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Root Cuttings - To Cover or Not?

seedjar

Let's positive thinking!
So, I recently got an unbelievable number of root cuttings from my D. binata and capensis strains. (The edge of my D. binata dichotma's pot was a continuous coil of roots going down about two inches.) These are vigorous plants so I just gave them a SuperThrive bath and stuck them in pots without giving it much thought. Now I'm reading guides that all say to cover the containers until buds emerge. Do I really need to cover them for humidity? I would certainly make that provision for leaf cuttings but it seems like overkill for roots. Thoughts?
Thanks,
~Joe
 
I think the main purpose is to keep fungus gnats out. The larvae can munch your plantlets.
 
Interesting... I'll throw some Utric plugs in with them to be on the safe side. Not a lot of fungus gnats at my house though.
~Joe
 
I regard these two species as "weeds" but when I find a few roots broken off from their plants, I just lay them on top of some fairly moist to wet sphagnum, often with half of them exposed, and within a month, I have a few new plants to give away. - Rich
 
Whether it's necessary with these 2 species is anyone's guess. However, many types of propagation do better in warmer, very humid conditions.
 
I've taken plenty of Binata, Adelae, and Capensis root cuttings. I normally tried to cover the roots with sphagnum peat and leave part of the root exposed, but it turned out the parts I left exposed never budded, but around 15 plants popped up on the 4 inch section that was covered. Just give them about a month and they'll shoot up like crazy!
I think it will work either way, but I just wanted to share the success I've had when covering root cuttings.
 
you should fear the fungus gant indoor or out. they killed most of my seedlings that i used to grow indoor in my terrarium.
 
This works well:

IMG_0014.jpg


And then I put in a container overfilled with water and allow to evaporate while the plants nestle in.
 
what are those tube called? where can i get them??
 
  • #10
what are those tube called? where can i get them??
A glass w/ saran wrap over the top works as well (or test tubes or...). Any clear thing that will hold water and let in light. Leaf cuttings in water can produce massive amounts of plants.... (see this as an example).
 
  • #11
They're centrifuge tubes and I got them from the lab in which I worked. But as Ron said, anything that holds water and lets in light, works.
 
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