Trouble with cuttings

12 years ago

I have had a very difficult time rooting cuttings. They just don't like me. I live in california and have amazing heat. Is it possible to have too much heat? They just rot on me. I've tried different colors and methods. Nothing seems to work. I kinda have anxiety so I uproot the cuttings to check if they have roots so I need a method where I can either see them clearly forming, or be able to lift them out to see them. The reason why I have anxiety about them is because I looked at a cutting I planted a week earlier to check on it. I just tipped the pot on its side and let the dirt fall out rather pulling it out. I was very saddened to see that It showed beginning stages of rot. I didn't even water it. So then I went on a spree and checked all my 30 cuttings to find them rotted. I have never been able to root a cutting before. Should I give them more heat, less, more water? I have them currently on the side of my house where they easily get to 90 degrees. They are on a stand above the cement so they don't get the same amount of heat if I were to put them on the pool area cement which can easily get to be 100 degrees on a normal day and receive 6+ hours of sun. Should I put them out there? I don't know anymore. Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks

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Comments (6)

Andrew Scott
12 years ago
Sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time rooting your cuttings, but you are in good hands here on this site!

First off, how much are you watering your cuttings? I only water once when I pot them up. Also, you don't want to bury more than an inch or two of the bottom of the cutting. If you are, this might be part of your problem.

Many of the members here are from CA, and they root cuttings outdoors. If it were me, I would find a cooler spot. The 90 degree temps shouldn't be an issue, but I wouldn't want them exposed to temps in the triple digits. If you have a spot where you can put them that is shaded somewhat, that may work out better. Another important thing to remember is that you don't want your cuttings being exposed to ANY water! So, if you have sprinklers, make sure they are not hitting your cuttings. Same with rain water. I have two cuttings on my front porch but they are under the roof of the porch.

Now if you are looking for a way to observe the rooting process without disturbing your cutting, water bottles, pop bottles, and my personal favorite ice coffee cups, work excellent! I save the cups when I know I will need them for rooting cuttings. You will be able to see the roots growing so that should solve that problem.

When you have free time, you should look through the old posts on this page. You can also use the search engine on the top right of the page to enter specific questions. Using this option, you can research other rooting options that may also work for you. I found that some cuttings that did not root for me in my mix, rooted for me in water.

Good luck and if you have any other questions, ask away, also, please keep us posted!

Rooting can be tricky but I have to tell ya, me myself, I had a horrible time with trying to root cuttings. I killed at least a dozen cuttings myself, and I got to the point where I swore I would never try to root cuttings myself again! It took some time, but the plumeria forums really helped me, and now I usually don't have any issues trying to root them.

Andrew
alisarom
12 years ago
Do you let the cuttings dry/callus before planting? Have you tried the bag rooting method? That works best for me.
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Pondplant_kid
Original Author
12 years ago
Is this cutting ready to put in dirt?
Pondplant_kid
Original Author
12 years ago
What about this one?
Pondplant_kid
Original Author
12 years ago
Here are some I just set on the dirts surface. Will they still root?
Pondplant_kid
Original Author
12 years ago
Here is my rooting setup.