I dont want to tug on it or pull it out and possible rip any roots that have formed. That is why i am asking if new growth means if has rooted! NO, new top growth does NOT mean it has rooted. The standard test is to tug GENTLY on the cuttings, after the usual rooting period has passed, to see if it resists the tug. That means ROOTS are in the medium. 2 to 6 weeks is the usual period ... you are a bit early to be seeing roots. http://homeguides.sfgate.com/root-crape-myrtles-clippings-22849.html "Maintain moist soil conditions and in two to six weeks, the crape myrtle cutting will form roots. To test, pull the clipping gently and if you feel some resistance, it has formed roots and is ready for planting out in the garden or into a larger pot."

nless you stuck it in clay, you shouldn't rip off any new roots. If in a loose media you shouldn't have any issue. Unfortunately, there is no way to tell just by top growth. Many plants have enough reserve food/moisture to push a little growth even before roots have struck. I once saw a cut red maple log about 18" in diameter sprout a 2' long shoot, that didn't die until nearly a year after it was cut, without a single root on it, just from what was stored in the log. You have to tug on it. GENTLY.

I had a situation early last year where a storm blew over one of my larger plants and some branches broke off. None of the leaves had come out much yet, but one branch had an inflo already. I potted them all up as they were and the one with the inflo continued growing, put out leaves and all of the blooms opened on the inflo. That plant has not yet bloomed this year though, and may not, but it is healthy and full of leaves. This time of year with plenty of heat and sun I would think there is plenty of energy there for the cuttings with inflos to root and probably bloom as well. The inflos seem to tolerate periods of dormancy before actively growing again. My suggestion would be to leave the inflo and and do just as with any other cutting, do not begin watering it until you have leaves actively growing which will not happen until you have roots growing. However, if the cuttings have leaves on them you do want to cut the leaves off before attempting to root them. Kevin

I usually root my cuttings in a mix that's mainly perlite. Never heard of using a clear bottle. I can understand why some people want to pull out the cuttings to check them. If I did that I'd probably break what roots were already there. lol I'm trying to grow some clivia from seed and have to resist the temptation to dig down and see if anything is happening with the seeds. Those can take 8 months to germinate. The only time I pull a cutting is if nothing has happened in a couple months or if a cutting has suddenly stopped growing. I've had cuttings take over 3 months to start growing, usually the mid-stem cuts. Karyn