Making a cutting. (Tips and what to expect.)

[Mikenet82]

Right now the host plant is as healthy as I've been able to get it so I'm thinking of making a cutting. I've read up about it some and have the following things...

Root medium.
Clonex root gel.
Sharp shears.
A small wire frame pot with a collar to support the cutting.
Organic fertilized soil.
And a small and clear container to use as a habitat. I have my mister to spray on the inside a nightlight for heat and a thermometer to measure temperature.

If you can think of anything else that may help I'm willing to add something to the list.

The main concern I have is that the leaves on the stems of the host plant obviously point up to collect light. When the cutting is planted those leaves will then be facing sideways. Will the cutting reorient itself so that the leaves point up again and the new leaves are growing in the right direction?

Also, what is the success rate of cuttings? The following instructions make it seem very difficult to pull off because it suggests I have to know precise humidity levels and drop it below 90% humidity at just the right time....

http://www.rollitup.org/t/taking-cuttings-clones.293978/

I was hoping I could just keep it very wet until it's established and then reduce humidity gradually. Knowing precise levels may be hard.

Any other tips would be a great help as well, if you can think of anything feel free to share.

 

[Sheal]

Cuttings from many plants are taken and rooted in different ways. Can you tell us what the plant is please?

 

[Mikenet82]

Sorry, I should have mentioned this. It's a Kratom tree which is a tropical plant...

http://www.mitragyna.com/botany
http://entheology.com/plants/mitragyna-speciosa-kratom/

 

[Mikenet82]

It's a bit tricky to care for because i can't put it outside until I build a bigger greenhouse, it likes a warm and wet environment. If it grows too tall in its current pot for inside growing I may have to top it anyway which I don't want. Hopefully, I can find a way around that or get the funds to build the greenhouse in time but making cuttings will be important so that I can use those as backups if the mother plant fails or outgrows the indoor greenhouse.

 

[Sheal]

I know absolutely nothing about this tree but I'll work on general knowledge. It would seem the tree is difficult to propagate either from seed or cuttings. I would take several 'cuttings' and try starting some in water, leaving for several weeks to see if they root and try others in a rooting gel or with a rooting powder and planting those in soil, keeping the soil moist but not very wet. However, I wouldn't take cuttings as such but pull away some younger shoots from the stem leaving a heel attached. Humidity is a problem because that is what causes fungus. If you spray the young plants with water I would make sure that they are not covered in any way to allow air circulation and in turn cut down on the risk of fungus problems.

There is no reason why the cuttings shouldn't grow as normal as they put on height. I think which ever way you try this it will be a 50/50 chance of success. I don't think there's an easy answer to growing these, it's trial and error. Good luck!

 

[Mikenet82]

I wonder if some sort of fungicide would work okay on cuttings. I'd assume the Fungicide3 that I have may be too much for something that is going to be stressed already. I've been told recently that Hydrogen Peroxide is a good way to control fungus and pest, I've been using that on the mother tree with success so perhaps that's an option unless someone here has a better solution for fragile cuttings.

I don't have too many areas I can make cuttings unfortunately, I bought the mother tree in October when it was just a few inches tall. It's now well over a foot and there're options for making cuttings down lower, but I'm hesitant to touch the higher branches so I don't damage its progress too much.

Many, I assume would wait to make a cutting but I'm not 100% confident I can keep the mother plant alive inside for as long as it's gonna take to build the greenhouse outside. I'm a few months off from getting the property that I'm going to build the greenhouse on so I'm a bit worried and wanting a backup.

 

[Mikenet82]

I'm finding it interesting that a branch can reorient itself to grow upwards after being planted, that's neato. Hopefully it works out okay.

 

[Sheal]

Perhaps you could cover the soil in the pots with small gravel, that may help to keep the fungus away from the soil.

I'm finding it interesting that a branch can reorient itself to grow upwards

A branch of a tree wouldn't do this naturally it would need support but young plants grow towards the light which in turn helps them grow straight and upright.

 

[Mikenet82]

I made the cutting three days ago. The two big leaves on the cuttings are still attached, they're wilting a bit but I read this is normal and they may fall off. Other than that the center looks the same so I'm hopeful for now. I'm going to try to get some gravel for the mother plant and perhaps for the cutting if I start to see it failing. I had the Hydrogen Peroxide on me so for now I added a 3% diluted mixture of it to the cutting just in case.

Thanks for the tips, would anybody know if repotting a cutting into a different kind of medium would be a good idea if it starts dying, if I did so would I dip the stem in root hormone again?

 

[Sheal]

The cutting may take a while to root and will possibly look a little unhealthy to start with. I wouldn't attempt to re-pot it as that is more likely to kill it from stress. See how it goes over the next few weeks.