Tom, I'm glad it worked just as I envisioned it. I had only tried it on a dummy plant. The only other thing I thought of doing is putting potting mix around the cup before lifting it off of the root ball, that way when you lift the cup the mix is already there and you just need to pack it in a little. My first cutting in the upside down cups are just starting to show roots. Thanks for the feedback.
"gene"

I just place the cup into the sink, turn on the water and flood the rooted cutting out of the cup. Perlite can easily be scooped off the top of the water and once the sink is full, sinking additional cups removes the need to run water.

only roots I ever lose are those which have managed to slip from the bottom of the cups and that is rare.

~Chills

gene,
You are a genius.Thanks for the idea.How
about those Saints?Iwas a little worried
early on , but they came thru like the
champions they are. Good luck with your
repots and future trees.

Tom- in cold, wet Danville VA

Yeah, how about them Saints. They came through just like they were suppose to. We let them get their heads a little swollen and then we flew by them like they weren't moving. Well I guess they couldn't do much with Manning sitting on the bench. While the wife and I were eating out tonight, I saw a flash on the screen that said that only 11 fans welcomed the Colts back home. That's hard to believe. I know if the Saints had loss, the town would have still turned out. Great fans.

I don't know about the genius stuff you talked about but I'm known to be quite practical. It helps me get by. I have a couple that are shooting some nice roots. I can't wait to give it a try. By the way, what trees were you rooting that took off that fast. It hasn't been that long that I posted the idea.

Chills, if you're using pure Perlite I imagine it would work fine to float it out of the roots. I use UPM potting mix and allow the plants to get root bound in the cups before transplanting.

"gene" ...in cold wet La. but we're celebrating anyway.

gene,
I had some Black Marseilles,Sals ,Verte,Brkln. White root
using Dans Baggie Method several weeks before your post.
I then put them in qt.containers untill I saw roots on cup sides,then repoted in gal. pots.They all seem to be tightening up from root growth and leaves flourishing.Funny thing, the (6) BM VS rooted better (5 of 6 )than the rest. Guess I got lucky as I hear they are hard to root.
Best of luck.
Tom- Saints fan

Since Karina, the Saints have put together a fine organization and have become a force to be reckoned with in the NFL. What you witnessed on Sunday was not a fluke, it is the direct result of what can be accomplished in a well focused re-building effort. Sean Payton has built an organization of great character and skill. He is a master of offensive play calling.....how did you like the gutsy on-side kick in the first play of the second quarter? Defensive coordinator Greeg Willians is a master too but at defense. The interception of Payton Mannings pass by Porter was not a fluke....it was planned. Porter studied all of Mannings past passes and learned how to position himself. At the right moment, he was in the right position for the Interception. And how about our kicker Hartley......and the passing accuracy of Brees, and those loyal Saints fans throughout the Who Dat Nation........

There is a whole lot more to this story than most people realize. I predict that you may well see a movie made about the rebuilding or New Orleans and the Saints organization......a great story line to be sure.

Believe Dat......Dem Saints aint for laughin' no mo.

Tom,

Before you know it, you will have many more trees than you thought you would have. We always seem to have room for "just one more".

Dan

Tom, now that I'm seeing roots I just realized another possible benefit of the upside down cup. The inverted cup has a lot more area for the roots to grow in at the now bottom of the cup, probably around 100% more.
"gene"

gene,
Excellent observation.You are right,this gives more room for
roots.This is so obvious I missed this benefit.
When you repot,what size pot do you normally use.I
am using 1 gal.Is this too small?Also how long do you
keep dome of some type to maintain humidity after repotting?
Also my plants are under lights at around 70 degrees and I was wondering about amt. of light daily.Any advise
appreciated as I am fairly new to getting plants started.
Tom- Danville -Windy/cold

Tom you are not that much newer than I. I can only tell you what I'm doing. My recently potted trees in 1 gallon pots have a front row seat on a window sill that I open the shade to every morning. Behind those are the ones in cups that are just about ready to pot up. They receive whatever light passes the ones in the front, so basically they are in filtered light. When the newly rooted cuttings with leaves strong enough to have the greenhouse (tote box)cover lifted all day long without suffering any problems, I move them to the window sill (back row) where they get light but no direct sun. I put a cup with the bottom cut out over them to shelter them a few days and then start removing that. It breaks drafts caused by the heating and cooling system plus I live in a drafty old house. My house is also around 70 degrees. As of right now all of them are looking good. I have about 20 more in the new upside down cups that are starting to root and grow leaves. These are in a covered greenhouse. I also have 30 more that are in baggies in their own container and will be moved into cups as they root or grow leaves.

The weather has turned nasty today, with light rain and some sleet. Northern La. will even get some snow. When we will be finished with it we'll send it to you. I bet you can't wait. Haha.

Keep warm and be aware Spring will come, it is close. I have some dormant plants starting to open buds.
"gene"

gene,
Just repotted a BM VS using your inverted
cup idea and filling larger container around
sides of entire inverted cup with lid removed and adding
mix around cup , then gently lifting cup and
alowwing mix to settle in. Works great!Iam sure
there was no root damage.
Oh yes, thanks for sending the snow to us again.
Tom Danville VA

Tom, thanks for the follow up. I have some to pot up this week end but they are not in upside down cups. Some are in water bottles with ridges which will be a challenge. I hope I don't kill any.

"gene"

ps: do you need any rain?

gene,
No more rain please.Can you cut down the sides
of the water bottle where no roots are visible
and spread apart with minimum damage? I hope
you will not damage roots.Your idea of inverting
cups should solve future problems.
Tom

That's what I did to the last batch, I first cut around the bottom about a half inch up and removed it then I split both sides. It work on all but one but was messy. On one of them even after taking off the bottom and splitting the sides, I removed one side with no trouble but somehow the roots were stuck to the other side and when I dumped the root ball out of the cup part of the roots torn off. Since there were plenty of them I thought nothing of it. A week later it was dead. Lesson learned.
"gene"