How to root a pelargonium cutting

Trying to root cuttings of a scented pelargonium, tried everything- rooting in potting mix, in perlite, on the heat mat, off the heat mat, with a humidity dome, no humidity dome. These are supposed to be easy to root --not! It's P. tomentosum. Thanks for any advice.

Try
http://toptropicals.com/cgi-bin/garden_catalog/cat.cgi
but you will have to look for the plant .

bbinnj

Send a dmail to spider_07; pelargonium are her specialty.

Thanks, toptropicqals had nice pics but no info, will ask spider_07.

My 'Chocolate Peppermint' pel actually is one of my easiest to root because it will root in nothing more complicated than a glass of water! Changing the water daily will increase your chances of success, and not every cutting will strike roots, but with an easy method like this I'll settle for 50%.

'Peppermint Rose' and sometimes 'Attar of Roses' will also root in a glass of water for me. I want to set up a bubbler this winter and try rooting pel cuttings in it.

Alternately, I've followed DeBaggio's suggestions, which I've typed out somewhere... aha, here's the thread, http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/597232/

HTH!

No method worked for the P. tomentosum, I tried them all. I'm going to wait until spring to try again. I have given up for now.
PS-- What does HTH stand for?

HTH stands for Hope this helps.

I'm going to try rooting some cuttings, too. I've got three big rose scented pels, so I've got lots of cuttings I can take. Perhaps I'll try some in water and some in a soilless medium. For the latter, I plan to cure the cuttings for up to a day in a sealed plastic bag to allow the cut end to scar over. I think I read that can help with pels.

I'll let you know how it goes, and good luck with your attempts.

w

I tried and tried all summer long and only got a few to take. The ones that did the best were in a mixture of 1/3 peat moss and 2/3 perlite. Since, I've obtained Ken Druse's book Making More Plants. He says to use all perlite as the peat moss can cause rot. Or a mixture of perlite and sand. He does say to let the cutting scab over for a few hours and to baggie the top of the cutting to prevent moisture loss. I think the last ones I did, that are rooting right now, I let cure for 24 hours. I'll try to find a few minutes to reread and see if there is any other advice. I really haven't had a chance to get indepth with the book yet.

The only other thing I did that seemd to help, was frequent misting. I think one of the biggest challenges is keeping the growing medium at the right moisture level. I am using a method I learned here at DG which involves using a 10" bulb pot with a 3" unglazed clay pot sunk in the middle that you keep full of water. This method prevents overwatering. Water is drawn into the growing medium as you need it. I used florist clay to plug the drain hole in the 3" pot. I'm thinking once I stop using peat moss, I'll have better luck. Unfortunately, I did the last cuttings before I got the book.

BTW, I tried the bubbler method several times and failed miserably. I guess I'll give it another try next year, but I'm pretty discouraged. I've also had a little success using a rooting gel, but not enough to really encourage others to try it.

I've had success using Tom's method (in the link above) of sticking cuttings in moist potting medium (I use Pro Mix and add some of those polymer moisture crystals) and then tenting with a plastic bag to keep in humidity. A couple of varieties ('Nutmeg' and 'Lime') seemed to do less well for me, with fewer than half of the cuttings striking roots. I never did get even one cutting of 'Coconut' to root, but other varieties had roots on 4 out of 5 cuttings.

I like your clay pot reservoir method for even watering! I've had pretty good luck just bottom watering my cuttings... I think the moisture crystals help, and with the plastic bag you only need to water every few weeks to keep the potting mix from drying out.

I tried Druse's method, no luck. I tried Baggio's method, no luck. Tried peat moos- sand, no luck. Tried peat moss-sand-perlite, no luck. Tried perlite, no luck. Made a humidity dome out of a cut-off soda bottle, no luck. wonder if the plant is just not doing it this time of year, will try again in spring.

Pelargonium tomentosum is one I regular root from cuttings.
I take a cutting, remove the lower leaves and then I gently scrape (with my thumbnail ) away some of the cambium, but only up the stem as far as I will place it into soil. I dip it into rootone and then place it into regular potting soil. Then I keep the pot moist, not dripping wet.
I will try to root several cuttings per pot, but they don't always all take for me. But I usually wind up with some young plants this way.
I have rooted them in the winter this way but I do have more success starting them up in early Spring.
Having said that, I just took a cutting yesterday....

To bbinnj: To root ANY geraniums you MUST first allow the base of the cutting to form a callus(dry off) for up to a half day.You don't need a humidity tent or rooting hormones,just a nice clean,sterile plant soil.

OK, I did everything everyone suggested here and in the books (I have them both) and nothing rooted. I'm going to wait until spring, it may have to do with the lower light levels on it, and it's looking a bit etiolated to boot. Now, mind you, I successfully rooted a dwarf plumeria between mid-September and last week, and that's a tricky plant to root during the autumn.

I'm surprised no one has mentioned it here, but sometimes you have better luck when you let the Pelargonium cuttings "cure" by leaving them out for 24 hours. Snip the cutting, and leave it in a cool shady place, (or on a table in the basement!) and then the next day put it in water or soil. I prefer the soil method: using a plastic pot, soak the soil, stick in the cutting (pinch off leaves & cover the node!) & add a loose baggie for humidity retention. Then walk away from it for 4 or 5 days. If they look ok after that period, take off the baggie and soak the soil and walk away again. Keep the light levels bright but indirect, and keep them warm-ish. The watering is tricky, as geraniums are suseptible to "black stem" rot (remember that they prefer dry soil conditions once rooted). If they stay alive for another 2 weeks or so, move to better light and keep an eye out for new growth. I once snipped back a Vancouver geranium, pitched the snips under some tall grass, and found that they rooted about 2 weeks later, from just lying on the ground! So I think calculated neglect is key-

But don't give up! You too can have too many cuttings cluttering up your house!

Ned, I did let some cure first, no luck. I'm going to wait for spring. I think my pel became etiolated in the early fall when I don't have bright sun coming into my house. Now I have great southern sun for the pel but only for 10 hours a day. When the pel starts to grow actively again, I think I'll have better luck with the cuttings.

Fair enough. Good luck in the spring/TTYL

I have rooted cuttings fresh from cutting and calloused, even when flowering! It is a whole heck of a lot easier to do in summer in my greenhouse, where it stays nice and humid and hot all summer. I have some inside now, next to a grow light, but not on heat, and they're rooting, but much more slowly.