Here is are 2 different pictorials straight forward and self explanatory:

Red dusk cutting in water after 2 weeks but looks the same as day 1 except for leaf growth:

Ireens Heart of Gold Cutting pre water 3 days after cutting from tree:

5 days into water rooting white popcorn:

Heart of Gold inflo 8 weeks after being cut from the tree:

I've got 12 cuttings coming from Derrick in a day or two. I think I'm going to try this on a couple of them. So, just after the roots start to show, you put them into perlite/cactus mix or whatever you're going to grow them in and they should take off and not rot?

Once you see the start of Root nub or popcorn you should pot up. No longer then 3 weeks in water Max. Then pot up in your soil/medium you pot your Plumies in. Once potted up you should water well as they are use to the water from being in water and ST and put them in a sunny warm/hot location outside or on a heating pad if your in a cooler area to speed up root growth in the soil. Oh and IMPORT thing is to water or keep the soil moist as again the newly forming roots are use to water from the water rooting process. In traditional rooting most keep the soil dry to slightly barely moist.

OK, that makes perfect sense about the roots being used to being in water. Thanks for that info, I'm going to give it a try.

I am going to try this in the spring too. :) Thanks James that was awesome. I'm a visual learner myself so the photos were very helpful!!

NOW thats a cutting!!!
Thanks James.
I'll give it a shot this spring.

Lonnie

Freak,
Thank you for the wonderful pictures, it makes me understand alot.

I dont have any cuttings right now but when I get one I will try this.

Mindy

excellent tutorial!

Tally Ho!

A celadine that I had gotten in the spring started rotting so I cut the end off and tried water rooting. It started getting soft in a few days time so I stuck it in perlite. It never did make it. next spring I think I'll give water rooting another try.

Hi all,
Enjoyed reading the dialog on this, need to find more time to drop by the forum, more frequently!

The roots did start on the high side of the diagonal cut. From the previous thread, I am still not clear why they start on one side or the other, etc.

freak4: appreciate your comments and photos as well. Part of what made me try this was the fact that the cuttings had started going squishy. One was actually about 50% green, new growth... and it rooted. I have them potted up and they seem to be doing OK.

I do not have nearly the experience it sounds like you do with this, so my observation is merely anecdotal on how long it took.... although I will say that historically other cuttings from these NOID plants are pretty quick to root. That being said I also didn't exactly use a refined process. I basically filled up a container with tap water and put it in the shade and set the cuttings inside it.

Thanks for starting this conversation. I've always been curious but never tried it except as a last-ditch effort, and then lost those cuttings to rot.

My neighbor has noid reds and Celadines and she says she just plops all her cuttings into a glass of water in her kitchen window until she sees roots. Sounds wonderfully easy!

I think my mistake has been to put the glass in an east-facing sunny window. That, and my cuttings are probably already past the point of viability by then anyway.

Let me be sure I have this straight:

1. Take a fresh cutting and after about three days of drying out, place in a (clear?) cup of water with Superthrive. Rainwater or tap water?

2. Cup goes indoors, out of sun, in a relatively cool area.

3. Change water every few days until "popcorn" on stems or root nubs on end appear.

4. Keep cutting in water no longer than three weeks, then pot up as normal.

Am I missing anything?

Jen

Jen, that sounds like a decent way to start. I don't know about the best water source- but it seems hard to go wrong with rainwater right?

I would not try this on an expensive cutting (you know, that $600 cutting from EP... lol) but if you have "extras", I find this to be a great way to experiment. Of course if you're wildly successful you end up with lots of NOID plants that need homes :)

I got lazy and just potted up my cuttings. Though maybe the $600 cutting will root this way. It is superduper after all!
Tally Ho!

OK, just put 6 of the 12 from Derrick in water, following the instructions, including a 9 tip Aztec Gold!
The rest are:
Samoan Fluff
Nassau
Pinwheel Rainbow
Celadine
Mililani

Took pics so I can follow how the tips leaf out.

