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!

Arbutus Cuttings

What follows are notes intended in part for myself that will record what actions were taken.  If successful, I would like to be able to do it again.  If unsuccessful, then perhaps the cause of the problem can be determined.  Arbutus cuttings were taken the day after thunderstorms.  Maximum moisture in the plant cells should be the case following heavy rain.  Cuttings that take found moisture.  What better way to start than with a full tank?  Except for the four dark green specimens at the right, new growth supplied cutting material.  New cells are more likely to change function and I need the cells at the cut site to change to root and crown cells.  The four old cuttings represent mistakes on my part.  That is a comment on my learning curve.

New Arbutus growth springs from the tip of last year's growth and the spent flowers.  A new main stem winds above the ground with leaf stems branching from it.  Sever the main stem at its point of origin.  The first leaf stem was removed with a crescent shaped piece of the main stem attached.  A dip in water was followed by a dusting in rooting hormone.  The cutting was then placed in an opened hole in the rooting medium.  The rooting compound must remain on the newly cut surface.  Placing the stem in a fully opened hole avoids wiping off the compound on the soil.  On this day a second leaf stem was removed with the arc of main stem attached.  The leaf at the tip of the main stem went in with newly cut main stem.

Leaf size decreased as I approached the tip of the main stem.  Tiny leaves were at the end of the main stem.  Since new cells are more likely to change function than old cells, I expect the tiny leaved cuttings to root and form new plants.  Larger older leaves may be less likely to take.  The four old dark green cuttings from last year's growth are expected to die.

The soil used is my own mixture. A commercial seed/cutting mix was my starting point. Discs of tree bark were part of the mix and I screened them out. Litter under a white pine tree and clumps of growing moss with its root mass intact were also forced through the fine screen and added to the commercial mix. Some vermiculite straight from the bag completed the mixture. I do not measure but my best guess is three parts commercial mix, two parts forest floor litter and one part vermiculite would repeat my mix. My mix was placed in a cell tray and the whole mess was moistened. It matured for several days before it received the cuttings.

Clean sharp garden pruners cut the main stems from the donor plants. A hobby knife with a new blade cut the leaf stems from the main stems. A block of soft pine lumber provided a work surface. A small container of water, a small container of rooting hormone and a toothpick for making planting holes completes the list of necessary tools.

A clear plastic dome covers the tray of cuttings.  The tray is near a basement window where it receives a generous dose of indirect light.  Now we wait.  The cuttings will receive a glance every time I exit or enter the basement.  I will try to complete my inspections without lifting the clear cover.  So far so good.

Arbutus Move Plus One

Last week we made public our willingness to fly in the face of conventional wisdom and transplant arbutus, Epigea repens.  Our timing appears to have been perfect.  Daily rain has kept the moved plants moist.  Now is the time that arbutus puts out new growth.  The two pale green leaves at each end of the plant were not present last week.  It certainly looks like these plants intend to adjust to their new home.

The mysterious soil microbe that must be present if arbutus is to survive is reported to grow on or with white pine roots.  Not every arbutus patch that we have seen grows in proximity to white pines but all are intermingled with moss.  We placed our transplants in contact with white pine roots and they brought along their own moss.  If these plants survive we will have no way of knowing what served as the source of the needed microbe.  It could be white pine roots or it could be moss.  Time will tell if the move was successful but for now we are encouraged.

This long picture shows the entire patch.  Last week's post included a similar image.  Purple violets are missing from the new picture but the two light green arbutus leaves were not in the old image.  Present but not visible are numerous brown fuzzy new arbutus leaves.  Each separate plant displays this new growth.  Yes we are excited.

In approximately two weeks we plan to return to the source of these transplants and take new growth cuttings.  We will try and do this right and see if we can start new plants.  We will also look for seeds. More reading needs to be done so that we can recognize ripe seeds.