Good luck. I had a half dozen cuttings I tried to make earlier, none survived. I've started a dozen more using every trick I know this time around in hopes of getting just one to root.

From what I've seen, bhuts just do not like to root.

Keep us up to date. My summer season ended a couple weeks ago but I kept a few plants for overwintering. I think I will be taking a couple of clippings from them and trying to propagate them. So please let us know what does and doesn't work for you. Maybe someone else out there with some more experience doing this might weigh in too.
Bruce

I've tried rooting Pepper cuttings several times using water,water with an airstone with and without rooting compounds.
Adding an airstone improved the process,with and without rooting compound.
Rooting compounds contain a couple different things.
It depends what you use and what plant you are trying to root.According to the guy at the nursery.
I tried rootone , Schultz Take Root and Dip'N Grow.
First I tried Rootone with no more success than water,same with Take root.
I googled rooting compounds and found several contained both the ingrediants that are in the Rootone (1-Naphthaleneacetic acid and Thiram(tetramethyl thiuramdisulfide) ,Schultza (Indole-3-butyric acid) and Dip'n grow has(tetramethyl Naphthaleneacetic acid and Indole-3-butyric acid).
So far mixing the Take root and Rootone together 50/50 seems to work better than any one alone.
The mix worked on my Habanero De Arbol when over a few years of trying without success nothing rooted before.

I've never tried rooting anything other than cactus and succulants so any one of the compounds might work on other stuff by itself.
The guy at the nursey dad say different compounds do make a difference with different plants.That is why the more expensive compounds contain different ingrediants or mixtures of different chemicals.

Thanks all for your replies, well my first update is the rooting compound with soil did not work, the clipping died. The good news is the three in water only are alive and doing well. Will post updates on the remaining as they develope.

Update, the three that were left after the one died, two I had at home mites destroyed :-( I have the one at work that's still alive but no roots yet, I will let it be until it roots or dies. Can't wait until Jan starting my pepper seeds!

You have had the cutting in water since October and it has neither died nor rooted? Am I reading this right?

Yes, reading it right, it's green and alive in water, no roots yet. Since Oct 24th. Not sure why it's alive but I am leaving it alone until it either dies or sprouts some roots.

Wow, I think I would try to change something on that plant. Maybe change the lighting or boost the temp a little or maybe look for an additive to the water that might spur root growth. Kind of cool it is still alive but that doesn't do you much good unless it eventually puts out some roots.
Keep us posted.
Bruce

Almost 2 months in water and no roots but still alive? -- that is curious indeed! Please keep us informed!

That was about the same reaction I had from mine. The ones in straight water (or water with plant food added) lasted for about as long (well over a month) while staying perfectly green and perky, but with no hints of rooting at all. Then one day, they just give up and fall over dead.

I tried rooting somewhere around two dozen cuttings. None were successful. I've come to the conclusion that superhots at least simply do not root.

I have a couple Hot Hungarian Wax peppers and a Bhut that I cut back and am overwintering. I am going to take some cuttings from them and try to get them going. I will post back with the results.
Bruce

Well, I took my clippings and planted them. I used a 2 liter soda bottle and cut it in half. Then I planted the three cuttings (2 hot hung wax and one bhut) in the bottom with some good draining soil mix. I saturated the soil and then squeezed out the excess before planting. I am using the top of the 2 liter bottle as a dome to keep the moisture level up. I am not sure if that is a good thing or not. I will keep the cap off the top though. I also used rooting compound on the three cuttings before planting. I also trimmed most of their leaves in half prior to planting. I read that it was a good idea to keep the plant energy focused on growing roots.
I will let you know how it turns out. Does anyone know if I should put the cuttings where they will receive direct sun for a few hours a day or should I keep them in indirect sun?
Bruce

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Keeping the cuttings in a warm environment (soil + air) as well as covered to keep humidity on the cuttings is important until they set at least a small root system.

The leaves need every chance they have to keep moisture inside the leaves while it redirects what strength it has into root production.

Also, if you use a rooting compound for pepper cuttings you might want to look for one that contains IBA, peppers seem to respond well to IBA treatments. It helps to have at least 2 sets/levels/nodes of leaves on the cuttings, too.

I don't want to cause confusion.

Both IAA and NAA are also good rooting hormones, even for peppers. IMO, one that contains IBA is the one I'd reach for first unless it happens to be cost prohibitive from your supplier.

It's not like there's something mega-special about IBA and peppers.

esox they are looking good. I like the two liter idea. Hope with the method you are using they take root. Keep us updated. nc thanks for the info interesting stuff, have you had success with rooting super hots?

I don't have the tongue/stomach/etc. for the super hots, but I've propagated more plants in greenhouses from cuttings than I've actually put in the ground over the course of my life.

