cuttings. My local garden center sells a combo fung/algae product and I'm sure there are many brands to choose from. I also wound the cuttings (must have a heel of hardwood) prior to dipping into my rooting hormone. A few three slits on two sides and make sure the tip of the cutting has a nice clean cut edge exposing healthy green cambium. Dax
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Potting mix is mostly pine bark (composted at least to some degree, though sometimes our potting mix was still composting, which used to drive me batty). It also holds fertiliser, which is not suitable for a cutting mix. Cutting mixes should contain no fertiliser. Cutting mix holds air and water, probably in higher amounts than a potting mix. And it also acts as a 'holder'. It anchors the cuttings. Plus, it allows roots to travel through it, as though they were growing in the ground. I mention this because I do not like to root things in water. The roots have no 'structure' to them when you take the cutting from the jar. They just all stick together. When you empty a pot of rooted cuttings which have been rooted in a good cutting mix, you can shake the mix from the roots very well, in gentle motions. This allows you to then pot up that cutting with its roots nicely splayed. Of course, some people just shove them in - I've seen it. It makes my head hurt. I'd rather waste time (in their book) and arrange the young plant to my liking. Potting mix just won't give you (or more correctly, the plant) as good a root system.
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Comments (3)
The simple way is to use course sand like they use in concrete. In my rooting beds I put a 2 inch layer of small gravel and the rest course sand to make sure it drains well. You can use this with a intermintent mist system or just place in a shady spot and keep damp. When you use potting soil it can retain moisture and cause fungus problems at the stem be sure and use a rooting compound.
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fabaceae_native
Original Author
12 years ago
Thanks so much ken and gary, your advice is very helpful. Ken, your answer is just the kind I was looking for, even without knowing all the details of what I'm doing, which I won't bother with now. Suffice to say that I'm pretty confident with the rest of the process I followed.

Obviously it was a mistake to try the peat... I was thinking it's antifungal properties (I store all my root vegetables from the garden in it all winter with great results even in not-so-cool conditions) might work for cuttings too.

Gary, I too have been more successful with outdoor rooting, mostly in regular (peaty) potting soil. I doubt the light thing is the issue though, since these are in my sunroom where I grow tropical fruits and start all my seedlings. Great solarity at 7,000 feet here in NM...
ralleia
12 years ago
Ken,

When I first was looking at the bag over your cuttings, and seeing the hoses coming out of the wall, I was scrolling down in anticipation of seeing what kind of highly-advanced propagation setup they were on.....

And then I saw it was a washing machine. :)

Are those some kind of juniper?

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