Wish I knew more to tell you. I had a purple waffle Pilea for years that would be happy outside in hours of direct sun while warm enough to be outside, made tiny white flowers. My instinct is that this plant needs more light, less water... Winter rays are much less strong than summer rays, might need shade during summer but is starved for light during the shorter, weaker days. A lot of house plants can be like that, at least from what I've seen.

GG, thanks for the pictures and for the rooting illustrations! I am intrigued by communal rooting. I've only done it in individual little plastic cups, so that roots can be seen growing. How do you (and you, Denise) know when it's time to repot to individual pots? I am assuming it's hard to tell which cutting(s) have rooted reliably enough for that? Is your sign resistance to light tugging? What if some cuttings are ready and others are not? This shared hormones thing is interesting. By the way, I've read recently about the rooting hormones that are sold as gel or powder. I thought they are chemicals that encourage plants to form roots in that area - and that is true. But what I did not know is that they are the same chemicals (only synthetically produced) that plants develop themselves. Do you use rooting hormones? I wonder if sharing the hormones is important if every stem is dipped into the hormone of its own. I've placed my little cups into a container for humidity, but a vessel like this will take less space and also create humidity. There's no drainage, I assume, right? Which is fine because it's hydroton and some water needs to be at the bottom anyway, and because it's a relatively short term home for the plants. Sunny, I agree your cuttings look fine. The thinner leaf varieties tend to lose moisture when cut faster than those with thicker leaves, but then most do regain it slowly once they are in the mix and kept moist and humid. One of the cuttings I am rooting now (GG, your heuschkeliana) did arrive a bit dehydrated, but for a month now very slowly it's been regaining moisture. It's pretty cool to watch. I've never seen an established plant, but all leaves except for the lowest one look very much turgid now and have lost all of their wrinkles. I foolishly thought when I got the plant the wrinkles were part of the deal of how this plant looks - I thought that was charming and unusual. hehe One thing I personally would change, Sunny, is I suggest taking larger cuttings. It does depend on the plant's growth habit, leaf size, distance between nodes etc., but a 2-3 node cutting is likely to root better and be stronger than a one-node one. It's no biggie though - they all should root, especially no problem at this time of year. How is humidity now in San Antonio? I covered them up in the winter, and even these days 30% humidity here is normal, but too low for optimal rooting. Big Box stores may not have hydroton indeed, but your local hydroponics store is almost guaranteed to have at least one type of hydro medium. It does not have to be hydroton - it could be called LECA, PrimeAgra, Growstone, Grow Rock, Hydrocorn and many others. They all look slightly or even significantly different, but they work essentially the same. Having open options means you may get the medium sooner and won't have to pay shipping, which is expensive for these bulky bags.

It would be good to plant your seedling in a larger and opaque pot. The sun goes through the clear plastic and heats up the dirt and the roots exposing them to bright light. Otherwise your tree looks very nice. Did I hear you right. Your tree is only 8 months old and that big. Plant it in 5-1-1 or Al's gritty mix. Shout for 1-2 gallon pot. Steve

Sarah Choi It appears your principle concerned is getting good fruit as quick as possible and perhaps growing some in a different location. If correct the quickest way to good fruit is to tend the trees you have. Unripe, overripe and loss to pest are likely management issues in my opinion. I don't know what zone you are in but if those trees produce even a moderately they can be managed to produce decent fruit. By decent I mean something that you would enjoy as opposed to what your pest will consume which is anything. If they are too close to the patio or you prefer them in another location for any reason. I'd suggest using soft wood cuttings (not green), five inches long at least half inch in diameter with three or four nodes each. There are so many vids on youtube of how to do this, but I simply bury them half way in moist potting soil in a clear (to see root development) plastic disposable cups then place those in plastic bags to retain the moisture. Place them in a warm approximately 75 degree low light location and wait a couple weeks until they have roots and leaves. Check them every other day or so for mold and to let them get fresh air. Keep them moist and when they have good roots slowly harden them off to dryer air. You of course you won't be able to place them outside until they are larger and its warmed back up in mid spring. My 2cent.