I have the "ghetto rigged" setup when I do cuttings at home using stick-raised plastic wrap/bags or bottles depending on the cutting size and the number of cuttings. The hard part doing it at home for me is keeping the humidity in the plant area while not burning the cuttings under light. Usually it's a matter of simply keeping an eye on how things are progressing and giving the cuttings a little more air when the humidity gets too great under the plastic.

The few Bhuts I rooted took over 100 days to develop roots in my homemade cloning machine, As long as they stay green, don't worry too much.

Yeah, when making a cutting requires more time and effort than planting a seed, rather defeats the point in my book. ;)

Edymnion you're almost right, at least I didn't have to water them every day and I know the peppers will be true to the parent and not crossed. I only did mine because I broke a few branches off while transplanting them to a bigger pot.

Here is the link to my original post

Here is a link that might be useful: Pepper cuttings

Good luck with your remaining one habjalokia. I decided to try that this last summer. Took a bunch of cuttings, did some in dirt with root hormone, all died, did some in water, they did great, even bloomed (and some developed peppers, I picked the flowers at first, but as my interest waned I started letting them go), but after 2 months of no roots, I got tired of it and threw them out. I was hoping to have a cheap way of propagating hybrid chilies. I might give it a go again this year, I know there are people out there that have great luck. My partner's sweet pepper cuttings developed roots, but it took at least a month.

So far my cuttings pictured above in the 2 liter bottle are doing fine. I am not sure if they have started putting out roots yet but they are still green. I am not posting photos as they really don't show anything new from the originals.

Does any know how to tell if they are putting out roots without actually pulling them out of the soil? I dont want to damage them just as they are getting started by tugging on them.
Bruce

Nope, there is no way at all to tell, other than if the plant is actively growing larger. If its just staying the same size but still green, it could be rooting, or it could just be sitting there doing nothing.

Only way to know for sure is if it falls over dead.

LOL. The wait begins.
Bruce

many of the things I have read about cuttings is to gently tug on the plant and see if it moves. So far, I haven't had the courage to do it, when I pull on them, I just pull them up cos I've given up waiting.

Yes, that would be my question. If the plants are just starting to put out roots and you "gently" tug on them, you risk as worst case scenario, breaking those fragile roots and either ending the experiment or best case putting it back at square one. I have mine in a clear plastic 2 liter soda bottle so I am thinking I should just wait until they either die or I see roots through the clear plastic at the edge of the soil.

UPDATE ON CUTTINGS:
I just took a couple photos of the cuttings I did a month ago. If you look up in this thread to December 16th, 2011, you will see photos of the cuttings right after I planted them. Since then, most of the original leaves have died and fell off save one on each of the two remaining plants (1 Bhut and one Hot Hungarian Wax). But they seem to have begun putting out new leaves which leads me to believe that they are finally beginning to take root. One of the Hot Hungarian Wax cuttings was afflicted by a furry mold and died....probably died first. They dont look as vibrant as the day I planted them but they are still green and look like they are beginning to start regrowing their leaves.

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Bruce

Yup, if they're growing anything it means they have rooted, congrats.

Hi Bruce congrats! They both look good. Update on my lone survivor sill hanging in no roots.

WWWHhhoooohoooo! ROOTS!!!
It looks like I have the makings of a Hot Hungarian Wax and a Bhut already this year. I am just glad the experiment has been successful up to this point. It sure takes longer than I had expected however. Habajolokia is still waiting for "ROOTS".
Another few weeks and i will have to split them up into separate starter pots. Hopefully they can fend off the wide range of afflictions that are sooo common to little peppers and I will be able to get some fruit off them this year. That will pretty much make me set for Hot Hungarian Wax and Bhut's with my one overwinter Bhut and two overwinter Hot Hungarian Wax plants. Now I can concentrate on the other varieties in my seed efforts.
Bruce

Well, just to update on my experiment with clippings. On December 16th, I posted my start above. On January 14th, just a couple posts above, I posted an update. Well, since the last update, I lost another of the cuttings, the Bhut. It started dying right after I took the humidity dome off the planter. Both of the remaining ones took a downward turn immediately. I put the dome back on and the Hot Hungarian wax came back but the Bhut didn't make it. So, today, I decided to put my experiment into it's next phase. I again took off dome after I watered the plant real well. It is growing new leaves so it should have a root system going. It is either going to be dead in a couple days or begin to grow in a more natural environment. It hasn't "Grown" in size really but it has put out new leaves after losing its original ones. I will update if it dies or in a week or so if it doesn't.

Bruce

Thanks for the update Bruce, my one in water is still alive though probably not for much longer looks like green algae is growing on the bottom of the stem :-(

LOL, I was wondering when your hydro cutting experiment would do something like that. You just cannot leave stagnant water around without it turning into ponds scum eventually. Especially when there organic matter in it. I wonder if maybe you should still the little fella in some moist soil now and see if that doesn't prompt him to send out some legs.

