Hi Linda.

Spud vine roots fast, so I like to do it also, and last year I'd purchased a huge sized Diamond Frost and experimented in water - it took longer than coleus and spv, but it did root, and it did grow but slowly. So if you've got the time it could work, with my short summer the new plant did not amount to much ( I found the mother plant a disappointment also, because we did not have a good summer with heat as it was).

I've gone through periods where I could only root geraniums (ivy included) in water, then in soil and not in water, then back to soil because I'd get rot in water?????

Lamiastrum (Herman's Pride variety) roots well in water for me, so I keep it indoors over winter and start rooting them in March, they are not available for purchase yet, and by the time they are, it'll be cutting things too close.

I had Lotus Vine (red flowers that look like a parrot's beak) last year and tried in the spring...nothing. Tried again in the fall, and all five cutting tips produced roots. And, in our short summer it had started to bloom!

What might some of the 'specialty annuals' be that you are curious about? (I'm curious too).

New Guinea impatiens will probably root well in water.

I also buy my mom a double wave pink petunia each year for one of her hanging baskets. She successfully makes more by putting the cuttings in water. Doesn't work for me, and we live in the same area.

Last fall I rooted a cutting from a neighbor's Torenia and have overwintered it as a houseplant. It even bloomed sitting next to a fluorescent lamp.
I've gotten scented Geraniums to root in water, but it's hit or miss...they do better in moist soil.

Hey thanks for the info! What I was thinking of doing is taking cuttings next fall to overwinter in the house so I can make plants for the next spring. I recently went on vacation to Orlando and I got a couple of the red dragon wing begonia cuttings and they have developed roots in about six weeks time. I'm sure they will be quite big before I am able to put them out sometime in May. And I did save some of my pink dragon wing begonias from last summer and they are already potted and bigger than what you would buy at the nursery. I REALLY LOVE THEM!

I do love the potato vine and buy it every year and well as the new guinea impatiens. I will see if I can save some cuttings of those this year. Some of the other plants that I usually buy for pots or hanging baskets are: Calibrachoa (million bells), Lantana, Bacopa, and the trailing Phlox and Verbena.

I did save all the geraniums I had last year by pulling them out of the dirt and storing in the garage. Some of them still look green but a few of them don't look so good, Not sure if they are still alive.

Linda

I've not been successful growing the spv indoors through the winter, it gets really weak and yucky by December. My thought is that with the weaker winter sun, the only plants that seem to do well in a south/southwest facing windows through the winter is a plant that doesn't require full sun when planted outside for the summer - and spv is one that prefers full sun, for me anyway. Plus, a 2.5 inch pot usually runs around $1 up here, so as long as I pick a plant that has started to branch, or has a fairly long vine started, and I've picked it up sometime in April, I will have more started and ready to harden off in mid May, since they grow so fast.

I've kept Dragon Wing begonia over the winter before, it grows very well in a south window. The blooms are paler (mine was pink, and it actually was a Baby Dragon Wing - smaller leaves, smaller structure) and once outside the new blooms became a darker pink.

Keeping geraniums over stored the way you did has some risk, but certainly not the 100% chance of loss as compared to leaving them outside for the winter! :)

kioni

Although many cuttings can be started in plain water, I seldom do because they will start as easily in potting mix. Al

I have had snapdragons overwinter and root out in water. I didn't do it on purpose, a fall cut flower never wilted and suddenly, in December or so, I had roots.

I tried the dry storage method of overwintering geraniums. One out of eight made it. I am glad I kept three cuttings in pots on the southern window sill, crowded as that real estate is! It would be slow to start everything from this one plant.

My luck with rooting petunias: water, potting soil with and without rootone, talking to them, bottom heat--nahda. Maybe I will try again. Sounds like some people succeed.

The Torenia sounds exciting. The only place i saw seeds was Burpee, and they were way overpriced. Maybe a single plant from the garden center will serve the same purpose. I like the idea of a winter bloom or two. Thanks for the tip, noinwi.

Hepatica