taking cuttings.. my method.....

[Riz]

Salaam.

This is my technique for taking cuttings of a chili plant, i like to keep things simple as possible, so please chime in at anytime if you have any questions....


ok this is the chili speciman, i will be taking cuttings off.. i started this plant from a seed in may 2007, so its a season old anyway....

pic:1 plant
pic:2 taking the cuttings

[Riz]

remove all fan leaves ( the big ones) what you are looking for is the "shooting tips that are growing from the stalks always cut above that and not below making sure you give the little cutting all you can so it will survive.... just leave the odd fan leaf on the cutting if there is one, but really you are looking for growth on the stalk........

pic: 1 cuttings

pic:2 leave submerged in a bowl of water for 24 hours so the water travels up the stalk giving it a good watering all by itself..

[Riz]

I use these "peat pellets".. leave them submerged in a bowl of water for 3 to 5 minutes and they expand, they only cost 10 pence each and are great little things

[Riz]

dip the stalk into some rooting powder ( shake the excess off) and insert into peat pellet... and with you fingers just squeeze the top of the peat pellet so its secure and holds the cuttings upright.... the peat pellet have a little organic netting aorund it so the soil does not pour out, after a while the roots will grow through the pellets and then you will ready to pot on when all have "rooted" you will be able to tell if it has rooted by inspecting the peat pellet you will see small white roots growing outwards or in a small ball shape, this will be after 3 weeks inshallah....

[Riz]

Ok..

so i have around 12 cuttings i did today... i am using an old egg box to hold the peat pellets in firmly...

[Riz]

so i have my cuttings i need to get them under some light or they just wont root...

i will be using a plastic cover to put over the cuttings and ill put the whole container under some 35watts indoor tube light, its soft light and not harsh so it will be perfect....

always check every other day to see if the peat pellets have not dried out if they have just mist them with water using a spray bottle, check every other day.. and inshallah in around 3 weeks you will have all the cuttings you need ready to go out in the garden re-potted in mid to early may and left outside in the garden.......

good luck.....

[Sakeena]

"peat pellets" are compressed compost right?

[Riz]

yeah...

the netting around it ,that holds the peat in is biodegradable as well

[Sakeena]

out of the 24 cuttings how many do you expect to root?

[Riz]

out of the 24 cuttings how many do you expect to root?

inshallah i will be happy if 70% of them rooted....

[Riz]

its important to keep the temps constant, around 25c is perfect ( ideal conditions)..

[Riz]

so just 3 weeks later, and i have rooted all my cuttings.... :)

[~Obsidian~]

Where do you get this rooting powder and pellets from? Which shop/area I mean :o

[Riz]

Where do you get this rooting powder and pellets from? Which shop/area I mean :o

the rooting powder can be bought at B&Q for under £3.00 and the pellets are around 10 to 15 pence each,

[Psypomp]

Do you have to use rooting powder for the cuttings, or is it optional?

[Riz]

YES its optional,
gardners were taking cuttings well before rooting gel/powder was around.. The rooting stuff has a complete nutrient profile and trace elements to nourish new plants and roots. So it does help out a little, but i have rooted cuttings before i had the rooting powder.. But many gardners swear by it and use it all the time , you get better success rates with it....

[~Obsidian~]

I've never taken a cutting before, closest to it is attempting to root the cuttings from somebody's aloe vera plant. Would love to try one day insha Allah!

[ze leetle elper]

It is possible to grow stuff without rooting powder, my mum sticks bits of stems and plant in the ground all the time and they flourish lol...then again I always tell her she has greenfingers mashaallah...if I did the same I doubt it would survive! :GreenThumbs:

[Ayyubaddeen]

I have some growing that I started from seed in the spring, can I take cuttings from it?

[Riz]

^ how big is the plant ? ... show us a pic and we can tell you !?