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lm pretty new to plants and stuff and have recently really really got into it! I only have bamboo in my home at the moment and wanted to expand on my houseplants and thought instead of buying fully formed plants id grow mine from cuttings :) i think it would give me more satisfaction knowing id helped/cared for these plants since they were tiny cuttings :) As i said im new to this and not sure if i have a green thumb but would like to give it a go. Here is a list of cuttings im growing in water so far:-
Bromelaids
Christmas Cactus
Umbrella Plant
Madagascar Jasmine
Any information anyone has on any of these plants would be very much appreciated :) Id love any advice on both when they are babies growing up and adults fully grown :) Also does anyone know when these plants will start rooting, how long will they have to be kept in water before they root and need planting? Thanks in advance
The only one you have listed that I have experience with is Christmas cactus. It's not a water lover--it likes life on the dry side. I always root mine in sandy well-drained soil and don't give it too much water. It will not show signs of new growth for a while as it will be busy developing roots so don't get worried if it just sits there for a long while before showing signs of new life. I'm sure others with experience on your other plants will come along with advice. Good luck.
I agree that rooting in a well-aerated sterile medium (like perlite, very coarse sand, or screened Turface) is to be much preferred over rooting in water.
Plants aren't 'thinking', or even instinctual organisms, so they can't get confused. They simply react to stimuli in their environment.
Though roots form readily and often seemingly more quickly on many plants propagated in water, the roots produced are quite different from those produced in a soil-like or highly aerated medium (perlite, very coarse sand, screened Turface or calcined DE [floor-dry from NAPA stores] ,seed starting mix, e.g.). Physiologically, you will find these 'water-formed roots' to be much more brittle than normal roots due to a much higher percentage of aerenchyma (a tissue with a greater percentage of intercellular air spaces than normal parenchyma). If you wish to eventually plant your rooted cuttings in soil, it is probably best not to root them in water because of the frequent difficulty in transplanting them to soil. The water-formed roots often break during transplant & those that don't break are very poor at water absorption in soils and often die. The effect is roughly equivalent to beginning the cutting process all over again with a cutting in which vitality has likely been reduced.
If you do a side by side comparison of cuttings rooted in water & cuttings rooted in soil, the cuttings in soil will, practically speaking, always have a leg up in development on those moved from water to a soil medium for the reasons outlined above, but it's still your call. Rooting in a solid medium is better, but it does take a little more skill.
ok Al i think i will transfere my cuttings from water. Ive taken into account everything you have said and think your right, i dont want my plants to root in water and then when i plant them damage their roots and they have to re-root all over again. Ill plant them tomorrow, when i can get out and buy some suitable soil for them. Oooo this is exciting :) Thanks for your help Al. I really appreciate it
