Not necessarily, TLBean.

I don't know that there are any hard & fast rules about this.

If it were me I might experiment & try some in each & learn what works best for you. Have fun.

Well I'm asking because I have this green ugly plastic cup. I decided to put some hydroton and some cuttings in it.nothing else was working. To my surprise they rooted! Quickly! I thought it was the color because I read that things root better in green containers. So I bought some disposable green cups. Didn't really work the same. So I go back to the original green cup.. Roots! Yay! This is my lucky rooter (I think) the only problem is, when I root cutting in it I don't have any to pot them up in. I have a ton of orchid bark and perlite. I can afford to go and buy a bunch of hydroton...... So I wanted to know if it would work.. I tried with my Bella and now its dead but I didn't know if it was because of the switch or something else.

When you say, you don't have more Hydroton to pot them up in.....do you mean you are picking all the Hydroton off of the roots when you transfer them? When I I root in Hydroton or grow stones, etc, I leave them in it at least until I see roots all over at the sides of the container. By then, if I transfer them, the roots hang on to a good share of the stones. I do not remove those. I just put about an inch of the same stones in my new pot....then add a little of the new very loose mix I use, then set the rooted plant in, and fill in carefully around it with the new mix....keep tapping on the ground so the mix fills in around the stones with roots. Fill to the same level the plant was used to growing in, then water in & leave alone until it starts to look dry in the top soil.

Oh....and I use a pot that is the same size or not very much bigger at all than the rooting pot that had the stones. Many times I use the same cup...just add a little of my mix & then put holes in the bottom so it's not SH anymore.

if your picking the stones off the roots, you will damage them. That may be the problem. If there is not many roots to begin with, then you are trying to make the transformation too soon.

One of the biggest mistakes when transferring small cuttings or plants is potting up to a much larger pot or using a much denser mix. Try not to go much bigger and use a nice loose mix. Take caution with small tender roots and you should be fine.

I don't pick the stones off but maybe I'm transferring too soon. Someone said to pot the cuttings when I see roots. I didn't know to wait. I hope I didn't just kill my newly rooted cuttings! Once they root should they go to full sun?

I wouldn't do full sun. If you do, it must be a gradual exposure or you'll burn the tender new growth. I'd go w/ bright indirect for while.