There are still some need of clarification here.

What kind of stem cuttings? (green,medium wood, hardwood)- and are you using the rooting hormone appropriate to the type of stem. Too much - is too strong which can rot the stem. A light dusting is all you need. Hardwood rooting hormone is too strong for greenwood for example.

How long - (must be 6 - 8 inches) - to allow for better distribution of water and nutrients.

Where is the cut ends (should be just below a leaf bud) - usually where it begins to root.

Did you remove much of the leaves (Should be limited to only a few (2 leaves) - More leaves, more water is used. It's not necessary to have too much leaves.

Is the growing medium sterile? What sort of growing medium?(soilless mix is preferable with vermiculite for drainage)

Do you have mold problems (black spots seem to indicate this) - if so did you sterilize your containers - did you reuse the old growing medium.

Watering -- soil should not be allowed to go dry but neither should it be wet to the point of full saturation. This enourages fungal problems. If you have fungal problems, treat it with 'No Damp'

Lighting issues - should be indirect sunlight. NO need for a full 24 hour lighting. Remember its the roots you need to encourage and not the leaves.

Ianna

Ianna hit almost everything.

I use a medium of 50/50 peat and perlite. No lights, you can put the pots in the drip line around the house, provided you don't have gutters there. They will never dry out if condensation falls on them. Just be sure they are in the shade.

Also, you will have much better success if you wait to root them until you have a night time temp of 70 degrees or higher.

Good luck!

Janie

to answer a few questions:
1 cuttings are green to semi hardwood and using powder for those type of cutings
2 typically about 4 inches. 2" above and 2" below dirt line. I am taking cuttings similar in size to the ones in the picture on the easy propagation chamber thread.
3 all cuts made just below a node
4 growing medium is potting soil so I'm sure not sterile.
5 did not sterilize containers did not reuse old medium
6 did not notice mold on rounds 2 or 3. I tried less water on round 2 with less success than round one so I went back to more water on round 3

little dani I got 70 degrees more than covered.

It seems I need to try some soiless mix with vermiculite. One question though. What about nutrition if the mix is soiless I'm assuming there are no nutrients for the cuttings to eat for lack of a better word. How long can they survive in a soiless mix before they need to be transplanted into some sort of soil? I tried some jiffy soiless mix with some seeds and the mix did not seem to absorb any of the water. If I poured water on the mix it would just bead up on top of it. It seemed strange to me and I have not tried it again

Any other suggestions or thoughts?

Try poking a hole in the soil less mix and fill the bag with water. Leave it until it absorbs the water. It has a lot of peat, if not all peat, and it takes awhile to wet it. It is not easy to work with dry, and you sure don't want to be breathing that stuff.

I wouldn't even try to stick a cutting until the medium is adequately moist.

Nutrients are not a concern until you get roots. I do like perlite better than the vermiculite in mixing my medium, but you can use either/whatever.

I will have to take cuttings and try to root some of my buddlia, to see if I have the same results. I will use the propagation chamber, with my medium moist to start and my watering well full of rain water.

I would try cuttings that are longer than 4", although that should work.

Janie

Just today I stopped at the local McDonald's and asked to take cuttings of a pink butterfly bush they have by the drive-thru. I dipped them in rooting powder (Shultz? I think) and stuck them in wet oasis cubes.

I've started at least a dozen butterfly bushes using the oasis and it has been practically fool-proof (and take it from me, I need all the help I can get!)

I keep the cuttings in a tray in my bathroom window and every couple of days I put just enough water in the tray for the oasis cubes to absorb. Depending on the cuttings, I've had butterfly bushes root in about 3 to 4 weeks (although I can't seem to stop myself from checking them every day. It's so exciting to see a root coming out of the bottom of the oasis cube.)

Great, Cindy! I had not thought of oasis.

Do you cover it with plastic, or a cover of any type?

Where do you buy this oasis? I have some stuff from WalMart that is supposed to be used for arranging flowers, but I am not sure this is the same.

I did take my cuttings. I stuck 6 in 1 quart pots of new soil conditioner, using 'Take Root' hormone powder. I set these under a tree by the water faucet, so I won't forget them. I will always see them when I turn the water on. I also stuck 6 in a propagation chamber, using the same hormone powder. These are on the front porch, out of any sun. The cuttings are 8" long with 2 nodes in the medium.

Janie

Hi Janie,

No I don't cover the cuttings. I'm using the wet foam oasis from Walmart, just make sure it's the kind for real flowers instead of the kind for silk flower arranging. I cut them in about 1 inch cubes. The only reason I keep them in my bathroom is so that I don't forget about them!

quick update. I took a couple of cuttings Wednesday night and got home Last night(Thursday) and they all had brown spots and were already half dead. Something must be contaminated. I have been reusing the same 4" plastic pots over and over so I guess I need to wash them. Is it ok to just wash them with soap and water and rinse well?

Nutrients - while there is a product produced for cuttings, I normally don't use it.

