Maintain high humidity by covering the pot with a bottomless milk jug or by placing the pot into a clear plastic bag. Cuttings can also be placed in plastic trays covered with clear plastic stretched over a wire frame (Figure 2).
With the exception of succulents, most cuttings need high humidity in order to grow properly. Until cuttings develop roots, they are very susceptible to drying out. If you don't have a bright area with high humidity, you can create a humid environment around the cutting by placing a clear plastic bag over it.
Several cuttings can be placed in the same pot as long as their leaves do not touch. Enclose the pot in a plastic bag, making sure the bag does not touch the leaves. Place the pot in a warm, bright spot but out of direct sunlight. Every few days, check the rooting mix to make sure it is damp, and water as necessary.
Cuttings can take in water from the air through pores in the leaves called stomata. To trap humidity, plant your cuttings in wet soil, use a spray bottle to mist the leaves, and cover them with clear plastic as described before. Then, place your cuttings in a warm spot.
The sooner you can get your cuttings into a more normal environment with air flow and no dome, the better off they'll be. After about a week, remove the dome and monitor your cuttings to see if they begin to wilt. If they do, they're not ready to go dome-less, so try again in 1-2 days.
Cuttings need water for hydration, but also enough oxygen for roots to respire and grow. Using a substrate with adequate air porosity, and using the 1 to 5 moisture scale can help to prevent overwatering that leads to slow rooting and increased risk of disease.
Technically, you can transfer your cuttings to soil at any time. In fact, you can actually propagate directly into soil, however, it's much harder to do within your home. When you propagate in soil, you have to keep a good balance of soil moisture, air flow, and humidity.
Carefully remove excess leaves to reduce transpiration, so cuttings do not wilt. However, some foliage should be retained to allow photosynthesis to occur. Keep cuttings moist, cool and shaded (collecting in a damp plastic bag is a good idea) until you are ready to put them in a propagation medium.
Clip off the leaves on the lower half of the shoot so you have a bare stem to insert into your potting mix. Then, if you want, dip the end of your stem in rooting hormone. This generally helps cuttings root more quickly.
Plastic will transmit cold air to the plants, causing more harm than good. We recommend using cotton fabric or frost cloth to protect plants from frost.
A fabric covering is best because it will allow moisture to escape while still protecting your plants from frost. Fabric coverings will prevent the freezing air from coming into direct contact with the moisture on the plant while also capturing the heat that is radiating from the ground.
Give cuttings bright light but not sun. Keep soil moist but not wet. The cuttings should root within three weeks. Admit air gradually to wean the cuttings from their humid environment, then pot singly before outdoor planting.
The reason cuttings rot is that over time, the oxygen level of the water drops unless it's moving or oxygen is added. Not only do plants need oxygen in order to grow roots (and, indeed everything else), but the bacteria that cause rotting thrive in low-oxygen environments.
From stick to root development (Stages 1-3), propagators sometimes use too little water or moisture, but most often provide too much water, which leads to leaching and waterlogged propagation substrates (Fig. 1), uneven rooting and loss of cuttings due to rot (Fig. 2) or botrytis.
Managing photosynthetic light during callusing is a balancing act. Enough light should be provided so cuttings can photosynthesize, producing the carbohydrates required to sustain the cutting as well as promote new growth, including root development.
Using Water
Place your stem cutting in your vessel with enough water to cover the node. The water level will drop due to evaporation, so you should add water every 3-5 days as needed.
The most common rooting mediums used are coarse sand, vermiculite, a blend of equal parts peat moss and vermiculite, or a blend of equal parts peat moss and perlite. The planting medium should be moistened before inserting cuttings and should be kept moist throughout the rooting and shoot formation process.
Several cuttings may be placed together in one container. Be sure to add fresh water as needed until the cuttings are fully rooted. Rooting will generally occur in 3-4 weeks but some plants will take longer. When the roots are 1-2 inches long or longer the cutting is ready to be potted up.
Some plants will root in water, but cuttings will develop a better root system when rooted in a soil-less potting mix. Sand or perlite can also be used, especially for cuttings that need good drainage and may rot if kept too wet.
Warm growing medium temperatures accelerate cell division which leads to faster callusing, root initial development and subsequent root growth. It also speeds up the dry-down rate of the growing medium, which also helps encourage better rooting. The best way to warm the growing medium is through bottom heat.
In general, the rooting medium should be sterile, low in fertility, drain well enough to provide oxygen, and retain enough moisture to prevent water stress.
Warmth is important and bottom heat, in particular, will encourage rapid root formation. fungicide types. stress will encourage root development.