EelWH,

Remember do not keep it water more then 3 weeks, especially as Oct is days away. I have a huge JJ Firestorm cutting I am water rooting, been 2 weeks as of today and I have popcorn on it so will pot it up tomorrow before the 3 week mark. Ill post pics of the cutting and popcorn...
Cheers

Indeed, will do. I marked the date on the calendar and will be checking them daily and changing the cups and water with Superthrive every second day. Thanks for the information and instructions. I have the heating mats ready for when I pot them up.

These two have been in water for 9 days, the one on the left has a couple popcorn spots and you can barely see at the edge on the top I think there is a root trying to come out...
What do you think, a few more days??!

Ugh, I don't have a heating mat yet!

Angela,
OMG they look great! I can see the cut end aka bottom swelling, you may want to give it couple more days. I do not use heat mats as its still warm enough to have roots develop. Dont forget that once you put it in soil you need to keep it moist, watering when the top looks really dry or maybe every 10 days to 2 weeks. You may want to just pot them up and put them in a sunny spot next to your house/wall or fence for reflected heat. If you have an asphalt driveway it will heat up really hot during the day in So cal till end of Oct. Good Luck :)

I was going to give bag rooting a try?! It seems to be working well for many. I might put one straight into soil and one in a bag just to try it out. I know I have about a month or so before I have to get my heat mat.
However, when they bag root, they do put them on heat mats... I think.. I have just been reading and reading... LOL!!

Angela,
I think you should stick to one method at a time. With Bag rotting you do not have the opportunity to water the cutting, the root nubs that form in water are acclimated to moisture so they need the water or moist soil to progress or they may die off.... Ultimately its your decision...

Angela - does the top of your frig get warm?

I was going to sit a few cuttings on top of mine then realized that it doesn't get warm up there! WTH? I guess that's what happens as the years go by and they "improve" products. LOL

Your cuttings look great!

Freak, You have a good point. Okay I will pot them up in a few days... Do you think a five gallon is to big? My thought is why start smaller, this way you don't have to re pot so much?

Moonie, Thank you! That's a good idea for other cuttings that I will bag up. We have two fridges...the one in the laundry room is older. hmm....

No, start them in a 1 gallon.

Angela DeIWH is right. Even if you have a large cutting I always start in a super small container like a SOLO Plastic cup or a 40 oz plastic drink cup or water ball that I cut drainage holes in. The reason you want smaller is that you only want enough potting/rooting medium to surround the cutting, if you have a 5 gal pot the moisture retention is to high. I like the smaller because even if dries out in a day or 2 I would rather water it more then worry about it drying out.
Lynn and a few other wanted to see a cutting I just water rooted and potted up today. Its been exactly 2 weeks 14day and it had a bunch of rootnubs/popcorn so I potted it up early....again pot up water rooted cuttings when you see popcorn or MAX 3 weeks. This is a 3ft 7" cutting of JJs Firestorm that broke off my plant and again its been 14 days and should be rooted in soil by the 3 or 4th week of Oct.

Just out of the water after 2 wks:
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-carmageddon-overview-20120927,0,7573525.story

Popcorn/Root nubs ready to pot..this is what it should look like or the bottom should be swollen:

Potted up in a 1 ltr water bottle after being watered:

Again if you water root a cutting the forming roots are use to water and need moist soil to keep on growing. If you let the potting soil/mix dries out it might kill off the new roots and or slow down the progress.

Angela, those cuttings look perfect. Did you have a rooting powder on them? The white centers look like a caked-on powder.

So James, once you've potted up after water-rooting, you can't use a conventional half-perlite, half-potting mix, can you? It needs to hold a little moisture, so do you use maybe 1/4 perlite in soil?

Jan
You can use 1/2 Perlite mix or all perlite, you just need to water it like once every 7 to 10 days

James you have the magic touch! That's simply amazing what you just did! I guess I'll be sending my cuttings to you for water rooting from now on! LOL. What are you doing giving me cuttings when you can do amazing stuff?

Next spring you will teach me ok? :)

Lynn,
LOL... The point is for you to learn how to do it...lol I actually hate rooting and repotting. If I had my way Id just look at the flowers and thats it..lol

Okay I found a couple good 1 liter water bottles. Using smaller makes a lot of sense. Thank You!

Jandy - No, I was wondering the same thing, Just cut and then put in the water, no rooting powder??

