I use anything that holds water to root clippings, I had to cut down my Lucky Banana because it got so tall, I used a tall drinking glass to root them in maybe 3" of water in the glass. I'll try to figure out how you send a shout out to Al, I'll let you know..

I found out how to get a message to Al, find a post he commented on, click on his name and that will bring you to his home page, on the right hand side you'll see where you can message him. Hope that helps you, I call myself a space cadet all the time LOL your not alone !!!!!

I had a quick read of the post. If you are using soil to root cuttings you absolutely need a drain hole. Treat the medium like you would for any plant. Keep it moist and not soggy or water logged. Otherwise there is no point in trying to root in a medium. You can use clear plastic container if you wish but I would cover it with foil or just insert the clear container inside another opaque container. Roots do not like light. To inspect you can remove the foil or the outer container. For better results and to speed up the process use a humidity cover or dome and use a heat mat to keep the soil around 75F.

I do hundreds of cuttings including ficus and usually just use 511 mix and sometimes gritty mix. The success rate is very high.

If you mean using old prescription bottles as rooting glasses, that's...kind of brilliant, actually. I feel guilty for discarding those (I hate throwing out plastic but don't have uses for those) and can see how to use those to air-layer things now, too just by adding a stick-sized hole in the cap and other end... :-)

New life for a discarded product. I love it. There's only so many I can use for storage.

morpheuspa - I agree! That Al, he is always a font of wisdom! We are so lucky here.

Tropicofcancer- foil!!!! Yes!!! Wonderful idea - then I would have the best of both worlds. Really just last year I lost 2 little rosemary cuttings because I got discouraged, and when I dug them out, they had great little root systems. The clear bottle + foil promises to work much better.

As for the media, I've used different things, but I would warn people to be very careful if you use the Napa ... you have to water very carefully and consistently, bc of course that medium is designed to suck up moisture. (Oopsie! I bet everyone else already knew.) I only used it because it is heavier and for some things, perlite is too light. Like for my little euphorbia. I didn't want a thing with thorns to be falling all over. Other than me forgetting to check the moisture more often though, the screened napa worked very well for rooting.

Christine, thank you for the kind message - and, now I want a Lucky Banana plant, just bc of the great name! As for Al, he is a pretty busy guy. I imagine he'll get around to this maybe, at some point. I don't think I remember there being a drainage hole. Maybe someone else will recall for sure. (Having said that, I am of course not on Al's level - it may be that holeless drainage is too advanced for me. Still it would be nice to know if it's possible.)

Hi, N2SG - I do a lot of air layers and propagation. If the cuttings are small and few (like 1 or 2), I'll use prescription bottles. Often though, if I want to plant a (bonsai) forest, I'll use very large but shallow storage containers that can handle 50-100 cuttings.

Rooted cuttings from left to right foreground: common hackberry, hop hornbeam, amur maple, trident maple. The hackberry cuttings were rooted in spring of '19, the rest in spring of '20.

I don't do any propagating in water, and all containers have drainage holes; plus, the medium I use might vary, but it's always something that drains very quickly and is highly aerated. I melt drainage holes in plastic containers with a cheap soldering gun. The holes are far stronger if you melt them through with a hot nail or screw head than if you used a drill. I like holes to be about 1/4", that way I can push a rayon mop head strand through the hole and tie a knot in it as a stopper, which helps considerably with drainage.

A huge part of cutting success is a clean sharp tool to prepare the cutting. The basal end of the cutting should be prepared with a single edge razor blade, a fresh/new utility knife blade, or a scalpel (my choice for cuttings, grafting, disbudding, and more). Scalpels are cheap, and a #11 scalpelworks best. Any tool (like scissors or secateurs/pruning shears that can crush tissue should be avoided; or, if you initially take the cutting with other than a razor sharp clean tool, you should cut lower than necessary, then prepare the cutting properly before sticking it. You want NO microscopically fine shreds of tissue at the wound site, as that's where rot gets its first hold. Rooting cuttings is a race to get a connection between new roots and the propagule's existing vasculature before the fungaluglies can clog the plumbing and make the connection impossible.

I treat cuttings of more herbaceous plants, say impatiens or coleus, the same way I treat woody material, though some woody material, like lace leaf (dissectum) maples, need a mist/fog chamber in order to root successfully, which is why most are grafted.

Al

Al, your previous post appeared on my feed right now. I wonder what happens with houzz with their posts out of sync.

Recently I discovered an old Stanley pocket knife that takes scalpel blades. Such a pleasure to use for cuttings. I had been using it mostly for marking on wood for woodworking projects.

Good to know that you use wicks for draining excess water from pots of cuttings too. I have not used in pots for cuttings yet. Is this something that you regularly use for all/most cuttings.

Thank you, Al!! A lot of food for thought. I think I remember hearing recently that plants communicate underground - so maybe your method with large groups of cuttings leads to the plants encouraging each other somehow. Amazing things happening all over the place.

And, drainage holes - roger that!

And I do need to invest in some sharp blades. I will google all these options.

