Experiment 1:Three fresh leaves, stems snapped in 4-6 places
Two potted in 1:0.75:1 of cacti soil : vermiculite : perlite for 3 weeks. Then in cup of water for one week
One leaf put into cup of water for 4 weeks
Results:
The two potted leaves (pictures 1 &3) showed much more root development than the one left in water (picture 5). The one left in water showed small root development at a couple nodes. The potted leaves had lager root development at most all of the nodes.
Discussion:
Planting leaves in 1:0.75:1 of cacti soil : vermiculite : perlite for 3 weeks then putting water for one week appears to provide more root growth at a greater number of nodes than simply placing a leaf in water for 4 weeks.
Also, I noticed that roots will develop off the leaf itself, not just the stem. The leaf in picture 3 had a slight tear near the stem and roots formed out of the tear. (Look near the stem where it originally connected to the plant.)
The two potted leaves are used in the next experiment.
Experiment 2:Here's the start of another P. viridis leaf propagation experiment I'm working on:
Basic Idea:
1) snap the main stem in 4-6 spots
2) plant in 1:0.75:1 of cacti soil : vermiculite : perlite for 3 weeks
3) Put in cup of water for 1 week
4) Cut leaf into sections based on rooted nodes
5) Re-plant in 1:0.75:1
I have one control leaf (steps 1,2,3,5) and one experiment leaf (steps 1-5). The experiment leaf was cut into 4 sections and the control leaf was planted whole. Both were rooted at the time of re-planting. The experimental leaf appeared to have more root development than the control leaf.
Results and discussion under
"Expirement 2" Results in This Post.
Pictures
1) experiment 2 leaf, before cut into sections
2) experiment 2 leaf cut into four sections
3) control leaf
4) potted control and experiment sections
5) third leaf, only put in water (experiment 1)