"jane" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 14:43:38 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:

snip

~ This year, I will root some cuttings using only Benlate as a
~ fungicide, without using hormones.

Franz, where on earth do you still get Benlate?

I still have a few leftover sachets from some which I bought a decade
ago.
When that runs out, I will start using a more up-to-date fungicide.

Franz

"jane" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 14:43:38 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:

snip

~ This year, I will root some cuttings using only Benlate as a
~ fungicide, without using hormones.

Franz, where on earth do you still get Benlate?

I still have a few leftover sachets from some which I bought a decade
ago.
When that runs out, I will start using a more up-to-date fungicide.

Franz

On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 09:25:41 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

[snip]

I have just received the latest issue of "Gardening Which". It
contains a fairly detailed report of a reasonably extensive test of
various rooting agents. My general impression is that they are not
really worth bothering with.

They tested all the hormone-based agents they could lay their
hands on, as well as a vitamin C preparation. Strangely, they appear
not to have tried salicylic acid. There are those who say that this
chemical, in the form of Aspirin or extract of willow bark, are useful
for promoting rooting. Does any urgler have some quantitative, or
semi-quantitative experience of using this?

My latest thoughts run along the lines that rooting cuttings is
essentially a race between the speed with which the root forming
process takes place, and the demise of the cuting by fungal attack.
My thoughts are strengthened by considering that the sterile
micropropagation process is able to induce growth from tiny pieces of
plant material, known to be impossible to root by other means, without
the use of rooting hormones.

This year, I will root some cuttings using only Benlate as a
fungicide, without using hormones.

I cancelled my Which? Subscription a year ago after subscribing for
about 30 years. Mainly because they doubled my subscription charge
paid by direct debit, without informing me first, but also because I
am not sure that their tests can be relied upon. I bought a Nikon885
digital camera that Which? recommended. A couple of photos of flowers
demonstrated that the reds are too intense and blues are not intense
enough. The problem cannot be corrected using Photoshop. This problem
was flagged by a magazine doing independent tests, but not by Which?
--
Martin

"Franz Heymann" wrote in message ...
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
om...
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
[...]
How does one know when a gardening chemical has passed its use-by
date?

Is there such a date with chemicals other than hormones? I'd have
thought that as long as they were kept dry, uncontaminated, and at
an
even low temperature most would be stable. Is that a misconception
in
the case of modern complex products?

Many of the complex organic molecules are not as stable as one might
wish for. Today I went to see my doctor about a fungicide for my
ears. He gave me a prescription with strict instructions not to use
it any more by the time it was 2 months old.

I hope you will give me the credit I deserve for my heroic resistance
to the urge to make a humorous reply at this point.

Mike.

In message , Mike Lyle
writes
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
wrote in message
...
On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 04:39:18 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:

"jane" wrote in message
...
[...]
Franz, where on earth do you still get Benlate?

I still have a few leftover sachets from some which I bought a
decade
ago.
When that runs out, I will start using a more up-to-date fungicide.

Franz

You can say that again and again and again and ... :-)

Yes, indeed.
How does one know when a gardening chemical has passed its use-by
date?

Is there such a date with chemicals other than hormones? I'd have
thought that as long as they were kept dry, uncontaminated, and at an
even low temperature most would be stable. Is that a misconception in
the case of modern complex products?

It can be. Simple compounds tend to be chemically stable, thought they
may clump into a solid block harder to disperse or dissolve in water.

Some of them will absorb water from the air either through the packaging
or whenever the bottle is opened. This will tend to hydrolyse the active
ingredients and they lose activity. Most non-persistent pesticides start
decaying in concentration from the moment they are added to water.

Over long periods of time the water vapour from humidity in the air may
be enough to render old pesticides in part full bottles less effective.
Splash water accidentally into the stock concentrate container and all
bets are off.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

In message , Douglas
writes

Will someone with the knowledge please discuss the situation where one sets
the cutting aside for a while to allow the cut-wound at the bottom of the
cutting (just under the node) to form a dry callus.
I have the feeling that a "woody type!" cutting would be appropriate but a
soft pappy cutting would be a non-starter, - not able to form a callus..

It is more to do with the tendency of the target to rot if its newly
damaged cells are placed in contact with soil or water. A lot of the
plants from more arid areas will stand a much higher chance of rooting
rather than rotting if you allow them to form a callous before putting
them in soil. Geraniums and pelargoniums for instance benefit enormously
from this.

Equally plants from water margins tend to expire very quickly if they
become dry for any extended period of time. In between you have to
experiment. I am inclined to try most woody cuttings direct into soil
some with and some without rooting powder. Unless I know that they rot
easily.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 09:25:41 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

[snip]

I have just received the latest issue of "Gardening Which". It
contains a fairly detailed report of a reasonably extensive test of
various rooting agents. My general impression is that they are not
really worth bothering with.

They tested all the hormone-based agents they could lay their
hands on, as well as a vitamin C preparation. Strangely, they
appear
not to have tried salicylic acid. There are those who say that
this
chemical, in the form of Aspirin or extract of willow bark, are
useful
for promoting rooting. Does any urgler have some quantitative, or
semi-quantitative experience of using this?

