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roselane_gw

How many cuttings per glass and is it too late for cuttings?

roselane
13 years ago

I took several cuttings yesterday of double impatiens, euphorbia "diamond frost" and coleus. I want to overwinter the plants under lights and then plant next spring. I put about 10-12 per glass of water and in an East facing window. Is that too many?

Also, was I too late in doing this? It has been mostly in the lower 90s during the days and in the 50s-60s at night lately. I've read that you want to take cuttings when plants are really growing.

I'd welcome any other advice, as well

Thanks so much!

Comments (6)

  • yiorges-z5il
    13 years ago

    I do not proprogate any plants in water so take my comments with that in mind
    1) plants need oxygen just like you do BUT they get it through the roots not the leaves..... you will need to aeriate each glass to let each cutting gets its required level of oxygen.
    2) with the plants that close together they will not be getting enough light & air flow to each leaf
    3) after they get roots you will wish to transplant into soil & grow on through the winter... Do you have enough space, light etc to keep them going.
    4) there are other considerations but this is a good start

  • roselane
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Thanks so much for your input!

    I did end up finding more glasses and now I have about 4 per glass. I am changing the water every other day. Does changing the water aerate or are you talking about a fishtank aerator?

    I do have enough space and flourescent lights to grow them under. I actually did that part last winter, but I started the cuttings directly in soil.

    Thanks again!

  • peggiewho
    13 years ago

    I am no expert but do experiment. I recently started diamond frost in a glass of water under lights. Light stimulates the plant and helps it to grow roots. I used a small juice glass and topped it off when needed and used a lot of fat stems. After 2 weeks I had good roots to plant up. The roots are brittle so a lot of care needs to be taken. I put them back under the lights for another week and can see the roots through the plastic cups. The other method I did was take a fat stem and pinned it down on potting soil in a throw away lettuce container with a lid. I know several places it has rooted because again I can see roots through the plastic. This will be a little messier because at some point I will have to separate plants or plug the whole thing into a pot.
    Double impatiens may rot in water. The pinch poke method works really well. Use the growing tips even if you can't get all the flowers off. Just take tip cuttings and poke in potting soil, I don't cover. For 2 weeks it will look like slow death but slowly you will get better and better looking little plants.
    Coleus is so easy I would think any method would work. Good luck.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    13 years ago

    There are already at least a couple of threads in this forum covering the information about growing cuttings in water. I would suggest reviewing them.

    Changing the water daily helps, but that's not aerating it. Fishtank pumps are often used for hydroponic type propagation.

    Coleus are SO easy to start in water, that I might consider starting them that way, but in general I think you are going about it in the hard way. If you do start your coleus in water, transplant them shortly after they begin rooting. Most all plants are much more effectively propagated in a good potting medium, and doing so will save you lots of daily maintenance and likely result in a better success rate.

  • roselane
    Original Author
    13 years ago

    Brandon-I choose to do these three in water based on searches I've done and also I've followed the "I'm lazy..." thread for quite some time. I've read enough to know there is a lot of controversy around here about starting in water and I started several other cuttings directly in soil. I posted because I never found SPECIFIC answers to the questions I posed. For instance, I knew you aren't supposed to crowd cuttings, but how many is a crowd? I know you are supposed to do cuttings when things are "really growing", but how does that translate into temperatures? I apologize if I should not have started a new thread or if it was a dumb question. I've read a lot on here, but I'm still a novice. Thanks so much to everyone who tried to help me.

  • rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
    13 years ago

    I'm always a little perplexed as to why people start things in water when most plants are so easy to root in a decent potting medium. Rooting them in a solid medium IS the lazy way, lol. No transplanting required....no changing of water, etc. And then there's the benefit of the plant not having to create new roots that are adaptable to a potting mix, rather than water.

    Cuttings need to be stripped of all but a couple of top leaves, and remove any flowers. I 'pre-drill' holes with a pencil or skewer so that the stems don't break, then water the cuttings in thoroughly. Keep moist, but never soggy. Be sure that your potting mix is a very porous (fast draining) one. Add plenty of extra perlite if you are unsure.