Serissa cuttings root very promiscuously

onlyrey

Here is the setup for some serissa cuttings that I had on a serissa which I bought from ebay. It's only been two weeks and they seem to be rooting very very well, even the "branches" on these cuttings are getting aereal roots!

Check the roots starting to appear in the "branches" second picture, and pointed with red arrows.

What I did:
1. Cut the branches from my serissa (they are about 3/8" diameter)
2. Dipped them in water
3. Dipped them in rooting hormone
3. Put sphagnum moss in 35 mm film plastic container
4. Put each cutting independently in a 35mm film container
5. Put these containers inside larger container with water level enough to cover 1/2" of the 35mm containers
6. Cover with transparent cover, to keep the moisture
7. Mist once almost every day

Attached Images

	serissa_cuttings_aparatus.jpg (24.1 KB, 80 views)
	serissa_cutting_aereal_roots.jpg (52.9 KB, 102 views)

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RedPine

Good Job Rey.

You can get these same quality results from a cup of tap water and a warm window ledge.It strikes me odd that a plant that will basicly root is moist air has so many hang ups living in a pot.

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onlyrey

Came up with a mame banjan serissa foteida. I'm keeping it basically in the same high moisture setting. Somehow the aereal roots developed better than the roots below the sphagnum moss. First picture is of the 3 potted serissas, and the second pic is of the same controlled setting.

Attached Images

	mame_banjun_foteida2.jpg (37.6 KB, 57 views)
	mame_banjun_foteida_keep.jpg (6.3 KB, 49 views)

RedPine

Really cool Rey . You will probably loose the roots that haven't reached soil/moss if your are keeping it with out the humidity chamber now. If you wanted to keep them you would need to let them reach into the soil then slowly re acclimate the plant back into the "real world" over the span of a month or more.

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soonami

serissa cuttings root unbelievably well, the older the wood the better in my experience.

I've rooted a cutting that was 1.5 inch in diameter by sticking it into loose potting soil. I didn't water it at all and in a week, there was a brillo pad on the other end of my cutting

msgvb

I had a bit of trouble getting a cutting from a new serissa to root.
actually, it didn't work at all, and all the existing leaves fell off.

I tried doing mine in a 2x2 of bonsai soil though sitting in a drip tray.
the soil stayed moist, and I misted it a couple of times, but the leaves just turned brown and fell off.

so tap water in a glass like a philodendron, huh?

onlyrey

msgvb,

I discovered that my serissa cuttings rooted better on the aereal roots than on the soil / moss. The secret (at least for me) was the humidity chamber which was trasparent and allowed the light in. I also misted them daily and closed the chamber back again. Also, I always kept them inside my house (with this artificial light = 9 hours) were they were above 60F.

This is only one point of data, but mine did not root as readily on the soil as they did on the air / younger branches.

soonami

I find that too be true at times too, it depends on the age of the shoots I think. On older branches, roots pop up all along the stem that is under the soil line. 1-2 yo growth seems to push roots from the nodes even those not touching soil.

msgvb

can you describe specifically the materials you used to create this little humidity chamber? looks like a Ziploc plasticware bowl with a clear plastic cup on top.

what kind of light are you talking? flourescent?
near a bright sunny window?
or just low to mid daytime ambient indoor lighting?

okay, I think the temperature could be the culprit in my case. weather's been up and down lately. indoor thermostat says upper 60s, but the place I have them probably isn't really in the 60s (carpeted floor near a window)

since outdoor temps are unreliable right now, I'm doing all this indoors. this is probably the reason my seeds aren't starting, either, though I've tried them outside too.

temperatures are still dipping into the 40s at night on occasion. I am thinking it is causing the damping off of my seeds and outdoor experiments.

I am working on better lighting for the indoor areas; installing wire shelving near the best window I have - a north facing one. also considering installing a Solatube to bring in more daylight.

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