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jade vine (Strongylodon Macrobotrys)

dill786

Active member
hey man,

well they are still brown but not withering away... i gave them a slight tug and felt resistance so i am still not sure... i taken one out gently and saw small white bubbles near the base were i stripped the bottom of the stem, but i am still not certain if they will root..
 

cutant

Member
It's early to have roots clearly visible. The usual time one has to allow is 6 - 8 weeks under normal conditions (that is no under heating and not outside the growing season). Tugging a cutting to check for resistance is not used anymore. It is unpredictable and can easily damage the fine roots. Try removing soil with a teaspoon an inch away from the stem. Keep digging slowly until you reach the base. At 8 weeks you should see fine roots spreading out from the base. I know it takes more time but it is a test with definite results and you do not damage roots or lose cuttings.
 

cutant

Member
hi Persephone,

I need 50 post to receive and send PM's - just checked to site regulations. Oh well patience is a virtue! Plenty of them to get there. Tnx for keeping in touch.
 

dill786

Active member
i checked some out today, and i think around half a dozen cuttings are not going to root at all. however i still have more in other pots...
 

cutant

Member
Well if you are so sure you can do either of 3 things -

try your luck and leave the cuttings in the pots,

chose one of the cuttings that appears to be a goner and cut right through the stem towards the base - if it is going brown you can get rid of the whole lot that looks like it,

Or you can just go ahead and get rid of all the dying cuttings.

If you have time and patience go for the second option. If not just throw away what looks to be gone. It is important to get rid of dead or dying stuff to avoid mould that will attack the live cuttings.

Unfortunately the fact remains that growing new plants from cuttings is a hit an miss, with science behind it sure enough but also with a large dose of luck. Still I am hopeful for you that you will manage to get some rooted cuttings. The jade vine is on record to be easy to grow from cuttings.

Keep us posted and best of luck!
 

cutant

Member
If it is of any help, I am posting some more information on propagating this vine. I managed to get this from another discussion group:

Cuttings...it helps to do them in the spring or autumn, use fairly hard tips about 35 cm-45 (14-18") long...use spray-on antitranspirants and gel-type rooting compounds under intermittent mist or bagged. While they will root in 10 days or so under warm moist conditions, they are vexingly prone to dying
after that...even up to the point where they have been transplanted into a pot.

Powdered rooting compounds such as Rootex are not really a good option. Success rate for finished, saleable plants will range from zero (not unusual) to about 25% when the Gods are smiling on you. You can have had nearly 100% success rate for root growth on batches of thick, green stem cuttings only to lose
the whole lot within a month.

One can occasionally get an errant basal stem to root by old-fashioned layering - just place a 5-7 cm section of older stem in a pot filled with a loose, moist medium and cover the stem with a cm or so of the mix while keeping the forward section of the stem decumbent; check for roots every month or so and then cut the stem when the pot is well-filled with them.

Be sure and remove dried leaves as they drop from the stems to avoid accumulations of decomposing matter around the base of the stems.
Mature terminal stem sections that have recently hardened-off root much easier than either woody stems or very new growth, which is almost hopeless.
Like many large vining tropical Fabacs, these critters HATE having their roots disturbed.
viable seed germinates almost instantly and one has a 2 m tall vine in very, very, short order.
 

dill786

Active member
wow !! well done, they look so healthy too. did all of yours root!?

naaa i didn't get any to root.. i checked every single stem and they just snapped in my hand because they were just dried out. i think i was to enthusiastic for my own good lol..
 

dill786

Active member
shame though we have had really hot temps last 2 weeks or so...

ill have to find another one and try again !!!
 

dill786

Active member
^ thanks though for giving me the opportunity to try them i ve been wanting to grow these for the longest time... usually all the cuttings i have taken in the past whether its flowers/vegetable/herbs/cannabis have ALL rooted for me, this is the only one that got away.. he-hee

i would have never thought i would be a given a huge jade vine to try though, so thanks once again bro :)

even with the seeds you have to sow them fresh, but mine were in transit for around 7 days so outcome was inevitable.
 

cutant

Member
Hi Dill786,
Most probably the climate was too hot then. So the cuttings did not have enough time to take root and start taking up moisture. My advice is that if you ever have the opportunity to have cuttings again think early spring or early autumn. Check my previous post above. You planted the cuttings in mid-June then you a heatwave with temperatures in he 30's. That is what killed off any chance of the cuttings to take root. March/April or Mid Sept/Mid October are the best seasons. Obviously the type of cuttings would be different according to the season. Using seeds is even trickier as you pointed out. That is why I am looking for cuttings.
 

cutant

Member
Hi Dill786,
Most probably the climate was too hot then. So the cuttings did not have enough time to take root and start taking up moisture. My advice is that if you ever have the opportunity to have cuttings again think early spring or early autumn. Check my previous post above. You planted the cuttings in mid-June then you had a heatwave with temperatures in the 30's. That is what killed off any chance of the cuttings to take root. March/April or Mid Sept/Mid October are the best seasons. Obviously the type of cuttings would be different according to the season. Using seeds is even trickier as you pointed out. That is why I am looking for cuttings.
 

cutant

Member
Hi Persephone I forgot you're from OZ. That means now you are going through the last month of winter right? I am asking because if you are going to send cuttings it matters a lot what the season and climate temperatures are at your place and mine when you dispatch. Let me know.
 

cutant

Member
I am a bit confused. I would have expected a vine to start putting on new growth around spring and into summer with blooms going through the summer months - such as wisteria.

But you are saying the jade vine starts putting on new growth around april/may which is towards the end of autumn and flowers in july/august which is winter. I would appreciate if you could explain more.

So you take your cuttings around mid-autumn and have them root through the winter months? What seasonal temperatures are we talking about?

I have no problem waiting till april next year. That should be autumn for you. However for me it will be Spring with summer around the corner. That will be extremely hot for the cuttings to survive here. Can you make it early March instead? That way I will have 3 months of moderate weather with no extreme hot temperatures. My only concern is that while in Oz the next season would have been winter for the cuttings, here we would be going into summer!
 
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