Water Rooting

ohiobruce

ohiobruce

Well-known member
I put a green lignified cutting in a qt mug and put an aquarium airstone in about 3 inches of water. The cutting was not resting in the water.

About 10 days later I put several of the same cuttings in a glass jar resting in about 3 inches of water. This was started the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Here is how they look today. The bubbler has some leaves starting, but the ones just soaked in water appear to have more going on in the root department.

This makes me wonder if soaking cuttings in water for two weeks before potting them would be a good approach.

Thoughts?
 

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Yes, some have found soaking cuttings to help with faster rooting. I soak all of mine for a minimum of 24 hrs, I leave apical bud tips out. It’s not uncommon for mine to end up soaking longer though if I don’t have time right away to pot them.

I used to soak them until I got the white gum debris you see at the lenticels, but I stopped doing that as it wasn’t necessary to get it to that point.
 
ohiobruce said:
I put a green lignified cutting in a qt mug and put an aquarium airstone in about 3 inches of water. The cutting was not resting in the water.

About 10 days later I put several of the same cuttings in a glass jar resting in about 3 inches of water. This was started the Tuesday before Thanksgiving.

Here is how they look today. The bubbler has some leaves starting, but the ones just soaked in water appear to have more going on in the root department.

This makes me wonder if soaking cuttings in water for two weeks before potting them would be a good approach.

Thoughts?
Click to expand...
Hello~ I put some cuttings in water on Christmas and am wondering when I should pot them. Most have a good amount of lenticels, but no roots. What did you end up doing with your cuttings and how are your cuttings doing now?
 
figs&peonies said:
Hello~ I put some cuttings in water on Christmas and am wondering when I should pot them. Most have a good amount of lenticels, but no roots. What did you end up doing with your cuttings and how are your cuttings doing now?
Click to expand...
I'm really not sure what I did with them. I think I put them in fig pop bags where they are now showing some roots and just starting to push out some green shoots.

The one in the bubbler was put in a clear cup on Dec. 16th. It lost both of its leaves, but is still showing a green bud. I haven't seen any roots yet.

When I did the math, I decided that the water rooting wasn't getting me anything but more work. I've about settled on putting cuttings in cups, putting a bag over the cup - tied to the cutting at soil level, and then just walk away for several weeks.

It seems like the ones I've "helped" are doing worse than the ones I've planted and ignored.
 
I put some in water to see what would happen and I got those little white nubs like the second picture. But while it is cool I am afraid I'll lose them when I try to plant them if I wait for a mass of roots. I think I'm going to put them in soil tomorrow in my regular tree pots with the bags and maybe just keep one out to see what happens. I have one with an inch long root so I'm probably going to leave it out. It is extra work because the water gets yucky so I was charging it out at least daily and I wasn't sure that was good for them either so I think I'm going back to dirt.
 
ohiobruce said:
I'm really not sure what I did with them. I think I put them in fig pop bags where they are now showing some roots and just starting to push out some green shoots.

The one in the bubbler was put in a clear cup on Dec. 16th. It lost both of its leaves, but is still showing a green bud. I haven't seen any roots yet.

When I did the math, I decided that the water rooting wasn't getting me anything but more work. I've about settled on putting cuttings in cups, putting a bag over the cup - tied to the cutting at soil level, and then just walk away for several weeks.

It seems like the ones I've "helped" are doing worse than the ones I've planted and ignored.
Click to expand...
I tried the aeroponic system last year but it didn't work out for me. Someone in our local fig group does aeroponics with great success and swears by it. He does add some nutrients to the water and has specific instructions/advice on what to do and when. Anyways, I'm in the same boat as you. This water method seems like extra work if I'm just going to pot them up anyways. I heard lenticels and roots grown in water are weak so transplanting can be difficult so now I'm confused as to when I should do it. I'm afraid if I leave the cuttings in the water too long they will start to rot.
 
