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[Pan]

Had to get all the keywords in the title 

I received two cuttings of D. cab. about two weeks ago, and I'm trying to root them. All but one of the leaves had dropped over the course of shipping. I've been striving to keep humidity >70%, I have them in essentially an unmodified dubtub that I mist when humidity starts to drop. The internal temperature of that is ~75F daytime, ~70F nighttime.

One is just a stick, always has been. The other was very green and perky when it got here, and is slowly becoming brown. You can see the gradual progression in the attached photos. What am I doing wrong? How can I save the precious plant?

[jbz711]

Keep them in the pot and zip in in a large plastic bag, checked it once a week, mine took 3 months to fully take

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[Pan]

Hey there! Is that just to keep the humidity up, or are there some other benefits over dub tub?

[jbz711]

Humidity dome of any kind should work

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[Bach]

Totally a humidity dome. Those look way too dry and stressed.  Cut off the dead parts. Now. A gallon ziploc bag makes a good cheap humidity dome. That soil needs to be a little more moist too. Not sopping wet but moist.  Don't worry about the leaves dropping off, they'll do fine without them. Temps in the 80's or so would be better.

Remember these are tropical plants that grow along stream and river banks. They like humidity, water and warmth. One of the native names, Oco-yage, means 'water ayahuasca'.

And keep asking questions. We're here to help. 

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[Pan]

That's so odd. The humidity meter I have in that dub tub has been at a steady >95%, usually 99%, ever since I accidentally let it drop a few days ago.
I'll get a heat mat and move it to a fully sealed container.
Where should I cut the dead stuff? How can I tell what's dead?
The soil is quite wet, been sitting with water about a cm above the bottom of the pot.
How much light? Should I put them on the windowsill?

I appreciate the encouragement for asking questions, I'm here to learn

[Pan]

Good news! Opened the tub up to mist this morning and noticed that there's some fresh growth points on both of the cuttings. Early days still, but I feel much better about them now.

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[Pan]

Alas, not long after this it died. I am quite certain I've noone to blame but my own inexperience.

The top of the barren stick began bubbling with saplike green growth, healing the cut. Then, growth erupted from the nodes on either side. Unfortunately, the growth slowed, yellowed, browned, molded, and fell off. Perhaps I left it in too high humidity for too long? Perhaps I gave it too much water, or too much or too little light?

Regardless, I shall leave this species alone until I have more experience propagating under my belt and feel more confident in my ability to read and accommodate the needs of cuttings.

[TheGardenShaman]

It is a shame that your D. cabrerana didn't make it this go around. It reminds me of a similar issue I was having with P. viridis. I would mist regularly but little by little, the leaves were all dying. It was time for life support! Viridis is now under a dome facing north. I still spray once or twice daily, and breath into the dome for some reason or another. There was more new growth on it within the first week than within the last couple of months. I finally found something on the same difficulty scale as me haha.

I hope you take another try at growing. I'm rooting for ya! 

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[Pan]

Appreciate it and I'm glad to hear your viridis is perking up! Rest assured, I'll give this another shot 😁
I've got some P. nexus going well in a humidity dome and I expect the D. cab will appreciate similar treatment. I definitely made some early mistakes with it and I think those are what cost me most.

Best of luck to you with the viridis!

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[TheGardenShaman]

You're gonna do great! By learning lessons from even just the last grow, you will do better next time, & each time after.

Your post reminded me of the importance of airing the dome to prevent mold. I now completely remove it once or twice a day to promote adequate air circulation. Checking just now, I see several nodes protruding near where previous leaves had fallen. Plant life is awesome. I certainly couldn't live without it 

Happy growing!

Namaste.

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