Freak, I have to agree with you, I have got my plants down great, we made a greenhouse the last couple years with our patio cover, and are fine in the winter, but this is my first try at cuttings!! Ugh!!

Angela,
If your in Zone 10 you shouldnt need a Greenhouse. My patch is zone 10 and I never move my plants. In the big freeze of hmmmm....2006 or was 2007..lol I only moved 5 gal plants or smaller towards walls of the apartment building the rest I left where it was. It got cold but nothing really froze, some plants ended up cracking just a bit on the bark but that was it no rot or freezing.. So if your in zone 10 I dont think you have to worry too much....but you should make sure your zone is accurate... Cheers

That's good info to know since this will be the first winter with Plumies for me.

I have 6 in cups now trying the water rooting. It's been 1 week, and a couple appear to be showing a start of the popcorn. Changing the water and cups daily or every other day.

Del,
You in Woodland Hills, West Hills or West Hollywood. If you live in the Woodland Hills or West Hills you will need to protect your plumies. Even in West Hollywood, you will need to check your night temps as it has been known to get frosty at night there on a rare occasion. If your seeing Popcorn Id see about potting up your cuttings in a week.

I'm in Altadena, at about 1000' elevation. It gets down to frost maybe once or twice a winter. I'll definitely be checking the weather daily during that time. Most I will be probably moving them into the garage or maybe even some in a spare bedroom. I also have heating mats and lights to keep some newly leafed out plants go over the winter.

Del,
My sister lives in San Marino so I know the weather well in your area. You will have heat for the next month, so your cuttings should root. The only issue is it gets cold at night, sometimes really cold during Dec on and even frost.
So you will really need to check your temps out daily. I know someone who lives in Upland and swore it never got cold enough to freeze because she was by the hills or mountains and she supposedly had a micro climate. Well that person who said that her night temps would not dip to freezing has had losses from cold/frost over the past years including some of her rare plumies like Red Dusk, JJs Thai peach etc. So since your temps are close to Irwindale and upland Id keep a daily temp watch for your night temps.

Cheers

I am inland more, so it's colder. On the coast, I would say not needed at all. We do get in the 30's every winter..not to often, and it's not for to long. I do know a few people in my neighborhood with plants in the ground that have lost to frost. My neighbor and I both have a decent amount of plants and we both use our patio covers. Using our patio cover is really easy and they seem to like it in there :)
This year we are adding lights, and I have a bunch of cuttings that "fell into my lap" in the last month, so they will be happy in there on a heating mat.

The leaves on my two cuttings in water have light green leaves, lighter than normal. One has popcorn, one doesn't. They have been in water for 16 days. When do you think it's time to pot them up? Thanks!

I seem to be just like Dale, I will be okay for another month, but it does get cold at night! I am in Santee.

Angela,
You both have similar weather. If your cutting has a leaf open and popcorn then its definitely time to pot it in soil, dont forget to keep it moist not wet. If the other cutting has a swollen bottom then you can pot that up also as some cuttings do not get side popcorn but the bottoms will swell. If not wait for the full 3 weeks on the other cutting without popcorn. I posted an update and pics of my water rooted Firestorm cutting I potted up 7 days ago and it has glistening claws that are up, so leaves should open in the next 3 weeks. Cheers

I just got back from my honeymoon in Hawaii and brought home a plumeria clipping. The guy I bought it from told me to soak it in water to get the roots going. It has been soaking in plain ol water for about 3 days now and the stem looks like it's starting to wrinkle. It's still pretty firm, but Im afraid it's rotting. Help! Can someone tell me exactly what i need to do and what Im doing wrong? Note: the cutting had already rooted a little bit in the bag but during travel the roots fell off a little bit.

LEKennedy4,

The bottom of your cutting looks good, the swelling. I cant make out whats on the side, looks like root nubs or popcorn but cant be sure can you post a better/up close pic of the side activity?? Also you should not use glass to water root as it acts as a magnifying glass and will burn your cutting. Your cutting does look a bit wrinkled, do you have it in a bright window???? If you do that could be why its wrinkling.
Again GLASS IS NOT YOUR FRIEND when you water root window or jars....