There are many propagating mediums and one of them is plain sand. Some prefer to do a layering method with soilless mixes in the bottom of the pot,topped iwth some antifungal powder, topped with sand. I prefer to use soilless mixes topped with sand because that helps to reduce fungal contaminants (airborne) and it also helps to keep the soil moist.

Oasis and rockwools are other ways to go about it. Some use a plastic roll lined with moistened sphagnum moss (like a 6 inch wide strip of garbage bag material) which is great if you wish to produce a large amount of plants but lack the propagation space.

Plastic covers - I do use them in the beginning if I fear that water loss is too much. I do cut holes those to allow the plant to breath.

Dip your pots/cutting tools in a bleach solution to make sure you've killed off all the contaminants.

Make sure your cuttings are not diseased. A light dip in a weak bleach solution can kill off hitchhiking contaminants. And make sure your cuttings are fresh. If it's been out of water for more than a couple of hours it will deteriot quickly. That brings me to the cuttings you have on hand. I don't know how successful your cuttings will be if they are wilted looking and almost dead. Do a fresh angled cut at the bottom and leave it in a vase of water for a short while. Let it absorb some water before you begin the propagation part. Hope it helps. -- The next time you expect that it will be sometime before you can get home to attend to the propagation, keep a container with some water so you can keep you cuttings fresh in the meanwhile.

You will know when the plant is rooted if you gently tug it and you feel a resistance. But don't overdo the tugging the cuttings to see if it's rooted.

Good luck and have fun.

Ianna

Don't forget to wash your clippers with a little bleach water too. Sometimes you will spread contamination through your tools.

It is hard to assess what is going on with your cuttings without being able to see them.

May I suggust that you find a good propagation book? One of my favorites is "Making More Plants", by Ken Druse. Another is "The American Horticulture Society book of Plant Propagation". Either of these can be a little pricey, but you can find them used too. In any case, they are well worth what I have invested in them. There are several more, but these are my favorites.

Janie

I'm about ready to throw in the towel. I washed all my pots and my cutting tool and used a new bag of soil this weekend with the same results. I can't seem to keep the cuttings from getting that darn black spot on them. Maybe the fungus is airborn like ianna mentioned. I may got back inside to the aquarium and try another round there. Mold was the only problem I had in the aquarium so a little less water and maybe a small fan will help that problem out. Definatly gonna look into a an anti fungal powder or something

I believe the aquarium is trapping too much moisture, and allowing fungus to grow. One thing you should know about propagating cuttings, is that air circulation is necessary. When we have humidity tents to keep moisture in, you need to make cuttings in the plastic covers to allow for air to circulate. If the moisture level is excessive, I remove the tent temporarily. In this respect your aquarium set up in the normal manner is trapping far too much moisture than is necessary. However if you are gung ho about using the aquarium, set it on it's side with the opening facing you. Set 2 plastic & perforated overlapping plastic sheets to cover that opening. Every now and then open the sheets to allow for more air circulation. I would go as far as placing it near a fan or a window with a good breeze.

Fungus is everywhere from soil to air. (notice how bread/fruits can rot all on it's own?) It thrives on moisture - which is why air circulation to reduce such incidence is important.

And also, make sure the plant from which you've taken cuttings from isn't diseased. If it already is suffering from a fungal problem, then you'll only be taking home diseased cuttings. And as I mentioned before, use fresh cuttings for propagation. A greenwood cutting is actually more work (it wilts faster) than a semi-greenwood cutting - and so I recommend that you use semi-greenwood for your cuttings.

However, I really think the main problem you've been having has to do with moisture control. Tackle that well, and you'd have low incidence of fungus or other diseases.

I too would recommend a good propagation book. I have one I've relied on for many years now.

Ianna

The propagation chamber I use is similar to your aquarium, except that it has a snap on lid.

I start with moist medium, not wet. I fill the water well with rain water or distilled water, or, if you have a well, that will work just fine. I only add water when the water well is empty. It takes a long time for this to dry out.

I never pour water on the medium in the chamber. It only becomes soupy and invites trouble.

I am inclined to think that your mama plant may harbor a fungus. All the cuttings that I took June 1 are looking good, and none have wilted. I did remove all except the top set of leaves, and I trimmed the leaves by half.

I hope you find the solution. I know how frustrating it is.

Janie

Thanks everyone for the help. Just ordered making more plants and the one from the American Horticulural Society. BTW I did not have the black spot problem when I used the aquarium it was a mold problem. I am not sure the plant that i am taking the cutting from is the problem because I have taken cutting from a couple of different plants. The problem also only seems to be with butterfly bushes. My salvia and lantana cuttings seem to be doing just fine. I'll keep plugging along until I find something that works. Thanks again everyone for helping me especially those of you that took the time to make multiple posts.

I have rooted butterfly bush cuttings by just throwing them in a glass of water. these are woodier cuttings, the first one was a large branch I accidentally broke off, it had a small heel on it and I threw it in a glass of water. in a month it had the biggest bunchof roots you ever saw. on the porch in full sun no less. I have done this deliberately since then with no problems.