My great-great grandma planted a rose bush on the land I currently live on. To build an attached garage, I (reluctantly) had to move the bush from its 100 year home. I took many cuttings, hoping if the original bush didn’t survive the move, I would have back up. They are under a grow light and my local county extension told me to cover with these bags to keep moisture in. They don’t look good, and the sticks holding up the bags are growing mold. What do I do? Any help appreciated!
by Major-Budget-992
4 Comments
Mine never make it! I’ve put the cuttings in potatoes and bananas with rooting hormone and NOTHING!
Too many leaves! Not enough humidity the poor baby transpired all of its water away before it could root
It doesn’t look good, friend– if there’s mold growing on the sticks that means your set-up is contaminated with spores, and fungus is the number one killer of cuttings. If you’re up for further adventure, here’s what you do:
(1) make a new container by:
— soaking a pot in a watered down bleach solution OR wash a pot in warm soapy water, let it dry, spray it with lysol, then rinse it again
— whatever potting medium the extension rep told you to use, make a new batch, but this time microwave it for 1.5 minutes (you might have to do this in installments)
(2) refresh the cutting by:
— STERILIZING a sharp pair of scissors or snips, then cutting off all the dead parts, including any leaves that have gone brown or crinkly (the leaves are releasing water that the cutting can’t afford to lose) and any soft, floppy parts
— tapping everything that’s going below the soil line (ideally at least two sets of nodes) in rooting hormone
(3) figure out how to get some air circulation in your “cloche” environment– this is the trickiest part of propagation, since you have to maintain humidity without creating stale air. Probably the best you’re going to do with your existing set-up is make sure there are air holes in the bags you’re using, and take the bags off a few times a day to give the cutting a chance to breathe.
If you want to use sticks again STERILIZE THEM. Don’t ask me how, I’ve never used sticks. :)) Maybe same as with the pot– bleach solution, or Lysol then rinse.
If it’s worth your money, I think you can get a proper propagation chamber online for $100 or less– these keep up humidity while also providing air circulation.
Good luck, and give updates!
The moment you take a cutting it becomes a race to get it to root before it dries out or rots.
We take cuttings in the early morning and we cut off the leaves, we do that to reduce water losses through transpiration.
Your cuttings are dessicated.
Start again with fresh cuttings.
Watch any YouTube video on taking hardwood cuttings.
Also, once taken, maybe put the pot of cuttings inside a clear plastic bag to increase humidity and minimise water loss.
Keep the cuttings sheltered and out of direct sunlight.