Newbie with Hibiscus Propagation Questions

I am trying my hand and my first real propagation from cuttings (I don't really count the Sedum 'Autumn Joy', it was too easy). I "stole" some softwood Hibiscus cuttings from my mother. I treated the cuttings with root hormone and put them in pots this morning. I have a couple questions...

How moist should I keep the soil? I left the pots sitting in a 1/2" of water this morning so I hope they are not too wet when I get home. It is okay to leave them sitting in water or is this a bad idea.

How much light do the cuttings need? If I keep the cutting in a sealed environment, I guess I need to keep them out of direct sun.

- Brent

Brent, I wish I could help you, but I don't know anything about propagating hibiscus. Maybe Kyle or Calla will come along.

Hi Brent,

I propagation Hibiscus and the key is getting the right type of cutting. If the stems are too soft(bend easily) or too old(woody) they don't tend to root very well. Cuttings taken in the summer should be good to root. I've rooted them in a couple different ways depending on the variety. One is to stick the cutting in water and place in a shady area.

When using soil and root hormone keep the soil moist by placing the container in a shallow container with water so the soil will wick up water and keep it constantly moist. Also covering the cutting with plastic to keep humidity high will speed the rooting process. Just don't place covered plants in direct sunlight. A shady spot with no direct sun is needed as not to cook the plants on a hot day.

Good luck!

Ray

Thanks Ray. That sounds pretty close to what I am doing. The leafs are still green, so that seems like a good sign. I checked one yesterday and no signs of roots, but I guess it has only been a week. Gee, is that all. Seems like I have been waiting on them for at least a month. These things need to get going, cause I need some plants to soften the neighbor's 6 foot privacy fence.

If I can get some of these to root, I will have to decide what to do with them over the winter. Northern Virginia is in that "not south, not north" region. Maybe in my garage after leaf drop or in a sheltered location outside.

- Brent

I take my cutting from fresh wood, strip off all but 2-3 leaves, place in a soda bottle full of water and set on a window sill with a northern exposure.Once calloused they sprout roots. From there I put them in soil - with no loss of growth.

Seems to be going good so far. Most of the cuttings have developed some leaves. I have started exposing them to more sunlight.

- Brent