please help with cuttings

11 years ago

ok i bought some cuttings and potted them in the clear plastic bottles. there are 12 of them and only 1 is nowshowing any roots. bought a heatmat and a shop light and they are in a big closet. i put tin foil on the walls to help reflect the light. will the cuttings grow over the winter or will they just sit theere until winter is over? i put a themormoter in there and it was 85. is that a good temperature and will shop lights help keep it warm? will they need water when they start growing roots? i will put my 4 bigger plants in there later with more tube lights. my plants area 3 feet high and have 3 branches. do i take off the leaves and do i water them if i leave on the leaves?

tia

Comments (6)

DelWH
11 years ago
They should grow over the winter as long as the lights are on at least 12 hours a day. The foil is a definite plus to reflect light energy back on the plants. I've heard that soil temps of around 80 promote rooting so 85 should be in the ball park. When the roots start showing, carefully water around the edges of the bottles, so as to not get the stem wet.

On the bigger plants, sounds like you are planning to have them grow over the winter so I would think you would leave the leaves on and water carefully. Spider mites can be a problem indoors so some people advocate spraying the plants (outdoors in the shade) with Bayer 3 in 1 before bringing them in.

I know others with chime in here with more things that I have forgotten.
lablover4ever
Original Author
11 years ago
thanks delWH. with the bayer 3 and 1 do you water it into the soil or only on the leaves? yes i am going to keep them growing can i use alcohol and water in a bottle to fight spider mites? somebody here had ants in there plants and i don't want to bring those in the house. loves plants was telling about using the bayer 3 and 1 so i looked at it at the store but id did not see where it said wether to use it in the soil.
another thing is i have a aztec gold and slightly injured it at the tip and it gooed out orange stuff??? i thought there was a bug and picked at it where the leaves are growing and the orange stuff came out. what is that?
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DelWH
11 years ago
That orange stuff may not be good. The plant should ooze white latex when poked with a pin or cut. When it's off color like that, it may indicate some type of infection or rot.
lablover4ever
Original Author
11 years ago
hope not its my biggest plant. how can i tell if its rotting? i stuck it iwth a pin in 3 different places and the white stuff oozed out. it is not soft in any spot that i can tell. i can see and have seen it before that the orange goo right in the middle of the claws on all the branches
DelWH
11 years ago
Not sure about that one. If it's on all the tips, perhaps it's normal? The white latex is good however. Perhaps some more experienced growers will have a good answer.
moonie_57 (8 NC)
11 years ago
Lablover - check out the thread "What's new in the patch" and look at the second pic. Is that the orange ooze you are seeing on your AG? If so, I guess it is normal as I have seen it on some of mine as well.

I have never used alcohol as an insecticide but I have used diluted Dawn or Joy in a spray bottle. It works well for light infestations.