Hidden Valley Hibiscus Forum

I know what grafting is but did not understand how a new plant was formed.  I just assumed the cutting was grafted to a rootstock and left on there to grow. Last night I FINALLY understand how this works !

I would like to try getting some cuttings to root so I can have new plants . There are 2 hibiscus plants in my neighborhood that I want to use in my breeding program. One is this very pretty pink and orange flower  it is very hardy ,  I never see white flies on it and the foliage is nice green and shiny. ( I bet it’s a cultivar already but I do not know the name) I will take picture of it maybe today

The second one is a mixture of orange, white, red its kind of striped splashed. This one seems hardy also it has always withstand the cold in the winter.  I am seeing blooms on both plants.

 

What would I need to get cuttings to grow ?

If these are not grafted, they should root for you. Only newly purchased hibiscus are likely to have been treated with growth inhibitors and those make rooting difficult to impossible until wears off.

There are many methods to root hibiscus and other plants. Probably the simplest, and in some ways the most interesting because you can see exactly what happens, is to fill a glass with an inch of water and drop the cutting into it. A drop of bleach helps deter rotting but you can also use water only if it is changed every day. If the cutting is dipped in rooting hormone you will see a different result than if no hormone is applied and the cutting may root faster.

The cutting should be either very firm green wood or firm wood that has recently changed from green to brown or is part green and part brown. Soft green wood usually rots and old hard wood may take a very long time or never root. Remove all the leaves except for one at the top and then trim that one so that there is only about 1 square inch left. Don't worry if that leaf falls off later.

Place the glass with the cutting in a shaded spot that does not get too hot. When changing the water use luke warm rather than cold water. If you have a heating mat you can put the glass on it. If the cutting is from a healthy plant you should get roots forming within 4-6 weeks, with some varieties it happens within 3 weeks but don't count on that. After the roots grow a couple of inches you can carefully plant the rooted cutting in soil.

There are other methods but I like this one because it lets you see how the cutting actually makes roots, a process that is hidden if the cutting is stuck into any growing medium other than water.

Charlie

Thanks for the info Charles , i have read about other methods also but this one seems easiest simple. I only want to try a few cuttings. I will start this weekend . I just need some root hormone and I should be good.

I'm glad someone posted this.  Thanks Charles for the good info!!  I want to try rooting in the future to have "backups" of my favorite cv's.

Why would a newly purchased plant be treated with growth inhibitor?  So it's new owner can't take cuttings off of it?

My guess is that so the rootstock cultivar or plant does not grow too. ( I was going to ask how do you stop the rootstock from growing )

Aha I didn't think of that.  Seems to me, though, that would affect the ability of the grafted cv to grow...?  That was more of a question than a statement...  :)

I was thinking the same thing ? We will have to see what Charles says  :)

On another note I think I found the name of the CV that is down the street , I think its Ross Estey. I was reading its a "own root " variety. Maybe the cutting will root after all ?  The other CV is still unknown I need to get a picture.

As far as I know, growth inhibitors are used to make small, compact plants (easier to transport) and full of buds. You will recognize the plant is treated because the internodes (spaces between the leaves ) are very, very short, and the leaves are very, very dark green, and the plant is full of buds.
The plant usually needs 1,5 - 2 years to overcome the hormone effects. In reality, most of those plants die soon after they finish blooming. I do not know how they treat them in the USA, but in Europe they treat them a lot, so after the plant finishes blooming it does not grow at all. It is possible, although very difficult, to save such a plant. It needs a lot of care and knowledge to be kept alive.

But, I have heard that such plants can be rooted. I have never tried, because I avoid such plants in a very wiiiiide circle.

ciao, Nina

Nina described the uses of growth regulators quite well. What most people do not know is that a great many of the plants sold at most garden centers have received such treatments, it's not just hibiscus. As one grower told me early in my career "it beautifies the plant". What he left out was that it also guarantees a lot of return business the next year because the plants are beautiful for only a few months and then often decline. Other growers have told me and shown me that the dose is all important, that just the right touch can beautify the plant and bring out more flowers without damaging the plant long term. However, I think it is common to overuse the growth regulators.

