Arbutus Cuttings Plus 24

The upper picture was taken 24 days ago when these were freshly taken cuttings.  A clear plastic cover has been in place until today.  A south facing basement window has provided indirect sunlight every day that the sun has been visible.  Most of the time my cuttings have had to deal with dark and gloomy rainy days.

The lower picture was taken today after some cosmetic trimming took place.  Soft brown rot had appeared on several of the cuttings.  Where possible the rot was cut away taking some sound green leaf with the rotted area.  I decided that it was time to remove the clear plastic dome.  Lower humidity may stop the rot but a lack of new rot growth would put the leaves at risk of drying out.  My choice has been made.

A cell by cell comparison will show a few cuttings with new growth.  These may have grown roots.  Some cuttings look exactly as they did twenty-four days ago.  Actual inspection of what is going on under the soil would be helpful to me but injurious to the plant.  Some cuttings have completely rotted away.

For now these cuttings will spend the next several weeks inside their south facing basement window.  The next big decision is when and how to prepare any survivors for winter.

Note: We saw the fox at the upper edge of the garden today. I hope the whole family hangs around and catches those furry critters that are eating my bulbs!