rooting cuttings in fish tank jolly tiger

[cdeguida4]

Thought I would share this, just recently aquired some JT cuttings. Started the initials using the bag method then potted up in coco coir. Had a small fish tank with LED lights so figured why not. Put a reptile humidty temp gauge in there and wala, in just a few short weeks I have roots, and the one looks about ready to leaf out.

first time rooting cuttings coco coir, I've had many successful air layers using the stuff but never done on cuttings alone. Can anyone recommend how often to water and if I should be adding anything to it since I know coir has no nutrients ?

[COGardener]

Nice little set up, congrats.

Many people use a diluted fertalizer and only keep the coir moist.

[cdeguida4]

Thanks Scott. I have a large aquarium setup that I want to do in the winter, but was so anxious for these JT's it couldnt wait. Any type of recommendation on fertilizers I some people using aquaponic stuff often?

[jmaler]

I used coir on and off for years growing tomato plants. I found it had to be amended with gypsum (calcium) and epsom salt (magnesium sulfate) to prevent plants from yellowing.

Using coir can be tricky. It can be bone dry white on the surface and soggy wet at the bottom of a grow container where roots can easily root, so good drainage is essential. When preparing coir squeeze out as much water as possible. I generally soak over night in a 5 gal bucket, then dump the coir onto a window screen to drain, then squeeze out water. You want a fluffy damp product.

I rotted the most fig cuttings using coir because my mind set had not changed from that of using perlite and potting soil mix. The cutting that rooted in coir did extremely well once they got past that critical stage of white roots only and started making brown roots.

"The pH of coir is also a huge benefit—while peat moss is considered acidic with a pH of 3.3 to 4, coir is closer to an ideal, neutral pH between 5.2 and 6.8. This means coco coir is ready to use for most plants without adding lime. Nutritionally, coco is also an excellent choice. Depending on the source, it is rich in potassium, iron, manganese, copper and zinc. If you are growing hydroponically, this needs to be taken into consideration so you can provide the correct balance of nutrients. Coir has a high cation exchange rate that allows it to store nutrients and release them as needed. On the flip side, coir tends to hold on to calcium and magnesium, so you may need to adjust your nutrient mix accordingly. Coir promotes the growth of beneficial bacteria because of compounds called lignins. Not only will beneficial bacteria thrive when lignins are present, helping to minimize harmful bacteria, but if you add beneficial microbes to your hydroponic system, they will be optimized. This means better growth, higher yields and less disease."

This extract from: http://maximumyield.com/crazy-for-coco-coir/

[cdeguida4]

Thank you for the input Jerry. Good stuff

[cdeguida4]

Here is an update, the one on the right is solid. The one on the left was starting to look good then sudenly a little droop. Not sure if it's the temp changes.

[cdeguida4]

ok so today I notice the leaf on the one on the left is shriveling up. but the the bud still looks very much alive, and is showing decent roots, not as much as the one the right. any advice please?

[COGardener]

Avoid temptation to mess with it! They sometimes just do that. Just let it be.

[cdeguida4]

lol kinda what I'm thinking I had a bigger cup ready with a mix of coir, and perlite in a bigger cup ready to try transplanting at 11pm yesterday but I backed off.

[COGardener]

Just make sure it has water but not to much. I noticed last year that if I had the top off to long and let the humidity drop, some of them would lose and leaf or two and others would not. They usually send another leaf out in a few days.

[cdeguida4]

Thanks Scott!

[cdeguida4]

so the one on the left died I pulled the cutting out and sure enough had rot, I only watered once. I took action and snipped off the bottom and re-potted with a 50/50 mix of coir and perlite. hopefully I make something out of nothing but not likely since it looks like the bud completely died. so who knows.

now I'm down to one... I think haha. now the healthy one on the right, started to show that 1 of 3 leaves started to dry out at the top, and was a lighter color, me thinking it was a variegated leaf, I didnt start worry until it dropped off. now I have to leaves, so worried about rot I have barely watered at all, so i checked the medium by pinching a little off the top and sure enough no moisture, so I gave it very very light watering. but now I'm starting to spaz that my long time hunted down JT will die to, not seeing a whole lot of new roots lately so I'm getting nervous.

just thinking more and more I think to myself now that I wish I used a larger cup, and did the 50/50 perlite coir mix instead of straight coir. does any recommend possibly floating out the mix and re-potting in a cup with the 50/50 or this sound to tricky?

should I be adding any type of nutrient to it at this stage? does it need more oxygen? does it need more heat from the bottom to help root out more?