Exotic hibiscus are rarely treated with it. Hines did it and so does Zoe's but I do not think any of the specialty growers of exotic hibiscus use it. One problem is that each variety reacts differently to it and the dose has to be adjusted for every variety which is not practical where lots of varieties are being grown.

Charlie

So I went out last night while walking my dog to collect some cuttings. I only cut one piece from each plant. Now I hope they start rooting.

I was so amazed at how big the Ross Estey Cv was they where shiny.

I've done the "collect" cuttings thing, too. Once I raided a White Wings outside a restaurant only to look up and see all the guests seated next to the window watching me. Who knows what they thought. That time I brought back some unwanted guests - giant whiteflies. Yuck. It's smart to check out the plant carefully before taking the cuttings......

Charlie

so far the first cutting I tried did not work. I rounded up 6 cuttings and they look like they are trying to root but no roots yet.

Kerry, did you stick them in water or perlite or?  Used rooting hormone? The strongest hibiscus rooters such as Pride of Hankins and Albo take at least 3 weeks usually and can take much longer. A good rooting exotic will take 4-6 weeks. Many other exotics take 8-12 weeks to root if they ever do. The trick is keeping them happy during all those weeks and never letting them get too hot or too cold or too dry. Meanwhile fungus and bacteria are trying to feed on them so it is a race to see whether they will root or rot first. Once rooted they are much better at fighting off microorganisms.

Charlie

I am using the water only the first batch rotted and dies so far the 6 cuttings look like they will root.  I am going to change water and use DI water this will probably help. I used root horomone and one drop of blach as directed

Sounds good so far. Hibiscus cuttings are sensitive to high levels of dissolved salts. Our local water is often right at the limit of what hibiscus can handle. Your DI water would have reduced levels, how about the pH of that water?

Charlie

The PH of the Di is I believe 7.0 or something like that every time I am mixing something for my aquarium it is 7.0 before I add my salt to it.
As for the ph out of my tap I have no idea. I have to find my PH test.

That's fine. Some filters such as RO can lower the pH quite a lot but yours is good. Tap water here usually is 7.0 whenever I've checked it.

Charlie

I don't think these cuttings are taking , I have bought another root hormone with more IBA .  I also saw some rooting gel from a UK company, you just put cutting in the gel cup and let it grow. I think that is neat but I need to see how much IBA is in it. 

my new root hormone finally came in the mail.
I bought Dip n Grow

It says to put cuttings after dipping indo growing media, so is it ok to place cuttings in potting mix ? or can I dip and put them in water ?

Dip N Gro is a good rooting hormone. I've used it on and off for years and don't find any problems with it. Some say the alcohol damages the cut tissues but it also sterilizes them at least a little. In any cases I have thousands of plants growing after being treated with Dip N Gro so don't worry about this at all.

You can stick cuttings in water after treatment, or in any medium including potting mix. They are more likely to rot in potting mix so most people use something sterile like perlite, vermiculite, Oasis foam, and other media that hold air and water but are sterile. An easy rooter will root in just about anything, but the harder to root ones will want an ideal media to root in. The most important factor by far is the cutting itself - how old the stem that it was cut from was, and how healthy the plant it came from is. Wood from an old plant growing in the landscape that is old wood will rarely root and that might be what you got when collecting cuttings?

Charlie

For the cuttings I got some cv's had different growth patterns

2 of the cv's I cut had nice green branches LUSH leaves huge also ( I will take some pictures of the bush today) I cut the green part and tried that.

The third CV grows like Heartbreak hotel really no green parts but lots of leaf nodes and wood. these where trying to root but I stopped messing with them until i got the dip n grow.

 

I am getting ready to take a couple cuttings from some of my cvs and try to root them.  I re-read this post for a step by step guide to rooting.  Couple questions...

Once the roots are several inches long, do you just remove them from water and plunk them into potting soil?  (gently of course)

Also, you just dip the wood in the hormone, then put it down into water with a drop of bleach?  How often do you change your water, and do you re-dip the cutting each time in the hormone?


