Welcome!

Are you saying someone was trying to propagate the nodal cutting in water before you acquired it; or, did you acquire the cutting and are now in the process of trying to get it to strike (root)?

The first image shows a nodal cutting with an adventitious (aerial) root growing from the node. The protrusion near the basal (base) end of the cutting (second/middle image) is another adventitious root. The third/bottom image shows a slight protrusion above the leaf axil. I don't think this is an axillary bud, as I would expect the new stem to arise from suppressed buds deeper in the axil. If the protrusion proves to be another root rather than an axillary bud, there is still no doubt there are axillary buds in the leaf axil.

It would have been much better had you inserted the adventitious root into a damp medium such that the leaf petiole (stem) was oriented in a more or less vertical position, and that is what I would do moving forward. Roots that form in water are physiologically much different than roots which form in a solid medium, and water roots generally transition poorly from water to a solid medium. They are very brittle, inefficient at absorbing water, and often die back, forcing the cutting to rely on what reserve energy it might have stored to regrow new roots.

Callus forms even in water, so it's to be expected that both cut ends of the cutting would turn tan or brown. I'm not seeing the white dots you describe, but white dots/protrusions on cuttings are usually root primordia, the first conspicuous indicators of root formation which are often suggestive of cauliflower florets.

There is no good reason to cut the ends of the propagule again as they will again grow callus tissue and die back a bit.

I'm not sure if by 'sphagnum' you meant sphagnum moss or sphagnum peat. If you have chopped sphagnum moss, you could spread some (1/4" or so) on top of moist potting soil before snuggling the cutting into it's new home. Some means of tenting the propagule after sticking it would be best, but do allow some air exchange. For small cuttings, I often start them in pill bottles filled with a well-aerated medium, then slip the pill bottle into a glass jar and cover the glass jar with plastic wrap with holes punched for air movement. I actually use glass covers that leave small openings so the set-up can breathe, but I realize you're unlikely to have glass pieces lying about so they can be pressed into use.

A rooted Luma apiculata (Peruvian myrtle) cutting ^^^ - medicine bottle in a pint jar

Glass cover with a vent ..... or use plastic wrap with holes ^^^

Another Luma apiculata already rooted ^^^

Al

Thank you for your reply! the cutting was already in water when I received it, i just continued the water propagation to avoid further stressing out the plant and just letting it acclimate. I personally still wanted to repot into sphagnum moss to strengthen the roots. I just took the risk to repot in sphagnum moss just now! i attached a picture. Am I doing it right? i tried to angle it a bit so that the current aerial root is in the sphagnum moss, and the i tried to expose some of the stem without covering it to prevent rotting.

That should work ok. Try to resist tugging on the cutting or moving it around trying to see if it has rooted.

Al

Hey Al, just curious, but if she is sucessful rooting this cutting where will the new growth on the cutting appear? Could you point it out on the picture ? Thanks

A single de novo (arising anew) stem will occur in the leaf axil, which is the crotch formed by the stem and the leaf petiole (leaf stem).

Same place the 2 new branches are beginning to grow on this Ficus microcarpa cutting:

Al

Thanks, ill try to not move it around too much to let the root settle in. I hope it wont result to a root rot. i tried to place it in a way where the protrusion is not covered..(still hard to see what will be coming out of it) it was an awkward placement but i hope it works. Ill definitely update with more pictures. Thank you!

We're all hoping for your success. Good luck, and DO let us know. Look for new growth activity in the leaf axil as pointed out above.

Al

perhaps im a bit impatient, i took a very very careful peek and the roots dont seem to be growing at all. if anything, it seems to be showing some discolouration on the stem (potential early signs of rot?). the leaves also seem to be a bit droopy and not as perky as it looked when it was in water…. how fast does it take for roots to grow?

Ok, I figured. My other Monstera albo plant roots were growing like crazy so i kinda expected the same for this cutting… ill wait abit more lol. Thanks.

Monchii T, its been a couple of months. How is your cutting doing? I’m hoping you had great success & have good news & some awesome pictures to share.