Are you talking about using milk jugs for taking hardwood/dormant cuttings? I did that last year, using a wooden box filled with 50/50 sand and potting soil. I rooted figs, forsythia, flowering quince, and redtwig dogwood. I would do it in early spring, just before the plants come out of dormancy.

{{gwi:348068}}

Not everything rooted as you can tell. I had good luck with things just starting to break dormancy than with crape myrtle and mock orange. I'll be trying my Korean lilac this year too.

Flowering crabapples are another that seem to root easily like this.
tammy

I've had the cuttings in the fridge for about a
month.I put hormone on them and wrapped them in
saranwrap.

Jim

I got one softwood rose cutting to root under a Mason jar over the winter, low success with rose cuttings no matter what I've tried but enough. Haven't tried lilacs yet but would like to.

Sound like better candidates for a cold frame but don't have one.

You can use a two-liter in the spring. I forgot about the Weigela that I rooted. I believe Kris sent them to me. I've had spotty success rooting outdoors and in soil. Dormant cuttings are a lot easier. For indoor rooting, I built a cloner. It's so much faster and less chance of mold/fungus ruining your cuttings.

Aliska, it works for roses too. I've found the best rose cuttings are those taken just after a bloom. Strip all but the upper set of leaves. Nick the green outer skin to expose the white pith below. Add some rooting hormone and stick it. In soil, I get about 50% to root. In the cloner, I'm up to 70-80% so far with my trials. I'm going to see if I can root Mr Lincoln and Blue Girl in the spring.

I buil tone of those cloners after seeing
the one you did last year only smaller. I
only tried weeping willow but it worked
great.
Thanks Token

Jim

token, thanks, that's quite a setup. I bookmarked it. My brain is hibernating lol, and I didn't quite understand it all.

I built something similar with storage boxes. Cobbled together a crude pvc pipe stand that holds two banks of cheap double shop lights, one warm and one cool bulb each, quarry tile for the bottom. When operating, it's on a timer 16/24 (maybe should go higher) and covered with heavy clear plastic, needs some fresh air more often for one thing. The humidity is at max if I try to get the cutting lower in the box.

It would be easy enough to put some Christmas lights for warmth underneath, but the other, I'm not sure.

I know how to prepare rose cuttings, but I've found that I have a better success rate if the cuttings are greenwood but have a larger diameter, hard to find sometimes, usually after first spring bloom is best for rooting but have had success with fall cuttings in these boxes, then pot up and grow on in the sunroom until I harden off and set out in late spring or early summer.

I prefer robust healthy specimens, but the ones I wanted the most were not, had to use what was available of the particular variety I wanted. Some rooted anyway and turned into healthy plants. The best chance I've noted are the ones that don't lose all their leaves in the process. These started w/leaves but dropped, shouldn't give up but lowers success rate.

Anyway, I rooted all the roses I wanted but like to keep a batch going anyway and try other things.

If I can figure out exactly what to do (I may have to track you down later, too many words now are a waste of your time), I could leave the fluorescent lights off. They get a little natural light from the windows anyway.

I tried a clem using some bubblestones from Walmart in N kitchen windowsill, but no rooting powder, failed. My spring rose cuttings this year several rooted but was waiting for them to put out some leaves, too slow, bottom water turned green, and lost them all. So I'm still tweaking my system. I do start everything clean and sterile (except the cool whip container for extra moisture).

Your cuttings look so healthy. I'd like to try some other plants besides roses like you. I'd like to do a lot of things :-).

Here's my setup; pls don't look at my messy dining room.

{{gwi:294182}}

{{gwi:294184}}

Token, I really like your cloner. My biggest problem building these things is that I know nothing about aquarium parts. Last year I wanted to build a bubbler for compost tea. I got all confused at the pet store and left without anything. And no airated compost tea again that year....

Can you please email me with the exact parts you used (if you don't mind) or post them on your blog - just a link to the parts at any online pet store place that might have them so I can see the item and the brand etc. THANK YOU! My DH and I have been thinking about misting or cloning for while. Sometime we want a mist box too.