I was thinking of trying to root my Chariots of Fire.  It needs pruning and is a good beginner exotic, so I would give the extras to friends.  Does CoF root easily?



ugh, sorry for the billion questions......

Hi Jordan,

Chariots of Fire is an excellent one to start with. It roots very well and is not as likely as some to die by rotting before it roots. I think one of the pitfalls that gets many attempting to root exotic hibiscus is the time it takes before they root. 6 weeks is good but some cuttings can take up to twice that long and the entire time the cutting has to be maintained in good, steady conditions for it to be successful. Garden variety hibiscus and root stock types like Pride of Hankins and Albo can root in as little as 3 weeks so those are good to practice with if no success is had with easier to root exotics like Chariots of Fire or Love Story, for example.

Probably the main drawback to rooting in water is transplanting to soil when the roots are ready. It is not hard to do but you do need to be careful not to break the roots and the plants go through a little adjustment period as the roots adapt to soil.

Yes, dip the cuttings in hormone and set them in about an inch of water. Changing the water is critical for success. Do it several times a week and use lukewarm water if available. The hormone is active in the cutting for up to 3 weeks so you can re-treat every 2-3 weeks until roots form. If you use bleach make it a very small amount. Most city water has a mixture of chlorine and ammonia added so adding more is not that helpful and too much will prevent rooting just as too much rooting hormone will prevent rooting.

If rooting more than 1 cutting in the same glass watch them carefully and remove any that show fungus growing or rotting asap and then change the water with a little bleach added. Any that are going to rot usually do so in the first 3-4 weeks.

Now if you can keep the cutting warm and the air around it humid for 6 weeks or longer it should root.

Best of luck!

Charlie

Good!  I will let you know how it goes. 

One more thing... I shouldn't have trouble keeping the area warm enough (house is ~ 74 degrees) but is normal household humidity enough, or do you reccommend an incubator?

Jordan, houses that use central air conditioning that lowers the humidity a lot can make it difficult to root or even grow hibiscus. As a general rule rel humidity above 55 percent should be enough. Most likely the air inside the glass will have plenty of humidity from the water for the cutting. If temps fall below 70F at night it will slow down the rooting process, which is already slow enough!

Charlie

Oh, good.  I do have central air and I will certainly be using it here in the summer, but I'll probably set it around 76 so there's no risk of it being too cold for the cuttings.  Hopefully the humidity inside the glass will be enough for roots to form.  Now if I can keep everyone else in the house from knocking it over/eating it/doing whatever else might happen I should be ok.   ::)

Yes, the life of a cutting is full of peril!

Good luck, we can't wait to hear the story of what happens......

Charlie

Ok I just re-read this and I am a slacker.  Haven't even tried yet.  I just need to go out and purchase some rooting hormone and I'll be good to go.  I do have another question, though.  Do cuttings need any direct sunlight or are they better off in full shade?

Full shade. Sun will stress them too much and they'll die before they have a chance to root. What they like most is constant warmth and some humidity.

Charlie

I think usually you want to keep them warm and out of sunlight, until the roots grow.  Then you can wean them onto more sunlight!

Thanks guys!  Just ordered some Dip N' Grow off Ebay.  As soon as it gets to me I'll make my first attempts...

I have never managed to root anything in water, although I tried many times. Perlite plus peat, half-half, gives much better results for me. Covering with a plastic bag is obligatory.
To the hormone powder I add one third of a good powdered fungicide.
I water with fungicide and spray with fungicide occasionaly.

Varieties that root well in my conditions, and that you may have and wish to root:
Voodoo Magic, LIving Legend, Bienvenue, Drunken Rummy, Bon Temps, Jim Hendry, Erin Rachel.

The key to rooting in water is changing the water every day. You have to maintain the same conditions for rooting using any other technique - warmth, humidity, low light - but the special thing is keeping the water fresh. Also it works better using water with low levels of dissolved minerals. Yvonne Forsling and I did a lot of experiments using water in a clear glass so we could see exactly what happened as the cutting calloused and formed roots, or rotted. It's more challenging to transplant cuttings rooted in water so I favor other techniques where some soil or other material is stuck to and protects the roots when transplanting.

