Best way to tell if it has put down roots is to note whether it has died. Sound obvious but sometimes a green cutting can last for a long time without roots, but eventually it will dry out and turn brown. If you see any new buds or growth, that's an indication that something is going on down below.
After two or three weeks, check to see if roots have formed by working your hand under the cutting and gently lifting (Figure 3). If no roots have formed, or if they are very small, firm the cutting back into the mix, rebag, and check for roots again in one to two weeks.
Several cuttings may be placed together in one container. Be sure to add fresh water as needed until the cuttings are fully rooted. Rooting will generally occur in 3-4 weeks but some plants will take longer. When the roots are 1-2 inches long or longer the cutting is ready to be potted up.
Cuttings need energy to make roots. If the cutting has too many leaves – or even too long of stem – it will spend its limited energy keeping those alive instead of on growing roots. I love a long cutting for the potential of a new big baby plant, but it's better to cut it into sections and root them each separately.
Clip off the leaves on the lower half of the shoot so you have a bare stem to insert into your potting mix. Then, if you want, dip the end of your stem in rooting hormone. This generally helps cuttings root more quickly.
Too much or too frequent application of mist / fog keeps the growing medium saturated, excess water will flow from the bottom of the trays and rooting will be delayed. Applying mist / fog too infrequently will increase transpiration from the leaves and cuttings will lose turgidity and could die from drying out.
Figure 2. Providing too much moisture during propagation can result in rot and cutting loss. A practice often observed during propagation of unrooted cuttings is frequent, heavy misting, which provides too much moisture and should be avoided.
To revive the plant, you can soak it in water and then adopt a predictable watering schedule that uses the same amount of water each time. Remove dead leaves: Improper care may cause most leaves on the plant to die, and it's usually best to remove leaves that have become entirely brown.
Controversially, I'm gonna suggest you don't water them very often. I would start with very evenly moist airy soil – water in sans cutting, and mix it round so it's not saturated at the bottom. Add your cutting, and then mist the surface thoroughly daily (trying not to get the cutting). Twice a day if it's hot or dry.
Try to wait until at least 50% of the cuttings have good rooting before potting them up; however, for some hard-to-root species, you may be lucky with only 10% to 20% success.
Water roots grow much faster than soil roots and require less space and energy to grow. They are designed to absorb nutrients from the water all around them, so they don't have to grow as large to search for resources. Soil roots, on the other hand, are much sturdier and have fewer thin offshoots than water roots.
If you'd like to transplant your plant cutting(s) from the glass vessel into a planter with a potting mix, we recommend waiting until the root is at least 1 inch long or longer. This should take 4-6 weeks.
The cutting should be placed in a suitable medium and encouraged to grow as an independent plant) are a part of the original stock plant (the plant which is used to obtain propagating material, plant cuttings are taken from the stock plant) and they share the same balance of light, air, water, and nutrients as the ...
If there is no green anywhere in the stems, roots can still be checked. Carefully dig the plant from the soil and look for roots that are light, supple, and have little to no scent. Dead roots will either be mushy and smelly or dry and brittle.
Peat moss by itself can become water-logged, but when mixed with the perlite in such a small amount is very difficult to do so. Overwatering and under-watering are the last two common reasons why cuttings fail.
Identifying Root Rot
The root system of a healthy plant should be firm and white. But when soil is soggy, fungal spores multiply and the fungus starts to spread3, developing in the extremities of the roots first. As the fungus advances, healthy portions of root turn brown and mushy as the roots die.
Before the cuttings have roots, they cannot take up enough water through the stem to maintain normal plant functions, so mist reduces the rate of water loss from a cutting from the time of stick until sufficient rooting has occurred, and irrigating the growing media provides the necessary water for normal plant growth.
It's important that your water propagated plants receive some light, but bright indirect light with no direct sun is important. They are growing new root systems and are fragile.
Place the cutting in a clean glass. Poor enough room temperature water to cover the nodes of the cutting. Change out the water every 3-5 days with fresh room temperature water. Wait and watch as your roots grow!
The reason cuttings rot is that over time, the oxygen level of the water drops unless it's moving or oxygen is added. Not only do plants need oxygen in order to grow roots (and, indeed everything else), but the bacteria that cause rotting thrive in low-oxygen environments.
Maintain high humidity by covering the pot with a bottomless milk jug or by placing the pot into a clear plastic bag. Cuttings can also be placed in plastic trays covered with clear plastic stretched over a wire frame (Figure 2).
Plant cuttings mistakes can range from using dirty tools to potting up your cuttings in the incorrect potting soil. Too much harsh sun, too much or not enough water, and using offcuts from plants that are sickly or flowering can also put your cuttings at risk.