Thank-you for showing us with great photos on your blog. So handy!! I did not realize it was that easy to root flowering quince. I bought a new cultivar this past fall and I'd like to propagate it for some hedging, instead of having to buy a whole bunch of new plants.

I already root a lot in sand. Especially my roses which I get almost 100% luck with (it is usually just finding the right spot outside for them to "take" while rooting, a cool, shady place out of too much rain). I root rosemary in sand but it takes forever. I like the idea of rooting it in the cloner.

GGG

Aliska, I don't use soil to root except outside. Indoors, I get too much rot and fungus. If you have a moment, go to the plant propagation forum and look up Janie's propagation chamber. It's great for small numbers of plants. A simple container, lid, small clay pot, and some soil is all she uses. Looks like what you're doing, but all in the same container.

Feel free to drop me a line whenever you're ready. I've had a lot of success with the hydroponic cloner. From salvias to brugmansia, and even trying a hardwood fig cutting. My latest roses were taken on a day when it was about 45, the last rose bloom of the season, and I have calluses on about 1/2 of them. Most have lost their leaves, but they are already putting out new growth and should root soon. The humidity in the cloner is the key, as I'm sure you recognize.

So, back to Jim's question, yes. But rooting outside in wintersown containers works best in spring and early summer. Mike McGroarty uses a box with soil and a white painted aquarium for rooting his plants. I just use a plastic sterlite container for the top. It's lighter.

GGG, flowering quince is very easy to root. Take your cuttings early next month. Stick them like you do your roses in sand, protect from direct sun, keep them moist, and you'll have new plants by mid to late spring. I scratch a node or two off below the sand. Rooting hormone helps.

Here are the parts you'll need.

Bubble wand. Choose the longest one that fits your container. If your container is more than 6" wide, use two.

You'll also need some airline tubing.

And a T-valve if you're using two bubble wands. This one is metal, but plastic works too.

You'll also need a pump. Mine is for a 20-gallon.

The last part is an aquarium heater. You need one that's completely submersible. Choose the one closest to your container size. I believe mine is the 10 gallon size.

The bubble wands are held in place with a little silicone caulk. I put a dab on the back of each suction cup and let it cure for a couple days. You can use aquarium sealant for that.

I also have two check valves on mine. My pump has two outlets, so there's one on each piece of tubing. It keeps the water from flowing back into the pump when the timer shuts off.

The timer is from Lowe's. It has 48 on/off settings. Just pop every other one up so that it turns the pump on and off every 30 minutes. The 30 minutes off is so that the cuttings can dry out a bit. Too much moisture actually harms the cuttings more than helps.

You'll need a florouescent light on another timer. Turned on for 12 hours, off for 12 hours. Mine is just a standard 4' shop light with daylight bulbs. Got them all from Lowe's. They have wired plugs, not direct wire. The associate in lighting should be able to help you. I can't find them online. They were $9/each two years ago.

You'll also need two containers. I used Sterilite sweater boxes from Wal-Mart. I painted the bottom one using regular black spray paint on the outside. Don't paint the inside. The 16qt one is about the same size as mine.

Hope that helps. I can't think of anything else you would need. I use powdered rooting hormone on hard to root items. Most things get no hormone in the cloner. Just plain tap water. Give it 12-24 hours to warm up and let the chlorine evaporate.

The holes are drilled in one lid. I use cheap foam hair rollers to hold my cuttings. You can see all that on my link to the blog above.

Best of all, many perennials can be rooted in the cloner. I've got a rooted cutting of gomphocarpus in the basement, lots of wintersown lantana have been rooted, wintersown Confederate Rose are currently rooted. I even rooted other hibiscus this past summer, all wintersown except for Turn of the Century. I've also rooted annuals like petunias.

token, thanks, I'll address points as they come to mind.

1. I need to go back to your blog, read at least 3X and let it sink in, often helps.

2. Parts I bought at Walmart proved to be defective or of short duration so watch for that. Already have some of what you listed but no pump. Pet stores may have better quality but may not, have to buy what's available.

