[craven]

Please let me know if I can do anything differently?...

Newly acquired cuttings are showing some slight signs of wilt. Came in as AWESOME quality cuttings two days ago with crisp leaves and stems. Right now, they have kind of drooped over and look a little rubbery. I really don't want to kill this group of cuttings. My first attempt at growing up cuttings. Is this just an initial shock the cuttings are getting before they start to thrive again? Here's a rundown of the details.

-In 4" pots. 1" layer of Hydroton base. Filled rest of pot with moistened Grade-A Orchid Moss.

-Inside of a 40gal breeder as a grow out tank. Light diffuser panel in bottom to prevent water pooling [even though there is no standing water in the tank].

-Glass top to keep humidity in. Glass top has been slid back to allow 1/2" gap for air circulation.

-Dual T5 6500K light on top of glass lid.

-Misted once a day with some spray directed to Orchid moss as well.


Plant List:
Callisia warscewicziana
Ficus quercifolia
Ficus minima
Ficus "frosty"
Episcia variants
B. abu dahbi
Pep. scandens
Pep. noid from ABG red stem
Pep. noid from ABG small
Scindapsus pictus
B. thelmae
Ruellia sp.
Ficus radicans
Kohleria snakeskin
Aesh. gracilis
Marcgravia
Philodendron Burle marx fantasy
Microsorium fern "Black Jungle"
Rhaphidophora pachyphylla
R. celatocaulis

 

[frogparty]

A good way to encourage root formation and keep them turgid is to moisten a paper towel, put it in a gallon ziploc bag, and put your cuttings in. Blow up the bag, seal and wait. I kept that microsorum linguiforme alive 6 months in a bag before I used it, same for a lot of peperomias and ficus. Occasionally mist the towel, and blow more CO2 into the bag. I actually get really good results with this method.

 

[Reef_Haven]

What temperature is it in your tank? Ideal would be 72°F
If you wanted to root them without soil, I would look into aeroponics and a little rooting hormone.

 

[frogparty]

you will find that with almost all of our commonly used viv plants that rooting hormone is unnecessary. Often times its more advantageous to use SMALL cuttings, especially with Ficus pumilia for fastest root formation. Large cuttings often fail. Recently, I have been propogating ferns in the genus Microgramma quite a bit (sp. lycopodioides and vaccinifolia) and with SMALL cuttings, under 3", I get double the recovery time as with larger cuttings. Whenever possible, include the apical meristem (growth tip) because many of the growth regulatory hormones are created there.

 

[PantMan]

You may want to cut down on the light. I put my growout tank by a window facing north. They get a decent amount of indirect but bright light and my cutttings have adopted very well. I think too much light may stress them out a little bit (they are still tender) plus less light at this stage will promote root growth and at this point that is really what you are trying to achieve.

 

[housevibe7]

I second this... reduced light will help a bunch

 

[mordoria]

I root cuttings by placing the cutting into a small 2"-4" pot full of 80%perlite-20%cocofiber i either cover the pot with a sandwich bag or i put it into my clear domed seedling greenhouse. I dont use a ton of light. 23w Cfl works great. They will look like junk for the first few days but they should perk up in a few weeks.
Also I use cuttings with 3-4" leaves. If they are too long, it takes longer to grow.

Nice selection of cuttings. Where did ya get em?

 

[Pumilo]

If they are wilted and worrying you, you can perk them back up doing this. Cut about 1/4 inch off the "stump" end and discard. Completely submerge the cutting in cool water for a few hours.

 

[EvilLost]

I'm curious about the reduced light suggestion....a friend who introduced me to plant growing shockingly said the same thing to me when I grew my first set of clones directly under a MH bulb with 100% survival (and have continued to do so)


I find rooting powder and a "plug" (I like Rapid Rooter) makes the process really easy (I also much prefer a rapid rooter block in a humidity dome over the paper towel method, personally)

 

[moose35]

ziplock bags.

put some moist spagnum inside, the cutting, blow some air in, and seal. then place near a light source.

in a week or so you will have lots of roots.


moose

 

[epiphytes etc.]

You have already gotten some great advice, so I'll just add that I've had great results soaking cuttings in a dilute solution of liquid seaweed extract. It is a good source of potash, which encourages root development and thicker cell walls.