My latest thoughts run along the lines that rooting cuttings is
essentially a race between the speed with which the root forming
process takes place, and the demise of the cuting by fungal attack.
My thoughts are strengthened by considering that the sterile
micropropagation process is able to induce growth from tiny pieces
of
plant material, known to be impossible to root by other means,
without
the use of rooting hormones.

This year, I will root some cuttings using only Benlate as a
fungicide, without using hormones.

I cancelled my Which? Subscription a year ago after subscribing for
about 30 years. Mainly because they doubled my subscription charge
paid by direct debit, without informing me first, but also because I
am not sure that their tests can be relied upon. I bought a
Nikon885
digital camera that Which? recommended. A couple of photos of
flowers
demonstrated that the reds are too intense and blues are not intense
enough. The problem cannot be corrected using Photoshop. This
problem
was flagged by a magazine doing independent tests, but not by
Which?

I sincerely hope that Which do not use the same staff for assessing
cameras as for running horticultural tests. {:-((

Franz
--
Martin

In message , Martin Brown
writes
In message , Douglas
writes

Will someone with the knowledge please discuss the situation where one sets
the cutting aside for a while to allow the cut-wound at the bottom of the
cutting (just under the node) to form a dry callus.
I have the feeling that a "woody type!" cutting would be appropriate but a
soft pappy cutting would be a non-starter, - not able to form a callus..

It is more to do with the tendency of the target to rot if its newly
damaged cells are placed in contact with soil or water. A lot of the
plants from more arid areas will stand a much higher chance of rooting
rather than rotting if you allow them to form a callous before putting
them in soil. Geraniums and pelargoniums for instance benefit
enormously from this.


Approx how long is "a while" in such cases?

--
Andrew Wilkes
IT Analyst, BCS
tel: 01793 417471; fax: 0870 1640623
http://www.bcs.org.uk

In article , Martin Brown
writes
In message , Douglas
writes

Will someone with the knowledge please discuss the situation where one sets
the cutting aside for a while to allow the cut-wound at the bottom of the
cutting (just under the node) to form a dry callus.
I have the feeling that a "woody type!" cutting would be appropriate but a
soft pappy cutting would be a non-starter, - not able to form a callus..

It is more to do with the tendency of the target to rot if its newly
damaged cells are placed in contact with soil or water. A lot of the
plants from more arid areas will stand a much higher chance of rooting
rather than rotting if you allow them to form a callous before putting
them in soil. Geraniums and pelargoniums for instance benefit
enormously from this.


Try again... (sorry if you see this twice - just cancelled a post sent
with accurate contact details

Approx how long is "a while" in such cases?

--
regards andyw

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:00:22 +0200, wrote:

~On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 14:51:12 +0000 (UTC),
(jane) wrote:
~
~On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 10:17:16 +0200, wrote:
~
snip
~
~dpreview.com is fantastic. I found it last year when looking to update
~my ancient Canon S10 and found out loads of things I hadn't realised
~about that model let alone the new offerings!
~
~It also told me of up and coming models which I might want to wait
~for: I duly waited for two of them, tested them in shops (with my own
~CF card so I could take the photos home and look properly!) and found
~them both wanting. So I've ended up rather seriously poorer with a
~model I hadn't even thought about originally. But then again I had a
~really nice camera for a once in a lifetime trip to Japan, in a cheap
~place to buy accessories
~
~So which camera did you buy for taking gardening photos?

Canon 300D My dad said I have more money than sense, until I
invited him to tell me how much his golf club subs were! He hasn't
mentioned it since...

All the Cokin filters from my ancient Olympus SLR fit it, including
the close-up, so it got its first workout taking pics of the African
violets on my desk! Followed by a trip round the garden snapping all
sorts. I'd forgotten how nice it is to be able to play with the depth
of field rather than hit a macro button and hope for the best...

I shot rather too many photos at Trebah gardens in June. The gunneras
were just perfect (the path goes under them!) and the candelabra
primulas were in full bloom. And I am well pleased with the detail on
the fiddleheads (unfurling fern fronds). Indigenous macro's not too
bad either.


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!

In message ,
writes
On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 09:25:41 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:


"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...

[snip]

I have just received the latest issue of "Gardening Which". It
contains a fairly detailed report of a reasonably extensive test of
various rooting agents. My general impression is that they are not
really worth bothering with.

"Gardening Which" or rooting hormones? I'm inclined to say both.

The main feature of the rooting hormones in domestic use is actually the
fungicide component rather than the hormone. Some of the chemicals that
do work are not licensed for home use.

My latest thoughts run along the lines that rooting cuttings is
essentially a race between the speed with which the root forming
process takes place, and the demise of the cuting by fungal attack.

Or succumbing to dehydration.

My thoughts are strengthened by considering that the sterile
micropropagation process is able to induce growth from tiny pieces of
plant material, known to be impossible to root by other means, without
the use of rooting hormones.