3. I'll really be incentivized when I have something I want to clone such as the blue salvia which has to be grown as an annual here. Could easily get rid of surplus plants.

4. The foam curlers are brilliant. The only problem I see is how do you get them off without tearing off roots so you can use them again?

5. You can buy different kinds of cloners on the web, looked at a few, but couldn't justify the expense.

6. I'll look up that thread you mentioned. If I'm going to do any, why go small? Do at least one batch in a setup similar yours as to volume, can give away extras. Or smaller may be easier and cheaper when space is at a premium, will weigh that.

7. What bit did you drill your holes with? I do have a nice drill.

Finally maybe it would be nice to put together a list of plants that people have cloned with this method or similar. Some plants mentioned I've had no experience with or not real keen about, don't know why I don't like hibiscus like so many do, think because it looks tropical. I am also thinking about cuttings around here people might let me take if I ask.

This is exciting and right down my alley, wish I'd gotten interested in this years before. Actually I was and made crude attempts to root a couple things but no internet then for info, encouragement and sharing. What a difference!

I'm open to trying sand for my roses. Why not if I might get higher success rate?

Thank you for all the good info. I'm not giving up on my system though because I put too much of my own energy into it, didn't cost all that much as I worked up to it slowly. You can build a free standing frame with pvc pipe as well. The beauty of mine is that my son gave me a bunch of ugly plastic shelving I was going to throw out. Had hollow tubes for legs you snap in and for stacking of shelves, not with this stuff! Flimsy and ugly, but just one shelf provided more stability and something to set my box on.

If you decide to respond, don't feel you have to address it all point by point. And thanks again. Wish I didn't have so many irons in the fire. Was going to WS some jugs today and a few each day.

2. Correct about Wal-Mart. Buy quality and it will last. You do get what you pay for. I spent about $50 on my initial setup. So far, I haven't had to replace anything. So far. Been running for a year.

4. The rollers have a hole in them when you slip the rod out. I cut a slit through that hole making a c-shaped bit of foam. That lets me "unwrap" the curler from the rooted cutting. They normally don't root except below the foam. Sometimes, the roots will grow into the foam. Just make sure you can afford to lose those.

6. The only reason I can suggest going smaller is that with more cuttings in a single chamber, you're going to lose them all if a fungus outbreak should occur. I personally like using the smaller containers, just more of them. Like I do with wintersowing. I can control them better. Plus different medium works better for different cutting. Rosemary roots easily in sand too.

7. 9/16" spade bit. It's what I had. A hole saw would have been preferable, but I wasn't going to buy a hole saw just for this.

I've done the following plants. Some are still overwintering in the basement. This list is not complete, but it represents a large slice of what I have managed to root.

Salvia leucantha (Mexican sage)
Salvia Mystic Spires
Knockout Roses (as a test. I don't plan to keep or sell them)
lavender (Provence)
Rosemary officianalis
butterfly bush
cotoneaster (so easy)
brugmansia
tomatoes
petunias
Confederate Rose
Hardy hibiscus (only in late spring once the green growth is coming back from the roots)
Salvia blue bedder
Lantana (purple, white, Miss Huff- from wintersown seeds)
Pineapple sage
Acuaba shrub (speckled yellow shade shrub)
Climbing hydrangea
Bleeding heart vine (Clerodendrum thomsoniae)
sweet potato vine
hydrangeas (old fashioned species, mostly blues and purples)
Snowball viburnum
Elaeangus
gomphocarpus
echinacea
Coreopsis
guara

As long as you can get firm green growth, it will root. Hardwood growth does not do well, though I haven't tried since adding the 30/30 timed cycle for the air pump. I do get better results now with softwood and lose fewer cuttings.

That's quite a list, token. I hope I can be ready to go by early summer after most of the hardest chores are finished, although it's never done. There should be things ready to experiment on by then. Some no doubt best to wait until late summer. What on earth do I need with more plants lol? I like the challenge, something to look forward to.