figs&peonies said:
I tried the aeroponic system last year but it didn't work out for me. Someone in our local fig group does aeroponics with great success and swears by it. He does add some nutrients to the water and has specific instructions/advice on what to do and when. Anyways, I'm in the same boat as you. This water method seems like extra work if I'm just going to pot them up anyways. I heard lenticels and roots grown in water are weak so transplanting can be difficult so now I'm confused as to when I should do it. I'm afraid if I leave the cuttings in the water too long they will start to rot.
Click to expand...
It would be interesting to hear specific details about his aeroponic process and equipment.
 
betdempster said:
I put some in water to see what would happen and I got those little white nubs like the second picture. But while it is cool I am afraid I'll lose them when I try to plant them if I wait for a mass of roots. I think I'm going to put them in soil tomorrow in my regular tree pots with the bags and maybe just keep one out to see what happens. I have one with an inch long root so I'm probably going to leave it out. It is extra work because the water gets yucky so I was charging it out at least daily and I wasn't sure that was good for them either so I think I'm going back to dirt.
Click to expand...
I feel the same way. I've been changing the water every other day. The one good thing about this method is you can check for mold easily. I did notice it twice and lowered the humidity. At least we tried it! 😄 how long were yours in water for you to get the 1 inch root? Mine gave been in since Cbristmas, and although I have a lot of lenticels, I've got no roots
 
I’m too impatient for water rooting. I know it works, but it seems to take so long. Then there is the “up”-potting as a small bare root which seems very risky. Is there a specific reason you guys who root with water prefer to do it this way?
 
betdempster said:
I put some in water to see what would happen and I got those little white nubs like the second picture. But while it is cool I am afraid I'll lose them when I try to plant them if I wait for a mass of roots. I think I'm going to put them in soil tomorrow in my regular tree pots with the bags and maybe just keep one out to see what happens. I have one with an inch long root so I'm probably going to leave it out. It is extra work because the water gets yucky so I was charging it out at least daily and I wasn't sure that was good for them either so I think I'm going back to dirt.
Click to expand...
Honestly, if I were you, I’d pot those up in your regular tree pots with bags or fig pop them.

I did this recently with a sprouted pawpaw seed and success!
 
I tried water rooting and feel it takes longer and had more failures after up potting. Noticed more rot taking cuttings out. After being in water too long I noticed the center pith of the cutting starts to become mushy and gel like and after potting it's more prone to rot . Now I soak for about 24 hrs to rehydrate and direct plant in bagged tree pots or 32oz clear soup containers. Better outcomes by far.
 
IAK said:
I’m too impatient for water rooting. I know it works, but it seems to take so long. Then there is the “up”-potting as a small bare root which seems very risky. Is there a specific reason you guys who root with water prefer to do it this way?
Click to expand...
I tried it because I put them in tree pots last winter and failed. I liked the idea of being able to get roots before potting and being able to clean them if needed. Now that most have lenticels after for 2 weeks I am going to pot them up. Hope they survive!
 
sykofan said:
I tried water rooting and feel it takes longer and had more failures after up potting. Noticed more rot taking cuttings out. After being in water too long I noticed the center pith of the cutting starts to become mushy and gel like and after potting it's more prone to rot . Now I soak for about 24 hrs to rehydrate and direct plant in bagged tree pots or 32oz clear soup containers. Better outcomes by far.
Click to expand...
I just noticed that the bottom of my cuttings are having the same issue so I'm taking them out of the water. Did you happen to cut the bottoms before potting up?
 
figs&peonies said:
I just noticed that the bottom of my cuttings are having the same issue so I'm taking them out of the water. Did you happen to cut the bottoms before potting up?
Click to expand...

IMHO, I would not pot up any cutting that had any part that is “mushy or become gel like”. I would think that would just lead to more rot. I would cut it off, disinfect, and then try to revive it.
 
I definitely have one I'm going to cut the end off of before I up-pot tomorrow. It just looks the wrong color and I don't know . Just don't like the way it looks
 
Has anyone tried to water root using a heat mat? I have only seen it mentioned once before and I wonder if warmer water temperatures would help with rooting? Since its winter now water and room temperatures are not as warm as summer time.
 
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