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[Tzabaoth]

Much of my growing during the winter months is done via hydroponic.  I know that some plants clone very well while others need to be germinated from seed and visa versa.  I use a homemade cloner in a black 3.5 gallon bucket with a spraying pump inside.  I use some cloning agent and rooting chemicals to get them started.  I would like to hear what experience people have with propagation from cuttings and germinating from seeds; by species. 

Thanks, in advance,

.: Tzabaoth

[TBM]

Which plants have you had success with using this technique you describe?

I know that some plants almost never produce viable seeds (such as Salvia divinorum) so it makes sense to propagate via cuttings, other plants (such as tomatoes, etc.) are propagated with cuttings because they end up requiring a smaller growth period before fruiting when propagated by cuttings vs beginning from seed. Quite a few edible plants are propagated via cuttings instead of from seeds to reduce sow>yield time.

Other plants (such as almost any from the Psychotria family) are capable of producing seeds which are viable; but the wait period from seed germination, to really taking off in growth is far slower than taking a leaf from a mature plant and planting it to allow rooting to take place and propagate that way.

It's dependent on which species you want to grow really.

[New Wisdom]

Most cacti and succulents are similarly rooted.  They do very easily without the use of chemicals.  I used to use rooting hormone and sulfur on every cutting I made.  Now all that I do for all cacti and succulents is:

Cut the plant.
Let it dry for 2 weeks until calloused.
Get a glass or plastic bowl with no drainage and fill with dry sand.
burry the cutting about an inch into the sand.
Put it on a covered porch in the heat during summer (or just in the house during winter)
Check it every couple weeks and when roots arrive plant it in it's pot or in ground.

This method has been yielding awesome results.  I have gotten de-grafted plants that are supposedly almost impossible to root rooted with this method.  The temps here have been in the 90-110 range which I think speeds it up a lot.  The cuttings will start to look like they're shriveling up sometimes, but don't fret, that's normal.  They can look like a dried prune and still be alive.  Once they set root and you plant and water they will be back to normal soon enough.

For Salvia divinorum this is what I do:

Cut a nice, thick branch with 3+ nodes on it. 
Pull off all the leaves except for the top couple.
Get a plastic dixy cup and fill with washed sand.
Pour some water into the sand to make it wet, but with no puddles.
Bury the cutting about .5-1" deep in the sand.
Put a plastic bag over the top of the cup, or put it in a humidity chamber.
Set it near a light source, but not too much direct light.
Keep the sand moist and the humidity chamber humid.
You will see the cutting wilt at first, then once it roots,  it will rehydrate and look healthy again. This means it's rooted.
Carefully cut the cup so half of the side is off.
Run water over the sand (outside or over the trash) and wash away the sand from the roots.
Plant the cutting and place back in humidity.
Place closer to light source
Let it grow for a couple weeks then acclimate to outdoor conditions.

This has worked really well for me several times. It can be done a number of different ways though.

1 Like TBM likes this.

[Tzabaoth]

So far, I have had amazing success cloning anything with a solid (as opposed to hollow) stem.  If it's very woody I usually scratch a little bark off at the bottom.  I like 2-3 nodes or so and as New Wisdom said, cut off all but the top leaves.  Even those I will trim if they're very large.  I usually use a cover of some type too, but I limit the light it gets to promote it using energy on rooting.  My sprayer is on a timer so I have 5 min on and 5 min off; it promotes callusing must faster.  Here's what I remember doing thus far:

Tomatoes
Tomatillos
Peppers
Basil
Roses
Stevia
Savory
Succulents
Lipstick plant - from Logees
Broccoli

Failures -
cilantro
Dill
Squash
Root vegetables

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[TBM]

Nice, have you attempted using cuttings of the below ground parts with root vegetables? I'm currently growing ginger as a result of sowing a piece which originally fit in the palm of my hand, now a few months later and I had to up-size the pot it's growing in

[fairdinkumseeds]

I have just discovered this method and it sounds fantastic for rooting stuff I have trouble with.
Turnera, passiflora, etc.

I did a heap of searching, and all the good stuff is in the USA, and they won't ship, or the ones that will are much smaller setups than I want and really expensive.
SO, I have materials lying around and want to make one.

I have a large plastic cattle trough as a holding tank, I will add a submersible fishtank pump, some spray arms and an aeration device.
It will have a large plastic/Perspex dome over the top.

Timing is the issue I keep running into.
I am told that 1minute spray, 5minutes of, 1on, 5off continuous is best by far, but the timers have to be custom made(and electricity scares me), or they cost a fortune.


My question is, will it work if the unit is sealed well, and the airstone runs 24hrs like a "bubbler bucket", and the spray arms spray 15mins on, then 15mins of then 15on, 15off continuously.

I know it won't be as effective as 1on 5off, but will it still work?
Or do you know how I can do it better?

[delta9hippie]

Generally, herbaceous plants (or new growth cuttings) are the easiest to propagate with aeroponic or hydroponic systems. I've had great success with most herbaceous plants. The main thing to look out for is a balance between too much water and too much air. Too much water exposure leads to rotting, too much air exposure leads to drying out. One of the best rooting systems I ever made was one of the cheapest. I took a long (~12"), but shallow (~4") tupperware container, drilled small holes in the top, filled the base with sterile water, with a tad bit of rooting hormone, and then put in two relatively huge (~10") airstones with a big pump outside (~50 gal?). This blasted the water so that there were tons of small bubbles shooting around all the time. All in all, this system took less than an hour to build, and cost about 50 bucks, almost all of the expense came from the pump. I could root easily 20 cuttings in there per week. The only issue was evaporation. Since there was so little depth to the reservoir, so much surface area and so much activity, the water would need to be refilled almost daily. This problem was easily resolved, but care needed to be taken to avoid over saturation (too high ppm in the water) and plant shock.

Another cool way to root that I've tried occasionally is what I call the "Willow Tea" technique (probably has a better name). The willow genus, Salix, is known for easy rooting. This plant is perhaps the easiest plant in the world to root from cuttings, as it produces LOADS of rooting hormone. Simply break off a branch, stick it in the ground! "How to Clone, For Dummies"    But, you can also break up branches into water, let them sit, and they will start rooting. That water will now be filled with rooting hormone. You can use that as a rooting environment for other plants. Not as efficient as using manufactured rooting hormone, but more interesting and fun, I think, and "natural".

1 Like fairdinkumseeds likes this.

[Tzabaoth]

Many of the newer timers will allow you to choose 5 minute intervals; that's what I use.  I do 5 min on and 5 min off.  I used to do 24h on but it was suggested I try the time and it works fine.  Nothing that has made me very surprised, but the dry time seems to be even more important than the wet time.  You could experiment with a similar timer and do 5 min on and 15 min off or some variation.  I would love to see the results. 

Best of luck!

1 Like fairdinkumseeds likes this.

[fairdinkumseeds]

I made this up but wasn't sure of the protocol, if I should put it here, or start a new thread?
Anyway, here it is. Any advice appreciated.

http://sharetheseeds.me/forum/index.php?topic=1919.new#new