Charlie

   Thank you Nina, having read your method i gave it a go and have had a 100% success with 3 Rosa Sinceris, i now have 2 Dark of Night on the go so i hope i am as lucky, instead of peat i used coco coir and i sprayed with SuperNova, i think the plastic bag makes a huge difference, in 1 month i only sprayed them twice as there was that much condensation in the bag i had no need. Not only would i never have thought to cover with a bag its quite difficult to find a decent bag here, but i found the bag that Charlie sends the SuperNova in is perfect to fit over a 6 inch pot. I haven’t really room to grow many more plants but i will certainly start to grow more cuttings and then give them away to my Vietnamese friends as gifts.

This question might sound a bit odd but I will try. I want to take a tip cutting of my Hot Pepper, the actual length of the wood I will cut away is about 12 inches, I will use the top 6 inches as the tip cutting, but what about the bottom 6 inches, have I to throw that away or could that also be used as a cutting allthough its not the tip.

I think that can also be used as a cutting... stick it in some dirt and see.  It just wont grow out the top, it will shoot out from the sides, just leave a leaf or two on it.  I think...

Yes, Kristen is right. In fact the lower piece is the most likely to survive since tip cuttings can rot from the top down fairly easily. Leave a node (bump on the stem) at the top of the lower cutting, with or without a leaf, and that cutting should do very well.

Charlie

Ok I am going to get some tools to try to root again.

I am going to get a heat mat. I want to know should I cover the cuttings with a dome or leave open but have heat mat on all the time ?

Cover them, the worst thing for them is to loose humidity.  That is why you only leave one or two small leaves on them and cover them.  The heat mat should stay on, if it is the one with the thermostat, leave it on, it will turn off when it is at the ideal temp, then turn itself back on again when the temps drop.

Somebody's been doing her homework! Kristen is right - the main thing to watch out for is if direct sunlight enters the dome at any point during the day, the greenhouse effect can raise the temperatures so high the cuttings will be killed. The humidity can also get too high in some circumstances and that can cause disease in the cuttings. If you suspect that is the case then put the dome on loosely so that some fresh air can get inside through the gap. Kristen in CT will have less intense sun and drier indoor air than typical for coastal CA and adjustments always need to be made for local conditions.

Charlie

Thanks Kristen and Charlie

I am not getting any sun right now only my lights . so should I keep them from under my lights ?

Kerry, I doubt if your lights are powerful enough to raise the temperature too much inside the dome. Particularly if they are a couple feet or more away from the dome. You can put a min/mac thermometer inside and see if it gets over 90F - that would be too high.

Charlie

ok I had these cuttings in water for 2-3 weeks now and new leaves are growing what does this mean ?

Full on double rainbow?  ;D

New growth on cuttings is a good sign. If it does not happen the cutting is likely not healthy and not going to root. Every now and then one will root without any new leaves starting to grow but for the most part you want to see new growth within 3 weeks to confirm the cuttings are healthy.

One frustration with cuttings is that they can develop new leaves but still not root. There are stored nutrients inside cuttings that provide enough energy to grow some new leaves and to root but if the hormone signals to grow roots don't get sent or received then no roots will form.

In any case, it is a good sign that your cutting have leaves. How about swelling and callous formation on the base end of the cuttings. Any sign of that yet?

Charlie

Charlie,

  So while Im in St Martin, my mom is watching over the seedling tank while my brother is watching over all the bigger plants (I didn't want to leave my bro in charge of the tender ones).  I had a Night Runner doing really well in there in the seedling tank.  It had roots and had grown several inches.  I didn't want to take it out of this environment right before I left, as I couldn't monitor it while I am away so I left it in.

 My mom dropped the heavy glass top on it and snapped it clean in half.  Probably about 2-3" left standing.  There are no leaves left on the portion still in the soil.  She put the other half in my cloner (although it is green wood).  What are the chances of the portion with the roots in soil to survive?  

