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Name: Carol Noel Hawaii (near Hilo) It's all about choices.
A couple of successes is enough to send me into orbits of delight!!!! Trying something new when all else fails doesn't cost anything and sometimes brings great success.
OK. #1. I do NOT ever try to root in water. I know others have had great success, but I have bombed. Except: cutting up a failing plant to root, I was left with a long piece of VERY old wood from which was growing a new vine. The new vine would not work...so seeing a pot with water in it I plunked the end of the cutting in it. Voila...ROOTS!!!!
The rooted cutting is old wood, one of the hardest for me to root...and the water seemed to do the trick. 2 weeks. I didn't put anything IN the water, and didn't change it.
#2. My H. archboldianaXH.onychoides plant bit the dust...I had to cut it all up and root the cuttings and at the end of cutting it up I was left with 2 vines, totally bald of leaves, that I wound around in a tray (roughly 12x12 and 2" deep), weighted down with rocks and kept 'damp'. This is what I found today: you can see the leaf growth and there is a green nubbin starting as well along one of them. I shall leave it like this for probably a month...or maybe longer....
OK...and this is H. rigida...rooted quickly and the leaves are simply gorgeous.....
Edited to say that I gave in to my curiousity about Humic Acid...touted to improve rooting...and I have liked the results! I keep a spray bottle handy and give a spritz every day and I find the rooting is enhanced. The quart I bought will last me 5 lifetimes...so if you have a friend, it is good to share.....
Who would have thought such a woody cane would root like that. How long will you keep it in the water, Carol? My archie x ony is from you is growing like crazy. The rigida leaf is totally awesome and I can see why everyone, self included!, would want that in their collection!
Neat pictures, Carol...thanks for sharing!! Plants, like people, never cease to amaze me!
Randy...there are as many different clones of H. rigida as there are members on this forum. I got my huge one from Carol...and several others, including one that blooms orange...though it hasn't blessed me with blooms yet. So, keep on collecting rigida's...you've got a long way to go....I only have 4 of them...but, feel as though I've reached my limit. Fondly, Patrick
Thanks for the encouragement, Patrick. I was actually jabbing Carol a bit on the rigida. I have one coming from her. I had it on a list for whenever she had one I wanted it. I have several coming from Carol and have always gotten the best plants from her. That orange bloom sounds interesting so will have to check it out. Have a great 4th!
Name: Carol Noel Hawaii (near Hilo) It's all about choices.
After I took that photo I potted it up. I keep the newly rooted/potted plants "spritzed" ... and mix a bit of chickenmanure with the mix I pot them up in. Works wonders.
AlohaHoya wrote:
A couple of successes is enough to send me into orbits...
Edited to say that I gave in to my curiousity about Humic Acid...touted to improve rooting...and I have liked the results! I keep a spray bottle handy and give a spritz every day and I find the rooting is enhanced. The quart I bought will last me 5 lifetimes...so if you have a friend, it is good to share.....
Carol, can you tell us more about your favorite type of humic acid product? All the ones I know are dry ( and smell terrible ).
AlohaHoya wrote:I forgot where folks were asking about Humic Acid???? Mine is HYDRO ORGANICS (BRAND) and it says HUMIC Acid 18. Check a hydroponics store....
in water: Yes. I'm a big believer, for many things. But here's the twist: in a darkened bottle. I take a brown beer bottle, green wine bottle, or something tinted like that, and cover it with aluminum foil. Roots form better in darkness for many species.
perlite: I root 95% of my things in 95% perlite 5% peatmoss. Works better than straight perlite.
bottom heat: yes, it's not just for expensive European cars any more, bottom heat is a real benefit, even in a warm climate. The warming mats i use are cheap and preset to 72 deg. F. (22 deg. C.).
rooting hormones: yes. I use a gel form one from Dyna Gro that has three hormones and no fungicide. For really tough woody things (not Hoyas) I do use a stronger one called "Dip n' Grow".
trimming leaves: no. I either take the leaf off completely or leave it whole. The newly cut edge of a leaf transpires much more water than a whole leaf, and it opens a wound that can be a route for infection to enter. If the thinking is that it reduces water loss, the research we studied shows the converse. Some growers do this to save space. If one is going to cut leaves to save space in the rooting bench, the cuts should be made many days before the cuttings are taken from the mother plants so the cut edge has a chance to heal before being removed.
enclosed cases: no; I like somewhat open cases or chambers. I mist or use fog generators (humidifiers), but the air can circulate.
fertilizing cuttings: yes, during and after rooting. I use very dilute Dyna Grow "Grow"
trick for tough woody stems: banding - one takes black cloth electrician's tape, and wraps a two inch length of stem with the tape, and leaves it there for a couple of months; this will blanch the stem. When one takes the tape off the section that is blanched will be be pre-disposed to rooting.
mycorrhiza: yes, can't hurt... I inoculate all the media with a general purpose mix of cultures. I don't think I've ever seen anything that says that Hoyas have been shown to have mycorrizal associates, but WTH, it can't hurt.
Re: banding. What about airlayering????? with large plants I think that might be the answer....
If you like, banding can be performed before air-layering. It will certainly speed up the process.
Air-layering is cumbersome; still, it is safe, and it is surprising that we don't use it much with Hoyas.
Banding is an easy way to improve rooting success on woody stems. One stem can be banded in several places yielding many cuttings. Cuttings preconditioned in this way, can be rooted in traditional rooting media for easy handling. For many growers this will be easier than the labor-intensive and awkward air-layer method.
Iochroma wrote:Here are some of my rooting observations, FWIW ...
trick for tough woody stems: banding - one takes black cloth electrician's tape, and wraps a two inch length of stem with the tape, and leaves it there for a couple of months; this will blanch the stem. When one takes the tape off the section that is blanched will be be pre-disposed to rooting.
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