Cuttings in water: Experiment

[Naimul]

I took some cuttings about mid winter when i was pruning my Chinese elm and Zelkova, and i thought rather than throwing them out i would try to see if i could get some cuttings going. I've tried it before, but they all seem to explode into leaf, but shrivel and die almost straight after, despite keeping the soil moist. This time i thought id try something different and see if they would grow in just water, as I've seen mum grow a number of plants this way. I've read this is perhaps the worst way to go about growing cuttings, but i had nothing to lose and lots to gain. Unfortunately i don't have any images of how they looked when i took the cuttings as bare "twigs" with dormant buds. Ill go into the steps i took, in case it comes of any use to anyone.

Firstly i took the cuttings and and put them in a plastic bottle which i cut in half, and added perhaps 3 drops of Seasol and left them in that solution for about 3 days. Then i emptied out the Seasol mixture and replaced it with normal tap water. At this stage the cuttings are on the kitchen window sill, indoors in a relatively temperate environment. the cuttings here would receive light afternoon sun. for about 2 weeks, i would replace the water every 3 days or so, because i just thought that clean, fresh water would be better than stale. fast forward about 2 weeks, and these cuttings, all of them, had their buds swelling, and the Chinese elms had leaves almost emerging (the trees these came from are still dormant). At this stage i started adding about a pinch of Aquasol to the water, and i replaced the water and added Aquasol every other week. since bud burst (again, the trees these came from were still dormant) i moved these outside because they didn't seem to be growing anymore from where they were sitting. Since moving outside, they have grown quite a lot, and none of them have died, which is a surprise to me. Below are some pictures i took today. I cleaned out the water after about a week and a half, just to see if not changing the water very often made any difference (which it didn't seem to) though i changed it because there was some algae and other stuff starting to grow, so i thought it would be safe to change.

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At this stage i am actually a little worried because some of the cuttings look like they have attempted to grow roots, but i havnt seen anything come out from those white "nodes" ever since they first appeared which was maybe 3 weeks ago.

I will try and keep this topic updated with any progressions

[Boics]

My understanding is that some trees / plants will happily grow in water some won't.
Remember that trees and plants can drown and be over watered.
Are you not achieving both these outcomes??

I never had much in the way of success in cuttings but mainly blame too big a cutting and too much foliage as the reasons for failure.

Too many leaves with little to no roots to support will result in that shrivelled result your are familiar with.

My vote. Reduce / remove the large leaves and pop Em in a propagating mix. mist leaves and greenhouse will help too.

[Beano]

I tried a small hardwood crepe myrtle cutting in water that had rooting hormone in it. It died, but it's sister cuttings that I put in dirt lived and developed roots.

[Phoenix238]

I've never had any success with cuttings either, hoping this works for you as I'm currently doing the same thing!

[MoGanic]

I've never had any success with cuttings either, hoping this works for you as I'm currently doing the same thing!

Cuttings need roots before growth, they take a while to develop. When you're taking cuttings, take younger wood and do it right as the first set of leaves pop at the tip (deciduous trees only). Pinch off the growing tip and leave 3 or so leaves on the cutting. Keep em moist and give them shade. Should have more success. Don't forget the hormone!!!!

[MoGanic]

My vote. Reduce / remove the large leaves and pop Em in a propagating mix. mist leaves and greenhouse will help too.

I agree. It seems far too moist for roots to pop. Maybe put half in a prop mix and leave half in the water.

[Boics]

There are many ways to do things but only one "best" way.........

I'm sure the water jobbie will work with some species but I can be certain it is not as effective for general bonsai material or we'd all be doing it...

[jezz_39]

At the moment it looks like built up energy pushing buds out so don't get too excited until you see roots forming.
I've attempted a few cuttings with little success using a standard 'mini greenhouse', pots with cut off soft drink bottles and even glad wrap over the top of a pot.

Last season I finally had a 100% success rate with Ficus cuttings. I used roughly a 50-50 mix of Diatomite and propogating sand, however 100% diatomite would be sufficient I suspect. These were all hardwood cuttings, the biggest being about 40mm. Simply planted with rooting hormone into a foam box with a lid, I poked about a dozen holes in the bottom for drainage. Only watered them about 2-3 times a month with seasol as with the lid on, it creates a very humid environment.
When planting the cuttings overcrowded shoots were thinned out and all growing tips were cut. Upon new growth hardening off I fertilised lightly every fortnight.

Good luck with your cuttings, the key is humidity .

[Shane Martin]

The only success I've had with this method is with Swampies.... and that wasn't all that great. About a 1 in 10 strike rate which is pretty crap really, and it took months to throw out a single root. Much better success with coarse river sand or diatomite for my cuttings these days... juniper and ficus almost 100% strike rate.

[shibui]

Those little white bumps on the stems are the start of the callus that can form roots so you are part way there.
There are several problems with rooting in water - fungal infection, lack of oxygen, etc so only really tough plants can grow successfully this way. Changing the water every few days will help to keep it fresh and will help but far better to improve your technique with propagating mix.
I'd suggest your failures may be due to not keeping the humidity high around the leaves while roots form. For large scale we use mist to keep the humidity high enough. Jezz has mentioned the technique often used small scale - A plastic bag or cut off plastic bottle over the cuttings will improve success dramatically. Proper propagating mix will also help.

Cuttings need roots before growth, they take a while to develop

Sorry Mo but I have seen hundreds of cuttings grow leaves before roots. It is often the presence of leaves that provide the food and energy to help the roots to grow rather than the other way round.

[Shane Martin]

Hi Shibui,
whenever I have tried the inverted clear drink bottle over my cuttings.... the foliage withers and dies? It's a technique often suggested... What am I doing wrong?

[MoGanic]

Those little white bumps on the stems are the start of the callus that can form roots so you are part way there.
There are several problems with rooting in water - fungal infection, lack of oxygen, etc so only really tough plants can grow successfully this way. Changing the water every few days will help to keep it fresh and will help but far better to improve your technique with propagating mix.
I'd suggest your failures may be due to not keeping the humidity high around the leaves while roots form. For large scale we use mist to keep the humidity high enough. Jezz has mentioned the technique often used small scale - A plastic bag or cut off plastic bottle over the cuttings will improve success dramatically. Proper propagating mix will also help.

Cuttings need roots before growth, they take a while to develop

Sorry Mo but I have seen hundreds of cuttings grow leaves before roots. It is often the presence of leaves that provide the food and energy to help the roots to grow rather than the other way round.

No need to apologise mate. I was referring specifically to deciduous trees where cuttings are taken in dormancy with no leaves, have you had success in taking deciduous tree cuttings in winter? Usually for me, there's a flush of spring growth from stored energy followed by a quick death. Would the plastic bottle method work in this circumstance?

[bodhidharma]

Hi Shibui,
whenever I have tried the inverted clear drink bottle over my cuttings.... the foliage withers and dies? It's a technique often suggested... What am I doing wrong?

I put the open part off the bottle or lid end upright so the cuttings can breathe and have a good strike rate. I found keeping it closed causes problems.

[Naimul]

I appreciate all the responses. when i get a chance, i will go and get some coarse sand and make some kind of small makeshift greenhouse. Ive become far too attached to these to let them die

[Beano]

I'm trying the dynamic figs tute, but the cuttings weren't doing much of anything. I didn't have them humidified, so I got the coke bottle over them and now the leaf buds that have been there the whole time are finally opening.