my one lame attempt at rooting

11 years ago

alex.. maplegrove asked ...

here was the setup .. everything sterilized .. rooting compound that someone sent to me.. better % than rootone ... perlite for sharpness and full drainage ... [ dax sent me these cuttings]

then onto a 72 degree F heat mat.. under my hosta seedlings .. on a cement floor in MI in winter.. so running 24 hours .. light cycling on 16 off 8 .. with one off/on burst ... said to confuse the hosta into thinking the lights are on 24 hours?????
{{gwi:3461}}

i got some to take.. the biggest problem.. with the whole lightstand set up.. is that spring comes late march.. but frost free date is 6/1 ... and somewhere in april or may.. once i start playing outdoors.. i forget about the lightstand in the basement ... even the hosta die .. lol ...

j. horiz root pretty easy.. and take a lot of abuse.. thuja works.. got a few de groots.. and GG to take ... chams can work .. etc ..

nothing scientific.. nothing written down.. been there.. done that.. nice experiment ... when it all boils down.. i had no one to give the stuff away to.. lol ... i think i sent a few out to friends ...

oh.. and here is how i potted them up .. plastic water bottles ... top cut off.. and drainage sliced in bottom edge ... [some cheap old SOB thing going on here.. lol ....] ... [shut up unpro] .... which i then threw under some trees for full bright shade.. and then in august.. forget to water them.. etc ... a few are still left in the nursery .... the GG way beyond moveable size ... probably could have bought some better media ... but ... see above re cheap.. i used what i had around.. two types apparently.. lol.. a fine seed starting media.. and a courser variety.. [you have to be looking pretty close ...] ... the leafy sticks are dax's blue ROSharon form the top pic ... same with the bluish juniper which was variegated .... wonder why the tape measure is there .. lol ...

i will now entertain your thoughts and comments.. please begin .. yes.. yes.. you in the front.. speak up.. i cant hear you .... dont be shy .. lol ..

ken

ps: what i would like to try.. is nearing frames ... in ground.. and see if i can get anything going.. perhaps a new post

Comments (11)

unprofessional
11 years ago
"[shut up unpro]" LOL.

Your set up looks good - don't know why you wouldn't have success with it. I don't recall how much light you need to have when rooting; yours might actually be a bit on the high side, depending on your lights.
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Original Author
11 years ago
4 standard flourescents ...

the science was there [for the most part ... lol] ..

the aftercare was not ... i didnt really expect anything to root.. so i did consider it a success ... i dont know why i titled it a LAME attempt ....

just lost interest somewhere down the line ...

one timer for the whole .. hosta 'needs' ruled on light time ....

ken
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gardener365
11 years ago
Hey, pretty good Ken.

Dax
dcsteg
11 years ago
Yep! I know nothing about rooting or grafting. Don't have the time/space for this.

Your attempt doesn't look lame to me but as I said I know nothing.

Last photo..nice yellow...what is it?

Dave
jimbobfeeny
11 years ago
Pretty good, Ken!

My experience with cuttings has been less than spectacular - Probably because I didn't use a mix that drained good enough. I have gotten a few herbs to root, but so far, no luck with trees & shrubs. I might try some this year, though.

BTW, excellent use of old water bottles - "reduce, reuse, recycle"! ;)
baxswoh
11 years ago
And the "better than" secret rooting hormone was? %?
maple_grove_gw
11 years ago
Looks pretty good, Ken.

I think you should try rooting some spruce and see what falls out. You could decorate your new bed (with the pine stumps) with an army of 'Daisy White'!

Alex
maple_grove_gw
11 years ago
Ken,

A few years down the road, here's what it might look like.

Know you're a big fan of repitition in the garden.

Full transparency, I borrowed this picture from Buchholz.

Best,
Alex
hungrymind
11 years ago
Ken,You are a funny man! I mean that.LOL Nice show and tell,Are you useing cheap bulbs or full spectrum,sunshine type? good post!
Rob
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
Original Author
11 years ago
i grew hosta seeds for about 5 years ... roaring success ... but for that end of winter.. i gotta get the heck out of the house deal ...

i will yell: THERE IS NO ADVANTAGE TO FOO FOO EXPENSIVE LIGHT BULBS ...

use enough bulbs.. 4 in my case ... keep them close.. and change them out every year .... supposedly.. actually i only changed them after the first year.. and then got cheap.. and never changed them again ... distance to plant.. and duration is much more important.. IMHO ...

oh.. and the hormone was hormex #8 ... someone here from GW sent it to me.. wish i could remember who ... regardless.. thx again ...

ken
ladylotus
11 years ago
Ken you setup for rooting cuttings looks fantastic. The cuttings you've potted up into the bottles look so healthy. Nice job. Rooting plants is my all time favorite thing to do. I have a couple totes full of cuttings rooting now.

Nice job!

How is that big planting project of yours going?