B & J wrote:

"David Ross" wrote in message
...
Father Haskell wrote:

Best soil for rooting cuttings? Sand works better than potting soil
(Miracle Gro), but is there something better still?

I use a 50-50 mix of peat moss and clean sand. NO NUTRIENTS.

The mix holds moisture quite well but also has almost perfect
drainage. Peat moss is somewhat acidic, which inhibits fungus and
rot. Thus, when mixing, it's best to over-measure the peat moss
instead of under-measuring it. For sand, I use "washed" plaster
sand. It's washed in processing; you don't wash it.

Nutrients promote the micro-organisms that create compost (and
which cannot be avoided unless you bake the mix to sterilize it).
--
David E. Ross

I use exactly the same mixture of sand and peat moss you do. I don't use
"washed" plaster sand but buy a bag or two of play sand along with large,
translucent storage boxes with translucent covers from Wal-Mart. I then
place a half inch layer of play sand in the bottom of the box and dampen it
before putting in the cuttings into the deep six packs. I put the cover on
a box and set it in a shaded area on our front porch. I open the cover for a
few minutes every other day to air and remove all dead leaves. Within a
month to six weeks most cutting have rooted. (It's easy to tell because
rootlets begin showing on the bottom of the six packs.) As soon as rootlets
begin showing on a six pack, the six pack is moved to another translucent
container with sand in the bottom with the top is left partially ajar until
they harden. This takes about 4-5 days at which time they are planted into
containers.

One shrub that gives me fits is the korean spice viburnum. Three other
viburnum varieties have rooted and been planted, but not that beast. It has
been sitting in the rooting box with green leaves and no roots since June 1.
Does anyone have any idea what I'm doing wrong?

You're problably doing nothing wrong. First of all, if you get 50%
of your cuttings to survive and root -- 25% of cuttings from woody
plants -- you are doing well.

Woody cuttings can be real slow to root. An azalea cutting took
about 3.5 months this year.

Some perennials, however, seem to root overnight. Six weeks ago, I
took cuttings of red clover (Persicaria capitata, a ground cover
with clover-like flowers). Last week, I noticed roots growing
through the bottoms of the little plastic pots I was using.
However, only three out of four cuttings survived. Once I plant
them in the ground, about a third of the rooted cuttings of this
ground cover die.

--
David E. Ross
Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean
influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
Gardening pages at http://www.rossde.com/garden/