Ouch, that hurts! Accidents happen but why is it they so often happen to the rarest of plants? Last year a new employee broke the main stem of a small grafted plant of Wild Thing, the only Wild Thing (parent of Heartbreak Hotel) in the greenhouse except for an old stock plant. Good news is that one grew back.

Kristen, my main concern is whether this was a grafted Night Runner or not. If so we have to hope that it is not only root stock left on the plant but also some of the grafted Night Runner. If there are any nodes on the remaining piece of wood it will likely sprout out and start regrowing. No guarantees, of course, it could just slowly die off but the odds are reasonably good that it will sprout a new branch. I shipped both grafted and own root Night Runners last year so if it came from me it could be either one.

It's good to leave it in the warm and humid "incubator" while it starts regrowing.

Charlie

It was a cutting that I rooted in soil on my own.  I had been babying it since last August.  I was pretty proud that I got it to root so nicely and start growing.  Hopefully when I get back on Sunday, I will see those nodes you speak of.  She said that the half that is in the soil didn't get pushed over so I am hoping!  This is the flower that I first saw before knowing about these hybrids.  It is a special flower to me as it started this entire hobby for me. 

If it dies, you can make me a new one??  ;) 

You bet - one Night Runner coming up! Here's hoping that your baby is going to come back as it well might since it hasn't died so far.

Charlie

Guess what, there are 2 baby leaves sprouting!!  My mom is soooo relieved!  So am I!!!  Is this a fast grower?

Night Runner is a slow grower, Kristen, but even so you could get blooms this summer if all goes well.

Charlie

Great to hear! I really like nightrunner, you should root the other half and send it to me :P

How is Summer Shore doing in propagation?  That is one nightrunner offspring which is also a WoW for me. :)

Chris, the top half is in the cloner.  I think my mom put it through the ringer though.  I will see it on Sunday.  It is a bit wilty from what I hear.  She put it in a glass of water over night at first, then recut it in the morning and decided to put it in the cloner.  Then a week later told me about it, I told her to recut it on a diagonal so she did.  It also is green wood I believe... If it makes it, I will be amazed! 

Chris, Summer Shore rooted well using wood off the original seedling but none of the clones are large enough to take more wood nor is the seedling plant regrown enough for more wood. The clones now in 6 inch pots are showing medium vigor and will not be among the first shipped - probably late April for those.

For those interested, we are a little ahead of where we were last year. 4 inch pots will start to ship next week to Florida and the most southerly areas and the 6 inch pots will start to ship in early April. Please give Cindy a break and don't write to ask when a particular order will ship as that is not possible to answer now. In general, all plants will ship in March, April, and May if ordered up til now.

Charlie

I am having a bit of a problem trying to take cuttings from my Pocahontas. Normally I find a tip that is about 5 to 6 inches long and cut where the green is turning brown and have had good results, the problem with Pocahontas I only have about 2 inches or less of green wood, it seems to turn to hardwood[brown] very quick.
 So what I would like to know is can I grow a cutting using the hardwood [and if I can, do I treat the same as a semi hard cutting], or should I still cut where the wood is turning and use a very short length, say 3 inches max, or is 3 inches to short for a cutting.

Also has anyone grown a cutting from Cranberry Muffin , I have got quite good at cuttings but seem to have a problem with CM.

I didn't realize there was a difference?  Maybe I was told once, but I don't recall.  Its harder to root the hard brown wood?  I just always cut where it is brown, but have at least 6" of stem.

I did root a tiny Sleeping Beauty.  The cutting was about 3".  Along with an even smaller Nightfire.  which rooted but hasn't grown much at all.

Hardwood cuttings should work just fine. Here is one I just recently did of High Voltage. You can see how nicely it is leafing out.
(http://i55.tinypic.com/dbpb4o.jpg)

Brilliant example Doll, thank you. One thing to ask though, do you scrape a bit of the hardwood of at the bottom before adding the rooting powder?

David, I don't scrape away any of the wood at the bottom.

I FINALLY got around to taking a few cuttings today.  My question is... do you re-dip in rooting hormone for each daily water change?  I may have already asked this somewhere, but I can't find it f I did.




