Hi Perylene! What did the bottom of the cutting look like when you checked for roots? And was the bottom still firm? Is it warm enough? If it's not rotting or shriveling too badly then it will probably still root.

I would mist the top in the morning and evenings and during the day put it in the sunniest window you have - now that it has some leaves starting they may be able to help the plant get energy, along with getting a little water from the misting.

I don't think that Kimo is known for being a tough rooter, but that being said each cutting can kind of do it's own thing. They can show signs of growth on top and still have no roots.

You also rooted during the hardest time of year to root - Kimo may just still be sleepy :) So congrats on rooting your others!!! I'm sure others will have some great advice for you. Good luck!

I've had the cuttings on a heat mat all winter, but it's getting warm enough now that I don't think it's needed, barring any more crazy winter blasts. I didn't see any rot -- I washed off the bottom and checked for discoloring or softness, but I didn't see or feel anything odd. It's starting to shrivel slightly, but the winkles aren't very deep and the cutting still feels firm from top to bottom.

I dipped it in new rooting powder and put it in a clear plastic cup with gritty mix. It was previously in cactus mix with perlite mixed in, so I'll see if this makes a difference. I wasn't misting it before, so I'll try that! Thanks for the help!

Just as a follow up, my Kimo cutting never rooted. It didn't rot, but it never formed any type of callus ring. I finally gave up and re-cut the bottom last week, so it's curing in mulch outside. The Lei Rainbow cutting also went through a crazy decline after a month in gritty mix, so this spring has been very unpredictable. :I

Perylene,
Sometimes when a cutting has been rooting for a bit and new leaves start growing it can be a sign that its trying to root. Because of the new top growth (leaves) without roots, sometimes a cutting will shrivel a bit as its using its stores in it, also could be that is using the stores to try to root on the bottom.
Since you recut it you may want to really watch it as there was shriveling on it.

As for Kimo I water rooted mine without heat and it took 4wks and I had little 1/4 roots on it, but have heard that sometimes it does take a bit to root as its not one of the thicker plumies.

Good Luck

Finally! FINALLY. Unfortunately, the originally cutting shriveled up for good, so this is a different Kimo cutting. It also took its time -- 16 weeks, 4 days to reach this point.

It's getting top heavy, but I want a really good root ball before I move it out of that cup, so I guess it's still got a ways to go. The small cutting in the bottom of the frame is Aztec Peach. It's just now showing two tiny roots at 13 weeks. It was really green when I got it, so I tried to cure it for a while and form a good callus with iffy results (it wrinkled a lot). Anyway, these two were the last holdouts, so it's good to be almost done.

sorry to hear about your other one but glad to hear this one worked out!! It took mine 6 months to root but finally took off.

Yay! Glad one finally rooted for you!

These things will teach you patience for sure :) I've heard of over a year-and-a-half to root, too.

Pretty work...

Patience is the key.. And " no poking around.. ". " as I think of Bill talking to me on my shoulder... ". Leave it alone.. ;-).

Congratulations!!!!

Laura