Please look at these cuttings and tell me what you think

12 years ago

A couple of weeks ago I took some cuttings from a Deutzia scabra bush, dipped them in rooting hormone, potted them up, and set them on heat mats in my greenhouse. I planted several in vermiculite and several more in potting soil, and they are under clear plastic domes.

Most of the cuttings lost all of their leaves, except one of the ones in potting soil. I noticed that several of them are putting out something that look like aerial roots at branching nodes. I assume this is a good sign, but am wondering:

1. What will these roots end up doing?

2. Should I be doing anything different other than maintaining the heat and humidity?

Here is one that lost all of its leaves:

Here is one that has kept its leaves (the roots are the white patch on the right of the stem just under the leaf):

Any comments are appreciated.

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Comments (4)

calistoga_al ca 15 usda 9
12 years ago
To see the whole cutting would be helpful. I do not believe there is any difference due to the choice of mix. From what I can see of the cuttings, it looks like you were trying to save too much foliage. The leaves I can see I would cut back to about an inch each. I would continue as you are being sure to vent by removing the cover for a few minutes every day or two. Al
kudzu9
Original Author
12 years ago
Calistoga-
All the cuttings are about 6" long; 2" below the "soil" line and the other 4" above. There is at least one branching node buried in each pot and I wounded the bark at the base of each cutting before planting, and applying rooting hormone powder. I did snip off some leaves before I potted up. Some of the cuttings have lost all the leaves I didn't take off, some still have one or two, and there is one that I didn't take leaves off of that is looking fine. Actually the one with the most leaves appears to be the most vigorous, and it looks like all kinds of growth "bumps" are breaking out through the bark of this one. I didn't bother with a picture as they just look like sticks with a couple of small branches coming off each one.

So what will become of those "roots" I asked about if the cuttings survive?
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flora_uk
12 years ago
They are showing you just how easy Deutzia is to root. I'd either ignore the roots you can see (they'll give up if they don't find any soil) or cut the stems into more sections with roots on and multiply the number of cuttings you have. When you are pretty sure they have roots under the soil I'd ease off on the heat and humidity, eventually getting them down to more or less out door temps and no cover. These are hardy deciduous shrubs and need their winter rest. The leaves should fall naturally and I wouldn't push them to grow vigorously through the winter.
kudzu9
Original Author
12 years ago
Flora-
Thanks as always for the great info!