The cuttings I took today were from Purple Magic and Island Girl.  What kind of rooters are these?  This is my first time trying to root cuttings, and I want to know what to expect.  :)

Good luck with that Jordan, I have never done them in water so will be interesting to hear the answer to your question.

I was only writing hear the other week how I had become very succsefull with cutttings, well those comments came back to bite me, the last 8 I did all failed haha.
Not to sure why, was it the new mix or was it because I had used hard wood rather than semi-hard wood, anyway total failure so I must try again.

Jordan, I never re-dip for the water change.  Just dip for the initial.   I have some cuttings in my cloner for months with out re-dipping. 

David, I use hardwood (brown), and or wood that is green and brown wood (green wood that is turning brown)

David, yikes, losing 8/8!  These will be my first, so maybe I'll have beginner's luck.  I have 9 cuttings of Purple Magic and two of Island Girl.  I will take a picture of my setup tomorrow after my camera batteries are charged.  They started out on top of my fridge but the cats quickly became curious-- now they're shut off in the office, each in its own glass of water.  :)

Thanks Kristen...  re-dipping that many times would be a hassle.  I used wood that is mostly brown with a bit of green.  I picked off all leaves with the exception of one or two (depending on size) small leaves at the top. 

Ugh.  My Dip N Grow says best by Jan of this year.  I hope it still works.

Oh, and use some hormone in the water.  Chris uses Supernova, I use clonex cloning solution.

The same hormone I dip it in?  Like, a drop or so?

The classic experiments that are often cited for rooting hormone showed that while some is good, too much hormone actually delays or prevents rooting. Since the right amount depends on type of cutting (soft green to hard brown wood) and the variety and the conditions the cutting is placed in you have to try out different amounts to see what works in your situation.

Rooting exotic hibiscus cuttings is a roller coaster ride. Big successes followed by big failures and everything in between. If that happens to you just know you are not alone.

Jordan, both Purple Magic and Island Girl are in that group of cuttings that can root very well but will also fail plenty of times, too. Lot of times cutting success depends on whether the stem the wood was cut from is already infected with low levels of fungus, virus, or bacteria that cause rotting before rooting can happen. There's really not much that can be done about that.

Charlie

Charlie, makes sense.  My plants are still recovering from winter, so I won't be surprised if this round doesn't go so well for me.  Here is a promised photo of my setup.  

Also, I'm noticing something weird.  Do cuttings normally "leak" or "bleed" any starches/sugars into the water?  I'm asking because I'm noticing what looks like mold or fungus growing, but only on the nodes that I picked leaves from before putting the cuttings in water.  It's not on the bark.  Only on the fresh wounds so to speak....  It's a white, hairy, sea-anomone-like stuff.  I'm hoping it's something leaking out of the cuttings, and not fungus already!  I noticed it yesterday, which was their first full day.

I've included a picture of the hairy stuff.  You can barely see it as my camera wouldn't focus on such a minute detail.  If you look at the bottom of the cutting, there's a node just above it on the right.  The whitish protrusion at the top of the node is the mystery stuff.  Eew.

Oh, and I'm down to 8 cuttings of Purple Magic and zero of Island Girl, all thanks to the cats.  I found one of my Island Girl cuttings on the opposite end of the house when I got home from work today, all chewed up.  :(  Someone left the door open to the room they're in.

Jordan, I discovered the same thing when I experimented with cuttings in a glass of water. You really learn a lot doing them that way. Hibiscus are related to Okra and do have a heavy sap although nowhere near as much as Okra. Some cuttings will leak it out into the water where it is quite visible although many do not. I never was sure why some leak and others don't. I think this stuff is a contributor to cutting rot as it provides a rich media for microorganisms to grow in. Changing the water and rinsing off the cutting should help. You can also cure cuttings by letting them sit in a cool shady spot for up to a day before sticking them.

Charlie

Hey Jordan!

