new cutting with a very soft stem

17 years ago

Hello All,

Im a total novice when it comes to plants so your help is much appreciated. I just got a plumeria cutting and it is about 15" tall with two tips I planted it in a 1 gallon pot with 70% perlite, 15% peat, and 15% cactus soil with about an inch of pea gravel on top. I then watered it with about 3-4 cups of water with a some superthrive in it. Oh I also dipped the bottom part in rootone. Since I am located in the Seattle area where we get alot of rain and not much sun I have it inside under a 160watt grow lite for about 18 hours a day. So my problem is the stem seems to be very squishy but I have pricked it and white ooze comes out so I watered it some more but it still seems very soft. I am kind of afraid of over watering how do I know when to keep watering or when to stop and also will my grow lite be enough to make it bloom? Also when I got my cutting it had a few small new leaves that hadnt opened yet but they are all black, are they dead or will they eventually open up, should I leave them alone or pinch them off also should I use a fertalizer and if so what kind???

Like I said im a total novice so any help will be much appreciated!!!

Thanks

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Comments (4)

joanna427
17 years ago
It sounds like you are definitely overwatering! First I wouldn't of used the peat because it's been known to retain moisture, but you only added a little bit so it's probably ok..Second you watered 3 to 4 cups of water? That's a lot of water for a new cutting. When I root, I usually wet the medium (soil mix) first and get it good and saturated. I then pack the soil so it's condensed and tight. I then make a hole big enough for the cutting, and then gently set it inside so that the rooting hormone doesn't wipe off. (Some people use perlite completely around the cutting so that it's nice and airy in there, which sounds like a good idea too)After setting it inside the soil pack/firm the soil around the cutting and then I add the pea gravel (which a lot of people cant do because it's too hot for where a lot of people live but you should be ok) You really dont need to add superthrive until your cutting is already rooted, because you dont have any roots to absorb the fertilizer yet. Once you get a couple leaves growing then you can feed it superthrive once every 2 weeks, but until then you dont need to give it anymore. How close is the soil from the grow light? The experts recommend the light be about 6 inches from the soil in order for it to be effective. Also, do you have some type of heater you can put under the plant? What the cutting really needs right now is bottom heat (like from a terranium heat pad or something similar) DO NOT WATER IT ANYMORE...It wont need anymore water until after it's rooted and you see new growth/leaves! Is there any way you can take a picture of it and put it on here so we can see it? I just saw that you talk about the leaves being black..Were they black/dark to start with (some red plumies have really dark small leaves and when they open up they get lighter in color) Does the tip of the cutting look black as well? If you go to plumeria101.com there is a section with pictures of plumeria with black tip..Check to see if your plumie looks like the pictures...Or post a picture and we can help you as well. To post a picture on this site, you need to open up an account with "photobucket" (it's free) and download a picture to that site. Once you have a picture there, you can click on the second line under the picture (Tag)and right click on it. Copy it and then come here and paste it in your reply. It should work then... But above all no more watering until you have new growth!!!
Joanna
burnsaa
Original Author
17 years ago
Here are the two tips how do they look? Also I have the lamp about 6" from the top of the tips. I made sure it was far enough away from the tips to not burn them should I move it closer is it a big enough light? Also I have included a pic of my other two the one in the middle is the one with the issue. I wont water it any more for a while:)

Thanks for the help!!

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joanna427
17 years ago
The tips look ok...no sign of black tip that I can see...It looks like it's just a darker variety(cultivar)..Do you know what it is? (ex: Scott Pratt, Hilo Beauty) As the leaves grow and open up (after the plant has rooted) they will take on more of a green color(with red veins most likely) I wouldn't worry about the tips..I'd be more concerned about too much water and not enough bottom heat. You might want to look at past topics that talked about heaters and what to use. I'm in sunny southern ca, so I dont need to worry about not getting enough heat. My problem usually consists of having too much sun! But I'd definitely look into getting some type of heater for under the pots. (some people have used water bed heaters, as well as terranium heaters...dont know if it's safe to use heating pads for people(for backache) I don't think your suppossed to leave them on for very long) Maybe Dave from Va has more ideas since he's more prone to your type of weather. I'm sure other people who live in a climate like yours will have more ideas for you in regards to heating from the bottom...But for now no water, and stick to using the grow light :)
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burnsaa
Original Author
17 years ago
Nope sorry I dont know what kind it is I got it from mauiplumeriagardens.com they sent the "mystery" cutting as a bonus when I ordered one of the others.