This year, I will root some cuttings using only Benlate as a
fungicide, without using hormones.

It is worth trying with and without. I have known situations where with
rooting hormone has worked when untreated failed and vice versa.

I cancelled my Which? Subscription a year ago after subscribing for
about 30 years. Mainly because they doubled my subscription charge
paid by direct debit, without informing me first, but also because I
am not sure that their tests can be relied upon.

They are usually not bad in general consumer white goods, but the
specialist magazines tend to do better reviews of photo gear.

I bought a Nikon885
digital camera that Which? recommended. A couple of photos of flowers
demonstrated that the reds are too intense and blues are not intense
enough. The problem cannot be corrected using Photoshop.

You should be able to fix that to some extent using curves on RGB
separations.

This problem
was flagged by a magazine doing independent tests, but not by Which?

Flower colours can be extremely troublesome to photographers. The worst
colours to represent accurately are typically along the magenta to
purple axis. This happens to be where the errors incurred in getting
human flesh tones to look subjectively good tend to accumulate.

It isn't just a problem for digicams either. Most colour films have a
patch of the purple - magenta colour range that is badly rendered too.
If your flower happens to have a tricky colour there is not much you can
do about it.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown

"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
om...
"Franz Heymann" wrote in message
...
"Mike Lyle" wrote in message
om...
"Franz Heymann" wrote in
message
...
[...]
How does one know when a gardening chemical has passed its
use-by
date?

Is there such a date with chemicals other than hormones? I'd
have
thought that as long as they were kept dry, uncontaminated, and
at
an
even low temperature most would be stable. Is that a
misconception
in
the case of modern complex products?

Many of the complex organic molecules are not as stable as one
might
wish for. Today I went to see my doctor about a fungicide for my
ears. He gave me a prescription with strict instructions not to
use
it any more by the time it was 2 months old.

I hope you will give me the credit I deserve for my heroic
resistance
to the urge to make a humorous reply at this point.

We're waiting with bated breath. Don't disappoint us {:-)

Franz

"jane" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 17 Jul 2004 14:43:38 +0000 (UTC), "Franz Heymann"
wrote:

snip

~ This year, I will root some cuttings using only Benlate as a
~ fungicide, without using hormones.

Franz, where on earth do you still get Benlate?

I still have a few leftover sachets from some which I bought a decade
ago.
When that runs out, I will start using a more up-to-date fungicide.

Franz

On Thu, 22 Jul 2004 15:19:40 +0000 (UTC),
(jane) wrote:

On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 17:00:22 +0200, wrote:

~On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 14:51:12 +0000 (UTC),
(jane) wrote:
~
~On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 10:17:16 +0200, wrote:
~
snip
~
~dpreview.com is fantastic. I found it last year when looking to update
~my ancient Canon S10 and found out loads of things I hadn't realised
~about that model let alone the new offerings!
~
~It also told me of up and coming models which I might want to wait
~for: I duly waited for two of them, tested them in shops (with my own
~CF card so I could take the photos home and look properly!) and found
~them both wanting. So I've ended up rather seriously poorer with a
~model I hadn't even thought about originally. But then again I had a
~really nice camera for a once in a lifetime trip to Japan, in a cheap
~place to buy accessories
~
~So which camera did you buy for taking gardening photos?

Canon 300D My dad said I have more money than sense, until I
invited him to tell me how much his golf club subs were! He hasn't
mentioned it since...

All the Cokin filters from my ancient Olympus SLR fit it, including
the close-up, so it got its first workout taking pics of the African
violets on my desk! Followed by a trip round the garden snapping all
sorts. I'd forgotten how nice it is to be able to play with the depth
of field rather than hit a macro button and hope for the best...

I shot rather too many photos at Trebah gardens in June. The gunneras
were just perfect (the path goes under them!) and the candelabra
primulas were in full bloom. And I am well pleased with the detail on
the fiddleheads (unfurling fern fronds). Indigenous macro's not too
bad either.

It sounds good, now if only there was a download somewhere to enable
the features they deliberately disabled :-)
http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos300d
--
Martin

In message , newsb
writes
In article , Martin Brown
writes
In message , Douglas
writes

Will someone with the knowledge please discuss the situation where one sets
the cutting aside for a while to allow the cut-wound at the bottom of the
cutting (just under the node) to form a dry callus.
I have the feeling that a "woody type!" cutting would be appropriate but a
soft pappy cutting would be a non-starter, - not able to form a callus..

It is more to do with the tendency of the target to rot if its newly
damaged cells are placed in contact with soil or water. A lot of the
plants from more arid areas will stand a much higher chance of rooting
rather than rotting if you allow them to form a callous before putting
them in soil. Geraniums and pelargoniums for instance benefit
enormously from this.


Try again... (sorry if you see this twice - just cancelled a post sent
with accurate contact details

Approx how long is "a while" in such cases?

24-48 hours will probably do somewhere out of the sun. Or until the cut
surface looks dry and impervious to wet rot.

Regards,
--
Martin Brown