Good luck with those cuttings!  I have a very DIY set up similar to yours,  I found that 500 uL of nitrozyme to 100 mL of water, make roots just start popping out.  Those two cuttings are of Vin E and Confection Perfection.  I chopped the only branch off Confection P in hopes that the main plant would finally start branching, but after 1.5 weeks check out the little roots starting to form!  This combination of cytokinins from the Nitrozyme and heat from my tank light, really seems to get these cuttings rooting, good luck with those :)

Very interesting, Chris. Cuttings can be quite fascinating and sometimes frustrating. In the days I experimented with clear glass and water I saw all sorts of things happen to the part of the cutting in the water. Sometimes huge amounts of white callous tissue forms but no actual roots. Sometimes the roots seem to emerge from the callous at the base of the cutting but other times they come out just above the callous ad the callous does not seem to be involved. The callous on the sides of your cutting does appear to be differentiating into at least the beginnings of roots in some places but don't be surprised if nothing comes of those while real roots start growing from the base end in about 6 weeks.

Charlie

Thanks Chris and Charlie for the advice.  I'm going to try adding a tiny bit of Supernova to the water, and will take care to rinse the "goo" off the cuttings when I change the water each day.  I haven't put any bleach in the water this far--  my city water is already hard and laden with minerals, so I didn't want to go over the top and keep them from rooting.  Everyone is still doing well.  I'll try to remember to post pictiures weekly.

Day 6 and we have the beginnings of callous formation!  Blurry photo but the white dots are callous.  They almost look crystalline.

So how much is a "tiny bit of SuperNova?.
John

Dear Cindy and Charles, need your advice about if it's need not to fertilize the plant about 2-3-4 weeks before to cut wood from it?
I have heard if to try to root or graft fertilized plant ( the wood from fertilized hibiscus ) it's will not work. Is it true?
Sorry in advance for my poor English it's not native language for me, I use it not often the last time :)

Diane I think you have heard wrong, its best not to grow cuttings in a mix with fertilizer [ it can burn the new roots] but for certain you can take cuttings from a healthy plant that is fertilised, I do it all the time with reasonable success. I would assume grafting is the same but best let Charlie or one of the others who take grafts advise you, I have only ever done one so not sure.

When taking hibiscus cuttings it is very important that the plant is healthy and well fertilized. Same for grafts. The sugars and nutrients stored in the cutting must feed the cutting until the cutting makes roots and can start taking in new nutrients. 

Welcome to the forum, Diana!  You live in Russia, yes?

Charlie

Thanks for the reply, David.
I think the same :)
Well I took cuttings from fertilized plants and from plants which wasn't fertilized during 2-3 weeks, I have not so much experience so I will not make any gtreat conclusions - it was ok both times, but now I know that taking cuttings only from not fertilized plants it's surely just a prejudice and nothing more :)

Thank you, Charlie!
Yes, you are right - I'm from this far far country :)
I wanted to registr here a long time ago - so great hisicuses, great articles on the site which i read many times... but I use English very rare last years so I'm ashame for it's level little bit for feel free to write a lot.
Now I know for sure that good fertilized cutting is better for any reasons, thanks!
Also I'd wish to ask your advice, how to prepare cuttings for grafting and rooting when you get it by the post from another country from a friend when cuttings spend about 2 weeks in the envelope?
Well I had such interesting experience last year but almost all cutting died with fungus unfortunately.
What to do with the cuttings after geting it from the post office that cuttings have any chances for live?...

Sincerely,
Diana

I finally got my cuttings to root ! Just got a 3lb box of cuttings I hope they root also :)

Your welcome ;)

Charlie is my High Voltage likely to have been a graft or a cutting, or is it not possible to say.

David, your High Voltage is almost certainly a cutting grown plant.

Charlie

Since I've never had much luck in rooting cuttings, I am trying to see if I have better luck getting them to root in spagnum moss. I have 3 Saffron Moon and 1 High Voltage cutting that I'm experimenting with. I had a much higher germination rate with my seeds by just placing them on top of the soil and covering them with a thin layer of finely cut up moss.

If anyone wants to know Dress blues is a good rooter so far. I think all the cuttings I received from chris are rooting.

Charlie (and all),

I've been experimenting with rooting cuttings and have a few questions.  I had some success last year rooting in soil after dipping in Dip N Gro, so that's what I've been trying this year as well.  Thus far, no luck.  Every single cutting has rotted, despite me using the same procedures this year.  I think it may be the soil.

