I want to really increase my ping population, so I can have really cool ping rocks, ping bowls, etc. About a week ago I took all these leaf pulls thinking after a few weeks I might see little leaves sprouting.
Instead I found this today – a bunch of them going squishy brown at the base of the leaf – they're goners.
What did I do wrong? I washed/rinsed the perlite before putting it in a shallow plastic bowl – I would say it was "really damp", but not like you could pour water out of the bowl. I tried to be delicate when pulling the leaves but I know some sort of bent as I was trying to pull them from the plant – I figured that might kill some before they could sprout, but not this many!
I have other pulls sprouting in the same pot as their parent, and in those cases they're on sand or tiny rocks/gravel, and those pots are sitting in shallow water. Those are doing fine, there just aren't many of them.
So, how do I avoid screwing up next time?
by Jumpy-Anywhere6395
7 Comments
Put them in wet sphagnum
Many different ways to prop ping leaves. Some folks like to put them in a ziplock with a wet paper towel. I usually just put them on my regular ping mix. It looks like you still have quite a few leaves with some hope. A lot of times the leaves that don’t prop will start to rot before the successful leaves show any sign of leaflets. Takes around 3-4 weeks usually.
I always put mine in a rectangular Tupperware with a paper towel that I’ve dampened with distilled water and don’t really have a problem with them not producing (knock on wood as I have 2 more leaves in there right now)
I put mine in a sauce container with fluval stratum and cover them with the lid and I make tiny holes on the lids for air flow and I’ve had about 85% success rate with them
https://preview.redd.it/jrkaj7i1grkg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=5fabc8a870f2a06743fce1ba05461e79ad859c1b
Have any of you guys tried propagating with high aseptic technique where you sterilize the cutting and all media and water??
I think the browned leaves were just too old for propagating. I usually pull leaves from the 2nd and 3rd layers from the bottom.
sorry for your loss.
from my experience of one single leaf, maybe you can get a clean razor and cut off the rot? I pulled my gigantea leaf poorly, it tore instead of being pulled off. But after several weeks, and the leaf drying out from the far edge, the torn edge sprouted plantlets.
maybe this variety is harder to prop. my gigantea failed to prop until this time.
maybe your fingers were dirty or you squished instead of pulling? i dunno, just guessing stuff.