Best Rooting Medium

rnexus

rnexus

Well-known member
It appears I have finally found the best rooting medium. I'm rooting challenged,  so for years I have had terrible success rates. My skill and luck at rooting is about as poor as a beginner.

Double shredded hardwood bark mulch is what you want. Has to be bark and not wood chips.  Bark has all the nutrients and anti microbial compounds. Fresher is likely better because there are more antimicrobial active compounds.  They will degrade somewhat throughout time. 

In my area, central virginia the double shredded hardwood bark mulch is going to be primarily oak and tulip poplar.

I did a test of cuttings that had the fuzzy white mold on them. I had stored them in a bag. So I took them out of the bag, dipped in hydrogen peroxide solution and put in mulch.  The mold do not come back. Any other medium i have used and the mold always comes back and kills the cuttings. I investigated inside the mulch and didn't see any mold at all. Only fresh healthy roots and stems. Cuttings are keafing out now.

I have read a few other people use this mulch with good success. There needs to be more info on it. 

Im going to root over 1200 cuttings this autumn.  I will keep updated,  and will likely create a tutorial for rooting if success is repeated.  The implications are huge. A vastly simplified method and higher success rate. 

Will call the tutorial- " Rooting for challenged and/or unlucky people"

Lol

Quick rough tutorial would be. 
Take fresh cuttings.
Soak in diluted hydrogen peroxide solution for a few min or until fizzing stops.
Allow to dry.
Wrap top section of cuttings with parafilm.
Slice a section off one side of the bottom of the cutting. Dip in diluted dip n grow rooting hormone.
Plant directly into wet mulch.
Keep warm 70-85 degrees in dark  for 10-14 days. 
Expose to light and warmer temps after that.
 
rnexus said:
It appears I have finally found the best rooting medium. I'm rooting challenged,  so for years I have had terrible success rates. My skill and luck at rooting is about as poor as a beginner.

Double shredded hardwood bark mulch is what you want. Has to be bark and not wood chips.  Bark has all the nutrients and anti microbial compounds. Fresher is likely better because there are more antimicrobial active compounds.  They will degrade somewhat throughout time. 

In my area, central virginia the double shredded hardwood bark mulch is going to be primarily oak and tulip poplar.

I did a test of cuttings that had the fuzzy white mold on them. I had stored them in a bag. So I took them out of the bag, dipped in hydrogen peroxide solution and put in mulch.  The mold do not come back. Any other medium i have used and the mold always comes back and kills the cuttings. I investigated inside the mulch and didn't see any mold at all. Only fresh healthy roots and stems. Cuttings are keafing out now.

I have read a few other people use this mulch with good success. There needs to be more info on it. 

Im going to root over 1200 cuttings this autumn.  I will keep updated,  and will likely create a tutorial for rooting if success is repeated.  The implications are huge. A vastly simplified method and higher success rate. 

Will call the tutorial- " Rooting for challenged and/or unlucky people"

Lol

Quick rough tutorial would be. 
Take fresh cuttings.
Soak in diluted hydrogen peroxide solution for a few min or until fizzing stops.
Allow to dry.
Wrap top section of cuttings with parafilm.
Slice a section off one side of the bottom of the cutting. Dip in diluted dip n grow rooting hormone.
Plant directly into wet mulch.
Keep warm 70-85 degrees in dark  for 10-14 days. 
Expose to light and warmer temps after that.
Click to expand...

Sounds good.

I did something similar. However, I kept the cuttings between 74F and 78F, anything more than that would cause rot for me.
 
My temps probably have been up to 90 degrees. Hard to control the room perfectly. Lows of 75 at night. 80-90 during the day for the last 2 weeks.
 
rnexus said:
My temps probably have been up to 90 degrees. Hard to control the room perfectly. Lows of 75 at night. 80-90 during the day for the last 2 weeks.

I had mine indoors on a heat mat when the weather was averaging in the low 70’s for the highs. The temperature probe was inserted into the soil to turn the heat on and off. Your soil temp in an 80 degree room might not be as high as 80.
Click to expand...
 
bushdoctor82 said:
What type of container do you use? 1,200 cuttings is definitely not a small feat.
Click to expand...

3x7 tree pots from Stuewe & sons are what I like to use. I have crates that fit 35 of those pots perfectly. Works very well. Can up pot to 4x9 or something bigger if needed.
 
@"rnexus"#62  I am about to five star this thread like everyone who contributed to it, and then mail all of you flowers, and chocolates. You all deserve it, but before I do could everybody give their average statistical success rate. This is your success rate through up potting. Mine is 70% for my winter run. Using dormant healthy cuttings. My gardening partner is running about 82%. We won't know for sure because he still has a few patients in his propagation pity corner. As I have stated before my summer cuttings we're very poor, and my success rate about 33%. rnexus what's your success rate currently? @"Figology"#21 if you would care to share yours? By the way I am flabbergasted with a 1200 cutting run. Please keep us all updated.
 
@"Figless"#18 
I rarely attempt to root cuttings over the past couple of years, except when I am attempting to create more rootstock. My preference has been grafting and air layers. My success rates with those when I am careful are at least 85%. However I have been wanting to find a way to root quickly and successfully, which recently led me on another deep research journey on rooting. I knew there had to be something better than the many ways I have tried. I've had terrible results with bleach being effective. It never prevented mold no matter how well I scrubbed or how overall clean I was. Cleaning again with hydrogen peroxide would help for 1-2 days. Point is I've never seen anything keep down/kill mold like double shredded hardwood bark mulch. I'll have a whole bunch of partially lignified cuttings soon so this will be a good experiment on a mass scale. (Will be done in batches and I will document)
 
@"rnexus"#62 @"Figology"#21 @"bushdoctor82"#14 okay I'm as good as my word. I five stars the thread, and I passed likes all around like they were Halloween candy. Currently I am rooting my paltry 30 cuttings in Uline fig Pop bags. Per @"Figology"#21 suggestion. I am using a 50/50 mix of Pro mix/coco. I didn't have any number three perlite, and I wasn't wishing to use #4 just too big.. We'll see how that works out. I used the @Rosy plastic grocery bag method taped on a 2/,or 3 gal pot. But the cuttings were not always top notch. I was definitely ready to try something new. My next experiment will be root riot cubes in a extremely mild GH neutral fertigation. They will be in compressed Peat cubes with dip and grow.
 
I joke when I write this.... sort of... I'm with you in using the best rooting medium.... I just cant help but think of my cousins in the south of Italy...They laugh at all my "processes". They would say, "If  you want to put a fig in a new place... just stick it in the ground"
 
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