Tropicofcancer, that is a lovely air layering setup. So, with the hazel, if you separated it in the fall, were you waiting on the weather to plant it, or is there some other reason? (I am just curious. I've only tried one air layer and it didn't work.)

Oh, also, tropicofcancer, one of the main attractions of the little prescription bottles is just that they're small. That way, I would see roots pretty quickly if they occur, and get the plant out of there and into a pot. Bad things happen to my cuttings if I get distracted. Practically speaking, I won't be able to use the prescription bottles - they're too brittle, and I don't have a soldering tool. (I don't think so anyway.) Whereas a soda bottle, I can just cut. Now I just need really small ones.

Btw ... is it my imagination, or can you sometimes tell if something has struck based on the leaves? For example ... you know how you cut a stem, and put it in water, and the leaf stays green and shiny? Doesn't that mean it's still alive? I mean, after a week or so - after the time you would expect a cut flower to be dried up. (Whereas, say with a euphorbia, the glow is too subtle.) Sometimes it seems so to me. F.e., I have a little sprig of Grand Duke of Tuscany jasmine in water, and it's been in water for months. (I have had a difficult time rooting it the normal way.) Anyhow, the leaves are still glowing and green, although I don't see roots - just tiny nubs that could be a leaf I took off (and not with a scalpel either).

"they're too brittle, and I don't have a soldering tool."

Your drill, if you have one, can work here (and add additional air holes through the side if one is overly-concerned about aeration). Hand drills work fine, the plastic is not sturdy, and can be had quite cheaply online. Hand drills are actually easier here and less danger to your hands...

There's a device called a "nibbler" that can nick through from the side of the cap or base once you start a hole, but that's a little inconvenient here. Using a heated tool on plastic....well, do that outside. If it stinks, don't breathe it. :-)

Other uses for prescription plastic bottles rather than throw them out (tossed plastic is a personal offense to me...) Storing doodads, homemade creams (the tops are airtight and already made to store cream as I've gotten Magic Mouthwash that way) and other mixes, and, in my case, homemade artist's paint colors (just stick a masking tape label with the color name you gave it and mix ratios on the bottle) to preserve them. I'm sure other people are even more clever.

/Helga's Helpful Household Hints

"Btw ... is it my imagination, or can you sometimes tell if something has struck based on the leaves?"

You mean "life glow." Some will tell you you're crazy. Some will nod and smile at you, unable to articulate exactly what we mean, but yes...it's there. Something tells you it's alive. I currently have a hibiscus cutting refusing to root but it's got that glow. I'm not throwing it out for that reason, even though those stupid white root buds refuse to do anything and it's been months. They'll get there, as long as that glow lasts.

...You're supposed to use a scalpel? Scissors, tear them off, use my teeth... :-) I tend to test rules to see how far I can push them when I have many options.

They had gone dormant when I detached them. The roots need to protected from hard freeze. So I just slip potted the various air layers without removing the plastic bottle. And stored them in a cool place protected from freezing. I will properly pot them in Spring (around March/April). Normally I would start these early say May and on another 2-3 months they are ready. But in this case I was late in starting them.

Ha ha morpheus, very funny! I tend to wing it a bit too ... however, since I then feel guilty if the plant dies, I am slowly working myself up to actually gathering the necessary equipment. What Al says about torn tissue makes perfect sense. Also, tearing seems insulting to the plant. Plus I already have one of those handle-tools that you unscrew and put the blade in. So, it is really just laziness that prevents me from doing better. Ah, so often, that is the case!

I do have access to a drill ... but I'm hesitant. I don't have good hand strength, and these bottles are so small. I think I will keep looking around.

I like the term "life glow." I am still wistful about my two little rosemary plants. They had really quite a lot of roots ... once I dug them out, weeks later. For some reason, I can't keep a rosemary alive in a pot. It's pathetic. Probably I overwater. : (

A power drill might do here. On the flat, that's not a problem. If you're putting air holes in the sides, though, I'd recommend a vice so you don't drill yourself.

You can get much bigger bottles from your pharmacist, up to "gigantic." Probably one or three just for the asking, but if not, I'm sure pretty cheaply. Or order them online, you'll probably never need more than a few. I've gotten 3-month supplies of stuff in huge prescription bottles. Which I hate as the small ones are best for paint storage. :-)

I can't say I have too many failures even with my more loosey-goosey techniques, but it's kind of fun to drive people nuts around here when I describe them. :-)

We are back.

N2SG: I have nothing against anyone using any container that they fancy. I personally avoid anything that has a neck that is narrower than the rest of the container. Just makes life difficult later.

I am sure you can find a friend/neighbor to drill some holes for you.

You need patience - the best tool a gardener can have. There is no sure fire way to tell whether it has rooted in the early stages. It varies a lot. Short answer is you have to see the roots and some new leaves at the same time. Do not be in a hurry to take them out either. Let the roots mature a bit so that it can survive the subsequent transplant. The other way is easier - to tell if it is not going to take :((

Some cuttings can stay green for a long time without rooting at all. For me the most extreme had been cinnamon. It took nearly an year to show a little root sticking out of the bottom. The leaves were green all the while. It did not drop any leaf neither it produced a new one. I will transplant them in summer.