What is your preferred rooting media?  I was thinking of switching over to perlite.  

I've seen rot and mold growing on the tips of cuttings that I've inserted into the soil.  Does perlite deter mold as well as fungal and bacterial growth?  How often to you clean your pruners/blade when taking cuttings?  I've been cleaning mine with rubbing alcohol each time I work on a new plant.

A concern I have with perlite is that it may be too dry for cuttings.  Do you tent your cuttings or have them under misters?  No misters here...  I have been tenting them but with all the rot and mold issues perhaps I shouldn't.

Do you add any fungicide to the water as you keep the cuttings moist?

Thank you in advance!!!!  :)

What is the active ingredient in Dip n Grow?  It should be at least 1% but no more than 5% IBA to promote root formation.  Soil works, but is usually not sterile enough for cuttings, I started using rapid rooter plugs, which are similar to oasis plugs but have a better water to air ratio that promotes more vigorous root formation.  Also using a bottom heat source, helps cuttings root much faster. 

I do not use any fungicide, but I am a purist :P A 1% solution of Hydrogen peroxide seems to keep fungus and bacteria at bay.  Good luck! 

Dip N Gro is 1% IBA.  What's your success rate with known rooters in Rapid Rooter?  What do you use for bottom heat?  Is it just a simple, home heating pad or something designed for rooting?

I seem to have either a near 100% success rate or a near 100% failure with my cuttings, and I think its due to getting the moisture just right when I am successful.

Maybe someone can answer me this as I don't understand what is happening, sometimes after 2 months I will think a cutting has took, the leaves are not going limp but its not growing, or if it is its minutely slow, but when I examine it there are no roots but the base of the stem has openedand swollen to near doubled in size, I seem to get this on some cv's a lot.

Rooting from cuttings is a complicated subject - I have a 300 page text book on propagation from cuttings. When it works, it works, but often it doesn't. You have to figure out what works for you in your specific situation, and then try to repeat exactly what you did when it does work. There are so many variables that I can't give a recipe that will work in every situation. In my situation I use filtered water, Oasis wedges, controlled humidity, controlled temperature, artificial light, rooting hormones and fungicides, and very healthy stock plants to get the best results. OTOH, I've heard of people in places like Florida with naturally high humidity who have taken a cutting, stuck it straight in the ground, and it rooted and then grew into a nice hibiscus. That won't work for a nursery, where we need predictable and reliable results so we try to control all known factors. Then there are the unknown ones...............ah well. It is a type of "magic" when it happens!

Charlie

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.  I'm going to get some Oasis cubes and Rapid Rooter and give both a try.

I bought some perlite over the weekend and decided to give it a try today.  I bleached some plastic pots and took extra care to alcohol my pruners and blade as I was taking cuttings today.  I took cuttings of Illuminati, Sleeping Beauty, Space Oddity, Acapulco Gold, Saffron, and In The Mood.  We'll see what happens...


I did tent them with plastic bags, but I'm worried about mold.  Other than lifting the bag daily for ventilation, any suggestions to prevent mold growth?  I seem to be having that issue as well; I believe there are a good many mold spores floating around my house.  I have some major mold issues under my kitchen sink and anything that I leave out that gets wet starts to grow fur...

Unfortunately, I'm still not having any luck.  Every cutting I've taken this year has rotted, and some have rotted rather quickly.  I was thinking it was because my plants had a hard winter and were still recovering; now I'm not so sure as cuttings I've taken from new plants have also failed.  I've just treated all of my stock with Actinovate to really give them a boost.

I'm down to one last variable:  rooting hormone.  I have been using Dip N' Gro that expired in January of 2011.  It worked for me until mid-winter early this year.  I haven't been dipping directly into the bottle, but I'm wondering if the solution has become too stale and/or laden with bacteria.  I'm ordering a new, tiny bottle of Dip N' Gro to see if this will change my luck.

Charlie, and anyone who has done their share of rooting, have you noted an increase of failure rate with old or expired rooting hormone?