How long do cuttings last in water?
 

About 4 months ago I noticed a branch of Daphne odora aureomarginata hanging
by a thread of bark. I broke it off, and cut the end square just below a
leaf, so that the cutting was about 12 cm long, and removed all lower
leaves.

I stuck it in a small container of water on a shady window and forgot about
it, other than to empty out the water and replace it when I remembered
(about every 3 weeks!). It lost one or two leaves, but started growing more
small ones.

After 3 months I checked it but there was still no sign of any roots.
Replacing the water, I added a couple of drops of hormone rooting liquid and
put the cutting back in. It's still alive a month later, still with no
roots. Any guesses as to how long it will go on like this?

--

Jeff

No idea! But the trouble I've found with rooting things in water is that it seems very difficult to make a successful transition to soil.

Mint roots readily in water but it does so in (if I remember correctly) a couple of weeks.

When I root things in soil, I don't disturb them until I can see roots coming from the bottom of the pot. This is typically about 6 months - ie I take cuttings in late summer, and there are roots coming from the bottom in the following April. Obviously the root will have started to grow some time before this.

How long do cuttings last in water?
 

"Jeff Layman" wrote in message
...
About 4 months ago I noticed a branch of Daphne odora aureomarginata
hanging by a thread of bark. I broke it off, and cut the end square just
below a leaf, so that the cutting was about 12 cm long, and removed all
lower leaves.

I stuck it in a small container of water on a shady window and forgot
about it, other than to empty out the water and replace it when I
remembered (about every 3 weeks!). It lost one or two leaves, but started
growing more small ones.

After 3 months I checked it but there was still no sign of any roots.
Replacing the water, I added a couple of drops of hormone rooting liquid
and put the cutting back in. It's still alive a month later, still with
no roots. Any guesses as to how long it will go on like this?

--

Jeff

You could try moving it on to sharp sand instead?

S

How long do cuttings last in water?
 

On 03/09/2010 19:00, Spamlet wrote:

You could try moving it on to sharp sand instead?


Some plant seem to take ages to put out roots. I sometimes grow Red
Robbins (photinia?) from cuttings in a sharp sand / compost mix. It
often takes a couple of years for them to put out any roots! Oddly they
still look healthy enough without putting out any roots - it is only
when tipping out the pot that their absence become clear. I've never
known a plant to survive so long as cuttings without bothering to put
out roots.

--
David in Normandy.
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