I am sorry that you are having so much trouble. I root cuttings in cactus mix that I buy at Home Depot. I live in So California also but the key is that you water once and then don't water again. Sometimes it takes a very long time to get them going. I also put them in a place that they will get lots of sun. The ones that I started in Feb and March, most have roots already but a few still don't. The ones I started later seem to do much better when I mist them a little once in a while. Here is a picture of some of them that I am rooting. Water is not their friend at this stage. Waiting is the hard part but it will happen. Barb

Thanks. Does rot look like black around the side of the plant. I see black not in the center but behind the ring that separates the center and the sides. Another thing. I bought a plumeria at Home Depot and it is soft. I looked at it's roots when I replanted it and it looked like it had a little brown. Not a lot. Will it still live? Thanks.

Keep trying, you'll find what will work for you. Some people can look at a cutting and get it to root, other people keep trying different things. I finally got good at rooting with the baggie method, using MG potting soil and perlite on a heat mat. During the summer, I stick cuttings in pots with mature plants and they get watered regularly. But I would not go that route with a hard to root cutting.

I like rooting in water, and also potting cuttings up with a raw egg. I have heard that there is no scientific evidence that proves that using the egg actually speeds up the rooting process but I have to say, my trees that I do use the raw eggs with, develop big healthy roots!

I have had some frustrations with rooting myself. I have a Cot de Oro that has been trying to root for over a year now. The worst were two dark reds I got from Hawaii. One never rooted, and the other rooted in a year and a half!

Andrew