After two days now, mine hasn't taken a nose dive like that and the other one did before. So, I am hopeful it will begin to thrive soon and begin to become a viable plant that I can put outside in a couple months with my other seedlings.
Bruce

Well, it looks like my cutting experiment is on its way to being a success. I have removed the dome and it is still putting out new leaves and, I am not sure, but it looks like it might even be putting out a bud. Check at at the base of the middle leaf. It sure looks like a bud starting to form. I find that interesting because this thing is barely the size of my seedlings. It isn't over 2" tall yet. It had better start putting on some size now or it will fall behind my seedlings pretty soon.

habajolika: I would pull your little fella out of the water and put him in some moist soil to see if that doesn't spur some root growth.

Bruce

Congrats! I would call that success! That looks like a flower bud to me also. I will give it a go and plug my clipping into soil. Thanks

Habajolokia:
Just updating my "Cuttings" experiment. Out of three cuttings, one is still alive, a Hungarian Hot Wax. It is only about three to four inches tall but has a good root system now. I just transplanted it into my garden. It had buds on it but I snipped them off. This was an interesting experiment but I certainly don't think this is a good way to propogate peppers. I took the cutting six months ago and it on a few inches tall. I doubt it will ever produce this year at all. I probably did something to hinder its progress but I would think by now that, after six months, it would be taller than my seed plants this year.

If nothing else, it looks like the Daddy Long Leg spider is happy about it.

The plant doesnt really need the support but for a few days last week we had 40+ mph winds so I staked all my plants.

Bruce

Thanks for the update Bruce, congrats on having a survivor, all mine died. I agree growing by seed is the way to go with peppers.

Just another update. The little fella still is quite small. Maybe 4" tall but definitely a full fledged pepper plant now. It looks very healtjy and it is putting on new foliage and even some buds.
Bruce

He had a hard start to life, but, looks good now! I think he deserves to be overwintered this year after all you've put him through! haha!

Yes, I think you may be right. The only problem is keeping my overwinters from the dog.
Bruce

The plant is looking good, gotta buy the dog pepper flavored toys or snacks, so he will leave the overwinters alone.

I need to overwinter a Bhut or Butch T with fruit. He has already eaten Hot Hungarian Wax peppers. I have my pepper containers on a shelf on my deck right at floor level. I keep the dog secured on the deck a lot of times and I had to put up chicken wire on the railings to keep him away from the peppers. He attacked one of my plants the first day I put them out.
Bruce

Habajolokia:
Another update on that Hot Hungarian Wax Cutting. It went through a big growth spurt with the hot dry weather we have been having and is even putting out some beautiful blooms right now. I didn't think it would even bloom this year since it was so small but now, if the blossoms don't drop in this heat, I have a good shot at getting some ripe peppers off this thing.

Nice! If I do clippings again will have to use the same method as you did. The plant looks great and healthy. Great job!

Mark

ok, i am finally going to say something about this cloning idea. One thing that i have heard of people doing when cloning is to have small clear pots to try to root the cutting in, that then have another dark pot that sits over the clear one. That way you can take off the dark pot, check for roots, put back the dark pot back on. Possibly in clear "KEG" cups covered with dark KEG cups. Roots, as we know, will try to go to the extremities of the pot and with the two pot system, the roots will travel to the edge since it is covered by the dark pot. In Bruces 2 liter experiment, i doubt he saw any roots on the edges....roots in general are like worms and do not like the light. Maybe if it were covered, you could check for roots`

the only other thing i could maybe say is that i know any part of willow will help rooting....possibly if you soaked willow in water and then used it for any water used, that COULD be an advantage

i have enjoyed reading and following, but as you guys said....hmmmm, maybe just plant seeds
bob

Oh, for sure Bob. Seeds are by far easier and more efficient. That plant was cloned 7 or 8 months ago and until about a week ago, it was under 4" tall.

I only did this as an experiment, a challenge if you will. I will likely not do it again unless I desperately want an exact clone of an existing plant for some reason.

But the clear cup/dark cup idea does sound like a good idea. I never knew when the plant finally rooted, but I did know that it wound up being the only one of three that made it.

Bruce

Glad to hear about your success, thanks for keeping up with the posts. I tried my hand at taking a few Aji Amirillo cuttings by suspending the cuttings in water. That project was a complete failure. I then built an aeroponic cloner using plans available on the internet. Now I have great success. The cuttings still take about a month to root, but my success rate went from 0% to about 90% overnight. My tomato and basil cuttings root in a out a week for reference.

sierra nevada: SOunds like you have a great system then. As good as most people get on germination rates for seeds. I am not sure how elaborate or expensive your system is but mine was just plain old dirt and some rooting compound. But I only experienced a 33% success rate and it was touch and go for a 0% success rate for quite a while.
Bruce