Leaf cuttings finally taking

Leaf cuttings finally taking#430225

By Andrew42x89 -  Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:05 pm
Location:  Southeastern Pennsylvania, USA
Posts:  135
Joined:  Mon Jan 23, 2023 3:18 pm

- Wed Feb 08, 2023 3:05 pm #430225

It’s been just over four weeks since I started my first attempt at propagating from leaves and I’ve got my first strike on one of the Emerald’s Envy cuttings. Gotta love it!

Intheswamp, MikeB, Shadowtski and 3 others liked this

Re: Leaf cuttings finally taking#430283

By Gary -  Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:04 pm
Posts:  470
Joined:  Fri Jul 08, 2022 3:23 pm

- Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:04 pm #430283

Cool, congrats! I've never had luck with leaf cuttings, but I do well with seeds.

Re: Leaf cuttings finally taking#430286

By Intheswamp -  Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:20 pm
Location:  N31°43'59" USDA 8a/b
Posts:  3444
Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm

- Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:20 pm #430286

Interesting, Gary. Leaf cuttings seem to work better for me than starting from seed does. The cuttings produce sprouts faster and the plantlets grow faster and bigger that their seed-started counterparts. It seems I can get the seeds to germinate but then the tiny plants just don't grow...or grow *very* slowly. Maybe I'm just impatient?

Re: Leaf cuttings finally taking#430290

By Gary -  Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:37 pm
Posts:  470
Joined:  Fri Jul 08, 2022 3:23 pm

- Thu Feb 09, 2023 3:37 pm #430290

Yes, they do grow very slowly. My first set of seeds took several weeks to germinate, and the resulting plants are still mostly quite small.
I've tried leaf cuttings in distilled water, in a "soup" of peat and water, laying the cuttings on wet peat with no results. It may be that I need to use "newer" leaves, I usually try this with older leaves, but not wilted or dried up ones.

Re: Leaf cuttings finally taking#430292

By Intheswamp -  Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:09 pm
Location:  N31°43'59" USDA 8a/b
Posts:  3444
Joined:  Wed May 04, 2022 2:28 pm

- Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:09 pm #430292

My success has been laying the cuttings on live sphagnum moss over dried (Better-Gro) sphagnum moss. With peat and water I did not have that good of luck. I have an aversion to the tannins and humic acid in peat moss...it seems it can cause problems with things. It seems like even seeds do better on sphagnum moss than peat moss. Just my thoughts...

Gary, hollyhock liked this

Re: Leaf cuttings finally taking#430296

By Gary -  Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:17 pm
Posts:  470
Joined:  Fri Jul 08, 2022 3:23 pm

- Thu Feb 09, 2023 4:17 pm #430296

When I lay the cuttings on the peat, I'm careful to keep everything misted and wet. The leaves will stay green for 3-4 weeks, then start yellowing and dying.
I never tried using wet LFSM. I keep plenty of dried moss around to use when repotting. I'll try it when the weather warms up. Thanks!

Intheswamp liked this

Re: Leaf cuttings finally taking#431258

By Andrew42x89 -  Sun Feb 26, 2023 5:59 pm
Location:  Southeastern Pennsylvania, USA
Posts:  135
Joined:  Mon Jan 23, 2023 3:18 pm

- Sun Feb 26, 2023 5:59 pm #431258

Every “Emerald’s Envy” leaf cutting had one strike. Just moved them into a pot.

Intheswamp, Gary liked this

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