Cuttings in transparent pots

I have been taking cuttings, and some are ready for potting up. But the only way to tell if they have good root growth is to turn the pot upside down and shake out the contents. If you can see good roots - they are ready. But if you can't - they are not ready and you need to put them back again. But you can't, because there were no roots to hold the compost in place, and the contents has by now fallen apart.



So I thought why not use transparent pots, where you can see the root growth without having to remove the contents. Supermarkets and pound shops sell transparent pots under the name of plastic tumblers. And all they need is a drainage hole or two in the bottom, which is easy with a hot skewer. And there you go. So I repotted my cuttings that weren't done, into the pots above. I will of course be putting a polythene bag over the top. The white marks, by the way, are condensation on the inside of the pots.

 

I like your idea, but aren't roots harmed by exposure to light? If that's the case, perhaps you could slot the plastic cups into something to block out light, but you could still lift them out periodically for inspection.

 

Clueless - it did pass through my mind as to whether light had a detramental effect on roots. I would welcome any views on this.

But yes, you are absolutely right you could put them into something opaque. Actually mine are all pushed so close together in a propagator that I don't think there is a problem.

Needs a bit of Googling.

 

You can get that clear gel stuff for getting cuttings going, which will let light in... so clear pots shouldn't be a problem!

 

Thanks for raising the question Clueless, it was a valid concern. I Googled a lot of sites and many of them said that light was bad for roots, but none would put their finger on the exact reason why.

I posted this question on another forum and, although there were mixed feelings, I got replies from people who raised cuttings this way and never had any problems. And as Quercus pointed out you can buy gel stuff to get cuttings going. And, of course, cuttings in water is widely used. I have also seen plants with bare roots growing hydroponically under bright lights.

So I think that there isn't a problem.

 

As a follow up, I would like to say that the system of using transparent pots works very well. Just today I had a look at my cuttings and potted up all the pots of cuttings where I could see good root growth and left the others.

I will certainly be using transparent pots in future. One small hint for anyone doing this is to push the cuttings into the compost at the very edge of the pot, so you can see the stem through the side. That way you can see even small amounts of root growth. I have one pot of Polygala dalmaisiana cuttings where I can't see any roots, but I can't see the stems either. So I have no way of knowing if they are attempting to root or not. And I have no information on when or how to take cuttings of Polygala, or how long they take to root.

 

Great idea, Peter. Only the other day, I up-ended a pot of penstemon cuttings to find they hadn't actually rooted However, they looked healthy enough so I repotted them. I think the transparent pots idea is a good one and I shall certainly get some for future use.

 

I can definitely relate to that-it is my gardening vice impatience, this year I have promised them I won't touch them til after March next year.

I will assume armed with a cocktail stick for drilling holes in the bottom, a plastic beer glass does the same trick-I have loads of those lol.

The idea of making an opaque black sleeve for the exclusion of light sounds a good one.

 

Marley - very interested to see that you have been doing it for some time - I am sure there is very little new in gardening practice. And thanks for the idea of growing seed in them - I hadn't thought about that.

I would love to grow stuff in that transparent gel - because I am fascinated to see how the roots develop. But I can't afford to pay the prices asked and cannot find a cheap bulk supply of the gel itself.

 

Plant growth hormones namely AUXIN react differntly in root systems as they do in stems, one of the auxin controled mechanisms in growth above the surface can cause the plant to grow towards the light this is reversed in roots for obvious reasons (ie they need to grow downwards) so id suggest that wrapping them in a newspapaer sleeve that can be easily removed and replaced after inspection would make this great idea viable.

Are you going to supply some artificial heat to the bottoms?, its not essential but should improve the success rate.

Hope this helps

w00dy

 

Hi woody - yes. A couple of years ago I made myself a light box with a large heated propagator in it, and have been extremely pleased with the results. I am still doing cuttings now, and over the last couple of days have taken some of Salvia amarissima, Fuchsia arborescens, Leonotis leonurus and Lepichinia hastata, to add to those already in the box.

I have already done several succesful batches of other things over the last few weeks, and the transparent pots are working well. I always keep the propagator full, to make use of the light. So if there are any spaces I fill them with pots of young cuttings that have already rooted. That way the pots are so pressed together that almost no light can reach down to the roots.

My bigggest problem is aftercare. After removing from the high temperature and high light level of the box reality hits, which must be a bit of a disappointment for the young plants. :D

 

What a simple but excellent idea, Peter! :gnthb:

I've docketed it away for next year and hopefully I'll have better luck using this method than I've had before.

 

Excellent Marley - a very clear example of good root growth. - was that in natural light?

I had a clear out of all the cuttings left in my light box yesterday. I took a lot of cuttings in the middle of October, including many different Salvias, and had almost 100% success. So I then refilled the box with more cuttings, including more Salvias, but when I took them out yesterday the success rate was pretty low. As the enviroment, the light box, was exactly the same, I can only think that the cutting material available had deteriorated badly between October and November. The ones that did strike had good root growth, but most never started to root.

All the cuttings that have struck over the last couple of months are in the house and are doing well. I try to keep them as close to the windows as possible, but the light is still poor. Even so a number of them are already flowering - including Fuchsia triphylla, Osteospermum and several different Salvias! A lucky few will remain in the light box until I need the space for some early seed sowing.