PS... Id leave the cutting in the water for a while longer maybe a full week or maybe 2 before potting up. After a full week post pics of the cutting to see the progress so I can tell if its time to pot it up.
Cheers

Hi freak4plumeria,

Thanks for responding!! What kind of container do you suggest. Originally the jar was on a kitchen counter with minimal light. I just moved it closer to a window with indirect light. Should I move it back?

About the wrinkling, is it nothing to worry about?

Below are 2 close-ups. Remember, the cutting already had little roots when I bought it, so I dont know if the nubs are from me or not.

Should I change the water? Should I be adding anything to the water?

I appreciate your input and will post an update in 1 week!

Your wrinkling is not rot, rot is squishy and discolored like a pineapple or other fruits they turn black and soft. I use Plastic cups like giant Solo plastic cups, large cups from Mc Donalds, Jack in the box, Carls, Big Gulps, the plastic helps to block out some of the extra UV that will burn the cutting. Id leave your cutting in the water for a full week as it has sings of growth and pot it up. Dont forget YOU NEED TO KEEP THE SOIL MOIST once you pot it up. With traditional method of rooting you keep it on the dry side, this you need to water once a week or 10 days once its in soil and potted up.

PS....Sometimes plumies especially from Hawaii have these clear larva things that are in the cutting and it will cause it to shrivel and die also. So keep an eye on the wrinkling as your cuttings in water it should plump up within 3 to 7 days if not there maybe other issues like the Larvas.

Yes, that would be the larva of the Long Horned Beetle. They basically eat the soft core out.

Personally Id let the Cutting be in the water and see if it stays hard and plumps up then your fine. If the wrinkling gets worse to the point the cutting when squeeze gives a lot you may have an issue with Larva. Since Hawaii is in such a warm and sunny local sometimes the cuttings do wrinkle a bit especially if its trying to root like yours is as its using up its resources to create the new root system. I have gotten cuttings like yours from Oz, Thailand, Singapore and Hawaii and they all made it with no bug issues. I did get a cutting like yours also from Singapore and it did not ever plump up and when I cut into it before throwing it out I found a bunch of Larva's in it. So again AS LONG AS IS PLUMPS BACK UP OR STAYS HARD YOUR good.. Cheers

It has been a week and look how happy my cutting is! Im so glad it didn't rot! It's still a little wrinkled but it definitely firmed up a bit. Im going to pot it up today and will be sure to keep the soil moist! Any suggestions on how deep to plant it and what kind of soil? Should I keep it in a sunny spot? Partial shade?

Nice root! Others may chime in with better suggestions, but I think you should put it about 3 inches deep from the top soil line in perhaps a half perlite/half cactus mix. Be very careful as that root is very fragile. I would put soil in the pot, up to the level you want the bottom to be, then set the cutting into the pot on the soil, holding it steady with one hand and carefully pour in more of the mix all around it, to within an inch of the top of the pot. Then keep it damp, since it's been in water the whole time.

Yep, I probably would have potted it up couple of days ago. Its ready for soil, keep it moist and you can put it outside in a sunny location, best up against a wall or fence. Leave it a lone and you may see some leaf activity, or you may have to wait till spring depending on how long the warm days last. So at least you know your plumiess rooted, so plant it and leave it alone even if you dont see leaves grow.
Cheers

This was a great read...i was going to get some cuttings from a white and yellow across the street and a pink from down the road from my mums place and try and root them so i will definitely be trying water rooting. So you all suggest cooler places...so i shall put them inside...does it need any sun? or can it have no sun...its just any room of mine that gets sun gets too hot and heat causes them to rot right? either that or i could put it in a shady shot in the garage that doesnt get full sun but i mean with 30 degrees cel days im just worried they will rot even in a shady area? Also you said to use cups from maccas or plastic bottles rather then glasses. Are you worried about any remaining liquid or watever from the cups or bottles? i know you can wash them out well but you know how you have a drink bottle that used to be coke or fanta and no matter how many times you fill it with water the water still tastes like coke or fanta? Im just worried if that got into the plant what it would do?

Sarah

I wanted to try water rooting however I didn't know that it still needed to dry out . I put in a glass with water and plant food for 10 hours and it was outside it has leaves and flower buds. What do I do the leaves are saggy now. I did cut it on an angle though