Rapid Rooter

[twovkay]

Okay, this was my first winter with cuttings. And as a result, I tried alot of different methods. The shoebox, coco coir, straight water, cloner and lastly Rapid Rooter. Anyone else using this method? And if so, any advice for a newbie?

So far I've gotten a few of the cuttings to root and they are in a cup with a little bit of the rapid rooter exposed at the top. I've been misting the RR twice/three times daily and now some of them have roots to the side of the cup (24 oz). What do I do now? Treat it like any other cutting and stop misting the RR?

Thanks for any advice.

[Otmani007]

Never used it. I just stick my cuttings in potting soil mixed with perlite and I've had about 80% success.

[greenfig]

My RR results last year were horrible to say the least. Too much hassle and at the end many rotted because the plug was too wet.
I just do moist paper towel - coco - pots with airy mix. Have not lost a single cutting and the pots are outside.

[kubota1]

I use them for all of my cuttings. As soon as I see a root poking outside of the cube. I go directly into a clear cup w/ perlite and Pro-mix. Mostly perlite.

[twovkay]

Art, do you completely cover the RR when planting them? And then water only when necessary?

[kubota1]

Von, yes I do bury it completely. It depends on the size of the cutting. If it's a longer cutting I put it towards the bottom of the cup. Also I put about an inch of perlite at the bottom of the cup for drainage. When I water I spray the sides of the cup. The cube tends to suck up all the water if watered directly on top of the cube. Just don't over water. You shouldn't have to water as long as you see some condensation on the sides of the cup.

[Rafaelissimmo]

Can you put a humidity dome on the rooter? It should have one. In my recollection the cuttings went right into 1-gal pots when the roots encircled the plug.

[kubota1]

I have a tray like Von has and it's inside of a large plastic storage tub. I don't go directly into a 1 gal pot. But I've read where others have. I wait until my cups are full of roots before I go into a pot.

[twovkay]

Art, thanks for the info. I have another batch going and will try your up potting method.

Rafael, the cuttings are under a dome, but I took it off to get a better picture. And the idea is to put it directly into a pot, but I like to see my roots growing, so all are going into a 24-32oz cup, until spring, whenever that comes.

[Rafaelissimmo]

Von I failed at first but the second time I tried, in late spring, I got all 3 cuttings to root nicely until the roots ran around the outside of the plug, and then after about a week in a 1-gal under grow lights, they were ready for transition into outdoors. Overall, not a bad method.