On Saturday, August 2, 2014 7:49:03 PM UTC-4, David E. Ross wrote:
On 8/2/2014 8:52 AM, Higgs Boson wrote:

On Friday, August 1, 2014 5:26:50 PM UTC-7, David E. Ross wrote:

On 8/1/2014 1:13 AM, Jeff Layman wrote:



On 31/07/2014 16:00, David E. Ross wrote:







Plants rooted in water often fail to do well when moved to pots. The



root hairs are severely damaged when suddenly packed into soil. Certain



plants will survive and even thrive if left growing in water;







Your reply make me think about this. You are quite right about failure



to move from a liquid to a solid growth medium. I wondered if it was



possible to have the best of both worlds - effectively root the plant in



waterlogged compost, and once rooted, allow the water to drain away.



Little if any root disturbance takes place, and the gentle transition



from wet to normal compost might allow the plant to adapt. Have you ever



tried anything like this?











The cutting is likely to rot if the medium is waterlogged. A 50%-50%



mix of coarse sand and peat moss drains very well and will remain quite



moist without becoming soggy. The moisture will remain available to the



cutting until the mix is almost bone dry. In the meantime, air can



enter the mix; and roots -- new or old -- do need air in the soil.







I never add any nutrients to the rooting mix because they can promote



mold and other forms of rot.



Very interesting. Based on actual experience? Replicated?



HB





No, not based on experience. Based on gardening books, including

several editions of Sunset's "Western Garden Book".



--

David E. Ross

Climate: California Mediterranean, see

http://www.rossde.com/garden/climate.html

Gardening diary at http://www.rossde.com/garden/diary

I'll have to read up on "callous" -- never heard of that. I really just want to get some coleus going to keep inside over the winter for now. I have mixed results when I try to root coleus in water. Maybe 1/3rd do well and the rest just wilt (some almost immediately). I always take the fresh top parts, pull off the bottom leaves. Some of the varieties stay pretty robust and root well, yet some almost immediately go limp (especially the deep red ones).

Another question -- is the "quick start" rooting liquid of any value? I know you use the powder when trying to root in pots.