Sorry, it is an iPad thing, couldn't scroll down to edit my last part.

As I was saying now with so many inflos and claws and some leaves I am wondering if it might be better to repot them individually. Previously I have always just stuck them in a pot and watered them like I do all my other plumerias. Also, I used the egg method, and in checking the eggs are still intact and heavy. I wonder how long it takes for the egg to dissolve?

If plumerias could tell people what they hate most it is people who cannot stop messing with them. It is like having a child who wakes you up every few hours to ask if it is time to get up yet. These plants do best when watered once and forgotten about until they have many 6" leaves. They have water in the stem and put out roots to look for water but if you keep watering them and moving them they are more likely to do nothing because they are confused. I am not a fan of gang rooting because you have to cut around the plants to keep from ripping the roots that get intertwined. However, My advice is to leave them alone until they have 6"leaves and deal with splitting up later on. I feel like making a poster that says NO MOTHER HENS with pictures of people pulling, poking, digging, moving, etc new rooting cuttings. Plant, move to Siberia where you can't bother the plant and when you return it will be rooted or not. Nothing you do will matter. Bill

OK, then I will just leave them alone. I was concerned with so many inflo developing wih no roots, and few claws. Thanks Dad, I will leave them alone. :-)

Hey Jen,

That was the first lesson that i learned from Bill!!!

I am a fan of leaving them be...we all want to help them, check out their progress. We think that we are doing the right thing..but they do like to be left alone...I did see how some group root..but i like to keep them seperated into little bottles...

I agree with Bill, let them be and wait until the leaves have grown well enough to feel comfortable to cut and repot..hard to do, i know...but this is what's best for the new cuttings..

I still have a few from the show that we met, and they have been slow to root. Most have rooted now, but i have a few slow pokes..i want to check, but i think of Bill behind me saying.."leave them alone.." LOL...

That's the best advise..take a trip to Siberia..LMAO!!

Patience...that's what we all need..

Thank you for the nice email...all is well here!!! Im so thankful for all of your prayers....they have been heard!!!

Take care everyone..

Laura in VB

HEy JEn,
Next time you root plumerias, try using clear plastic water bottles. That's what I did with the bulk of mine...another tip from Bill. I will say that it took me a while to reprogram my brain when it came to watering right after potting up though!!

The clear plastic water bottles takes most of the guess work out of when your cuttings roots. Also, clear plastic gal or 1/2 gal milk jugs works. Anything clear and you will see the roots growing.

For example...today I picked up one of those water bottlees that I had a Samoan Fluff in and I could see TONS of roots growing. Now, who knows when any of the roots started growing BUT, I can see them so I know that there there.

I tried gang rooting once but I gave up on it and moved them to glas jars. I water rooted them. There Hilo Beauty from what I have heard and they just seemed to not grow roots so fast in soil.

IT's so hard with these plants. Sometimes it takes months! For example those supposed Hilo Beauties I got back in MArch I belive and there FINALLY growing nice claws. As long as your cuttings are firm, they don't need water. I learned that even using a clear plastic baggy helped speed up the rooting and helped them from dessicating but if you live somewhere hot it wouldn't work as your cuttings would probobly just cook.

Good luck!
Andrew

I tried Bill's bottles, but maybe because I used the wrong kind of bottle, mine kept falling over, and disturbing the cutting. I ended up putting the two I had put into bottles, back into a pot with another cutting or rooted plant (i.e. Where I had room to put it). The bag idea is interesting as well, but I agree that the excessive heat we have had for the last 2 weeks would probably cook the cuttings!

Hopefully this heat wave will help them root. Maybe the June gloom slowed the rooting process. Will just watch them as they develop leaf wise and inflo wise and wait until next year, to move them into individual pots.

Thanks everybody for the help. Jennifer

Hi Jen,
I know what ya mean about the cuttings weight. I have some pretty hefty cuttings myself. What I did,(another suggestion from Bill), was to place them into a sturdy bucket. That way, the cuttings can be supported and you can keep them in those clear plastic bottles. IF you use the clear plastic bottles, the heat will penetrate and warm the soil.

Last year my cuttings took a lot longer to root but wnow with my 600 watt HPS light, there rooting much faster now.

Good luck Jenn!
Andrew

Hey Jen,

Another suggestion...

When i put the cuttings in the bottles...i cut the top of the bottle off to rework it back around the top of the cutting. That protects it from the rain, then i take packaging tape and wrap it around the base of the cutting where the top of the bottle meet....this makes the cutting more stable without it moving around in the bottle...

I know what u mean about the big cuttings...when you wrap the cuttings with clear packaging tape it secured them enough to let them be stable in the smaller bottles.

Maybe this will help...it took awhile to figure out some of these tricks...but i want to share them with you all...

Take care everyone..

Laura in VB

I've found a way to keep my bottles standing up, and yet be mobile enough to be moved around for sun/shade as needed. The cart is metal, with wheels. I tie some bottles to the posts on the side, and some branches to the shelf above to keep them from moving. I push the cart to the best location depending on the weather. Lately, because of the intense sun, it usually stays under my patio cover. Seems to be working so far; I have a lot of cuttings that have rooted and been transferred to 5-gallon pots.

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Those are all good ideas. Truthfully, I think a big part of the problem, beside the big cuttings falling over, are Labrador Retriever tails! Those continuously wagging tails manage to knock things over. Which is why our house has nothing small, breakable, etc. at tail height or below!

Seriously though, I have noticed that the cuttings I had potted a month before the garden show cuttings have just suddenly started producing large leaves.

My garden show cuttings have some big inflos developing, and no leaves yet!

Maybe I think maybe next time I will try the water bottles for cuttings. I used the coke 2 liter bottles and they just were not made to set on a patio without difficulties. I will be experimenting this year. I have the one large 4' branch that broke off my Hawaiian Flag a xouple of weeks ago. I will try a water bottle and keep everyone posted. Many thanks! Jen

I use a five gallon pot with a few inches of gravel in the bottom and then place 5 bottles in one five gallon pot. I fill a smaller bottle with gravel and place in the center.
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Bill are those water bottles you are using?

The good news is I see some are developing roots. I tried to move one of my gang planting pots into a sunnier location. Because the soil was so dry, the cuttings fell over. I had to replant them, and in doing so saw that they are starting to develop roots. They are just beginning to pop out of the bottom of the cutting. Yeah! Thanks everybody foe the help! I will be taking pictures of my new acquisitions as they bloom. Thanks again!

As a visual person, great photo's! Thank you to those who take the time to educate us novices for what must be redundant for some. Please know it is appreciated and makes getting necessary information so much easier.

Off to learn more about my new cuttings. Thank you again.

I bag root my cuttings. I've found that setting them in a rubbermaid tub and then surrounding the bags with perlite works well to stabalize them. The perlite also helps to keep the bags of roots warm and protected from any direct sunlight.