HA! During WWI, for the war effort, my great great great grandmother would get permission to cordon off short sections of paved streets, on which she scattered rubber bands of varying diameter. Under her miraculous care, within days the rubber bands grew into trees so laden with tires for various types of military vehicles that often she and the neighbors couldn't harvest them all before they became larger than intended; this, necessitating that they be trimmed back to a usable size. She would then have the trimmings ground into powder, which she mixed with white milk. When the slurry of rubber and milk was heated under pressure in small molds (like sinker molds or toy soldier molds, if you've ever made either from lead), the result was Ficus elastica seeds which were sold to tree farmers all over the world and served as the propagules for essentially every rubber tree plantation currently in existence. I sure do miss that lovely and determined old gal. ....... at her 100th in 1966: She sure was something. Sad that we have to wait until next summer to see her again. Michelin has kept her so busy at headquarters in Clermont-Ferrand, France for the last 49 years, she hasn't been able to get back to the states to see ANY of her great, great, great, great grandchildren. Fortunately for us, her employer is picking up all expenses and footing the bill for her bash back in the states. Keep your eyes peeled for pictures. Al

My water rooting didn't go too well but that could have been what I started with. I'd had a 4 tip branch that broke very close to where the multple tips split so there was very little stem to work with. I tried soil but that didn't go well so I cut apart the individual tips and put them in water. The ends got mushy but the cutting was kind of pathetic to start with by the time I decided to put it in water. I ended up tossing the cuttings, or so I thought. I just got back in town and took a look at my plants. I found a plastic cup of water that I must have thrown a very tiny (3")cutting in by accident. It had been pretty much submerged on it's side for the past couple week and has little root nubs forming along one side of the cutting! I'm not sure what to do with it so I tossed it back in the cup. lol If the roots continue to develop maybe I'll plant it on it's side in some soil. Stemn to answer your question about changing water I usually use an air stone when I'm rooting cuttings. The bubbles keep the water from becoming stagnant. If you don't use some type of aeration I'd change the water every 3 days. Karyn

Thanks for the suggestion Janet. I think though I would be sent to live out in the woods if I invested in a heat mat and plugged it in for my plummies. Our electric bill has been so high lately, don't think I could get away with that, altho I would certainly love to. If it was up to me, I would have my very own plummie room complete with heat lamps and mats. My mind is wandering now, little fountains, move my aquarium in there, a cozy chair, ah it would be so lovely. My own little slice of heaven, a plummie room! Lauri

That's okay I like people who talk. I found that water propagations are my least favorite, but still works as long as you replace the water every day. You can also root in Spagnum Moss with a small amount of liquid plant fertilizer. To be honest my favorite method as long as the nodes have the little black bumps (aerial roots) starting; is to put them straight into damp soil with medium indirect light. I kept the soil damp for two weeks and now I water when the soil is pretty much dry. They are growing like weeds lol. fun one I tried was laying the vine across the top of soil and pinning it down. Each node started growing its roots down in to the soil. Then I cut in between each node and repotted. The last method takes a little bit longer but I've had 100% success rate with it. Hope this helps :-).