No, I don't use soil in the house for rooting. I use a special seed starting mix, shouldn't get it too wet and shouldn't top water, learned that already. Those containers are heavy with the tiles and water in the bottom, but I might not have lost them all if I'd cleaned them mid stage. The tiles keep them out of the water which is the only way I can get enough humidity in there. I think I had the plastic on too tight. It's heavy, and they need ventilation, should open up once a day and watch the humidity. This one darn rose took 5 months, was so lucky to get it because my source lost too many last winter to let me take any new cuttings, and I honored that. Now I'm facing that possibility with my two out there, so if hers fail again, she won't let me have fresh cuttings.

I wonder if there's something I could do to prevent the water turning green. Starts going fast when it does, and I pick out the fallen leaves right away; that's why it's good to get the cuttings rooted in 2 weeks or so and get them out. Healthier, more mature cuttings don't drop their leaves or as fast. We've kicked this around on the OGR forum, so many different things people do.

Some (not roses) will root easily in a glass of water on the window sill w/no rooting powder, change it now and then.

I get it about the foam. Good thinking. Will have to pick up a 9/16 bit. Thanks.

I'm on a roll now with WS'ing. Throwing caution to the winds and sowing anything I feel like. 2 jugs done, want to get about 10 more today. Wish I'd dated my labels, guess I can record them on the empty seed packets.

Then get more jugs and containers ready. That's why I can't take too much time yet to study your system but glad to know where it is.

It's not going anywhere. The great thing about the cloner is that if half way through the summer, I decide I want 6 more of something, I can take some cuttings and know in about 2 weeks if they're going to root. If they don't, I'll be saving seed for sure. I usually save seed anyway, but this helps take some of the pressure off. I think propagation through cuttings is just another way of growing our gardens. Starting from seed has gotten so easy with wintersowing, I needed a new challenge. I'm going to start looking at grafting soon.

I only sowed 8 jugs, worked fast, slopped thru it. They're out now. It's still a challenge for me. Hopefully a few more each day. I saved some of my best seeds for spring sowing. If I fail, no big deal, do hate to waste the money I spent on seeds but some don't germinate no matter how fussy I am.

Grafting hasn't interested me. I've known people who do it. I like own root roses. If I got into fruit trees and certain ornamentals and whatever else needs grafting, yes, then I'd go for it, know the general procedure but would have to read up some more on that.

Tea roses in my zone have to be grafted onto hardy root stock, but I'm no longer interested in the teas, like the Austins and heirloom ones.

But cloning raises all sorts of intriguing possibilities and, perhaps, success.

I'm glad you're here. If I'd known about that earlier, I might have saved my beautiful fluke poppy. It never had anything to cross with it bloomed so late. The pods contain just black powdery dust, and I harvested them while they were still upright so if they did set some seed, it wouldn't spill out. Huge regret on that one, even thought about paying a horticulturist to try to clone it for me but sometimes you have to rein yourself in.

Token, love your cloner and I'm pretty sure there is one in my future. But I'm feeling a little dense about something. You wrote,

" I hope the timer on the air pump will reduce some of that by giving the cuttings wet/dry periods rather than constant wet."
and
"The 30 minutes off is so that the cuttings can dry out a bit. Too much moisture actually harms the cuttings more than helps."

What is the water level in the box? The cutting tips stay submerged, right? (This is probably something obvious I am just not getting but willing to look silly to find out!)

Thanks, Mechele

Mechele, the tips of the cuttings are between 1/2" and 1" above the water level. They don't need to be submerged and will rot if they are. The bubbles from the air wands splash them with enough water to keep them moist. Moisture + air = roots.

The concept of making hard wood cutting in WSing jugs is very
intriguing.
So I did a few experiments. I filled (2) 1/2 gallon jugs with a peat/perlite mix and stuck kerria cuttings, upside down into the mix, making sure they were 1" below the mix. sealed and placed in a sunny location outside in the snow. This is just for fun. I make lots of cuttings in the summer.
I like to play in the dirt. lol
:)Laura

Token: thank-you so much for the directions and all the links. Very appreciated! Mr. GGG and I are going to make some cloners. They will also make lovely gifts.

GGG