N2SG - instead of "life glow", you might consider using the word "vitality". 'Vitality' differs from 'vigor', as vitality is a measure of how well the plant is able to deal with its environment, with the cultural hand it's been dealt by nature or its grower. Vigor is a genetic trait.

Something I wrote:

Vigor and Vitality

There are many factors that can affect a plant's ability to grow to its genetic potential. You might notice my regular use of the term 'vitality' when I write. It is actually a plant's vitality that we hold any sway over, not its vigor. 'Vigor' is constant. Mother Nature provides every plant its own, predetermined level of vigor by programming it into each plant. Vigor is the genetic potential every plant is encoded with, and the measure of vigor is the plant's ability to resist stress and strain. Vitality, in contrast, is variable - a dynamic condition that is the measure of a plant's ability to cope with the hand it's dealt, culturally speaking. A good way to look at the difference between vigor and vitality is to look to genetics for the level of vigor and to things cultural for the plant's vitality. It's up to us to provide the cultural conditions that will ensure our plants' vitality. Vigor and vitality are distinctly different, and a good case could be made that they are unrelated, but there is no need to delve deeper into that point. A plant can be very vigorous and still be dying because of poor vitality. Far more often than not the term 'vigor' or 'vigorous' is misapplied, where in their stead the terms 'vital' or 'vitality' would have been more appropriate. Reduced vitality is what we witness when our plants are growing under stress or strain due to the fact they are being asked to grow close to or beyond the limits they're genetically programmed to tolerate.

I would like to take a moment to express my appreciation to the late Alex Shigo, PhD, for his works, which have helped distill my understanding of the delineation between stress and strain, and the difference between things related to a plant’s vitality as opposed to its vigor.

So, as growers our job is to identify and correct to the greatest degree we find practical, any cultural conditions that are close enough to the limits a plant is genetically programmed to tolerate to cause stress. The source of that healthy glow of vitality is directly related to how well we control stress.

Al

N2SG: Here's an example of the "larger" container I was talking about, a Uline example (too expensive for my blood, but I've seen the same proportions at the pharmacy and gotten them there for big stuff--ask). Dunno if you have access to polymer clay (see your local craft store), but you can also easily make your own "container" with that. I use it for everything from replacing broken bits around the house to making little craft pieces (rabbits, turtles, plants, dragons, lotuses...) Sculpey III is cheap and would do fine for this purpose.

Actually, Al, I've always thought it was a color detection thing. Healthy things have a set of tones we detect as...well, healthy. And it comes out when I paint a healthy plant as opposed to one that's dying or not healthy. I'll reach for greens with more blue in them for the healthy ones, brighter yellows to admix, and richer browns, even for more dullard plants.

Dying plants tend toward the deeper siennas and umbers, with sap and Hooker's green (less bright greens), touches of gray in the green, and more ochre yellows.

Dead, of course, is browns and sickly yellows, with gray.

"Life glow" just refers to the brighter hues of the colors in shortcut, rather than trying to long-windedly explain what I mean by saying, "Phthalo green admixed with Cadmium yellow medium, perhaps a tiny dash of Golden's Sienna, and even a dab of Hansa yellow light to round it out."

I know how some around here seem to object to the more long-winded statements and think they say nothing as opposed to merely being very exact. That above defines an exact color range for me of a very, very complex green tone that's just slightly muted, but extremely dominant. :-)

I would love it if some day, I could get any of my plants close to their genetic potential! Maybe some day. I am still working on keeping them alive. I will say, the Foliage Pro really helps a lot. If you are too busy/lazy to repot on time, at least if you remember to flush, you can make a plant decently happy just by feeding it. (As opposed to fish emulsion, with which I have killed things. Mind you, I probably also didn't flush correctly back then.)

"Vitality" does sound like the correct term, Al. I really did mean a "glow" though - that is, the leaves are green and they have a sheen to them. This gives me hope. I know water rooting isn't ideal, but it is the wrong time of year for cuttings anyway. I think this bit had a flower on it months ago - that's how it ended up inside. And then, it never looked dead, so I kept putting in water.

Tropicofcancer, wow, a year! That's fantastic. I am thinking about whether I should work on my patience. I feel like sometimes things develop too slowly, but then all of a sudden, it will be June and I will be late with the repotting again. I guess I should start planning now. (I don't plan much. It probably shows.)

morpheuspa, I think those are great suggestions. Also, it sounds like a great way to organize. I think I need to stick with the small ones though. In theory, that would mean I would know sooner which plants are hanging in there. I think I will just hang onto the little bottles, in case I do meet with someone handy someday. I don't know the neighbors well enough to bug them. Maybe after the virus is vanquished. Stay safe, friends!!!

N2SG: I keep a notepad with todo lists and setup google calendar reminders for critical dates/times. And regularly take photos of progress/failures. And you are right, before you know potting season will be upon us. For me it starts in late March with outdoor deciduous trees in containers.