Suckers or grow tips only, leaf branches will not work. Trim up the stem and take off all but the tip, the top 3-4 small leaves, cut to 4-6 inches in length, plant deeply in a small container of wet potting mix, not in water. Root hormone is not needed. Done hundreds of them and never used it.

Keep the potting mix damp and the container in shade. They will droop for 24-48 hours and then recover. Wait 10 days to 2 weeks before transplanting to the garden.

Link below is to several previous discussions on how to and some have pics if you want to look through them for more details.

Dave

I take the leaves off the bottom and bury the sucker deeply and keep it well watered. The thing will look pathetic for a week or two but if you keep it watered it will recover.

Tomatoes are trivially easy to root. Don't sweat it. Just don't rot them -- i.e., keep them in a constantly damp, but *aerated* mix. Don't just put them in a vase of water; roots need air. A good way to do this is to have a tray with a quarter inch of water at the bottom, with pots of an airy mix sitting in it so they can wick it up. Just fill back up to that quarter-inch level in the tray whenever it gets too low.

Well, I differ. I take my sucker and I DO place it in a glass of water for two days remembering to change the water daily. Then I pot it up like Dave does on day 3. I get less wilting this way and I've never lost a patient to rot or anything. Tomato plants are hard to kill...:)

Tomato plants are hard to kill...:)

I'll second that ;) Yeah, a couple days in water isn't long enough to rot a tomato plant. I was referring to trying to fully root it in water.

The Root Tone is not necessary, but it will not hurt either. Like the others have said, cut off a tip, you know, an end or a sucker. Dip it in the Root Tone if you want to and then stick it in some wet potting mix. Keep it damp to wet unti any wilting is gone. Don't add fertilizers while the plant is in this extremely stressful condition. Also, keep it away from direct sunlight. Indirect sunlight or shade is best until it gets a new root system.

Ted

In a cup of water works for me.

I agree with every previous post. In other words, all the methods presented work.

I may be wrong, but I seem to remember rooting some branches that were not suckers.

Ted

An excellent pot for rooting is a 1 or 2 liter pop bottle. I cut off the top as high up as possible, put a few holes in the bottom, put about 2 inches of dirt in, stick in the branch (stripped about 10 inches of leaves), fill the bottle with potting soil, and water thoroughly. The benefit of using a clear pot is you can see when the roots are strong, and the length of the pot means you have pre-trenched and the plant will grow faster when you plant it than if you plant it deep.(in my experience) I have to do this several times a growing season because I'm a klutz. :)

I love the pop bottle idea. I'm always wondering what is going on in a pot and this way I can see!

I am rooting a couple of branches as an experiment. One is in a potting mix. The other in those "water absorbing polymer beads."

One question: Do these rooted branches grow as well as the "mother plant" or those grown originally from seed?

The branches I did this with last year grew roots just fine, but didn't do well after I planted them in ground. This may be because the locations I put them in didn't have sufficient sunlight or good soil or are overcrowded though.

AAARRRGGGH! I did it again! I replied to a zillion year old post!

This post was edited by cold_weather_is_evil on Wed, May 7, 14 at 19:55

Do these rooted branches grow as well as the "mother plant" or those grown originally from seed?

Yes, they do just fine. Carbon copies of the parent plant in appearance and performance.

Dave

I have done propagating by cutting on so many things. Right now I have about 10 Thai basils potted up. I always first root them in water and than transplant into pots. Starting in soil is difficult. And you need to pay constant attention and you cannot see what is happening ; rooting or rotting?. But in a glass, you don't have to do anything, Just transfer when you see the roots.

Everybody has his/her preferred way of doing certain things, I guess.

Does it work only with suckers and will branches work too?

I ask because I have a branch in water for 3 or 4 weeks now, it looks very green and healthy - but no roots at all. My basil roots fine under the same condition.

And what water you use? My rain water has a Ph a bit below 5, very acidic. I usually add a little NaOH to bring it up to 6.0. I also add a little liquid fertilizer. On top of that I have an air stone in the container.

I wonder what water is best to use for rooting?

No it doesn't work on leaf branches. It has to have a growth tip. Worrying about water pH, O2 levels, nutrients, type of water, etc. isn't necessary and makes no difference at all. It only over-complicates the process.

Dave

@digdirt
Thanks for the clear answer. The 'growth tip' (or lack thereof) makes total sense.

For the water, I will just use rain water (with an airstone) then. How often should I change the water?

No need to use rain water, no need to use airstone, no need to change the water. A glass of plain old tap water works as well as anything.

However, based on my experience of rooting hundreds of cuttings over the years, rooting cuttings in moist potting mix rather than any water set-up is far more effective. Better root development and much faster recovery time when transplanted.

Dave

digdirt
Thanks for the reply. All clear now. I do hydroponics, so no soil here.

BTW, the branch I have in the water for a few weeks seems to start rooting now. I know that nothing useful will come out, but I keep watching anyway.

I have tried different methods of rooting suckers and I prefer using a clear or semi-transparent cup filled with only perlite. I put a couple of tiny holes about half an inch up from the bottom and water it daily until the roots start showing. It usually takes about 10 days for a good root system to form.

Contrary to what most people have already posted, leaf branches will also root and put out their own growing tips, but it will just take longer than using a sucker.

I just stick the sucker in the ground, water well, 9 out 10 times, new tomato plant