How to take cuttings & prepare for shipping

[Ulmdorgr]

How to take/make cuttings. Please also read the responses in this thread, as I have no experience doing this.

Cuttings

1. Make sure your plant is large enough to take a significant cutting (i.e. at the maximum, 50% of the plant's height; an 8" cutting from a 24" plant should be ok). If you're making a cutting to give to someone else, prepare your shipping and packaging materials so that it can be sent off immediately.
2. Make the cut... see responses.
3. Transplant the cutting into a new pot and let it root. Doing so after shipping can be more difficult.

Shipping preparation

Tube method
This is inspired by Shamanic-Extracts.com's "salvia cutting in a tube."

• Take two 20oz plastic bottles and cut off the tops. Figure out how they will be placed together (you will probably need to duct tape them).
• Place "the roots of the cutting..." in "agar media within the tube. This agar media contains all the needed nutrients."
• Seal the tubes together, put it in a small box (so people can't see that it's a plant) and fill the box with foam peanuts.

Upon receiving this plant, do the following (shamanic-extracts instructions):

• Take the cutting from the tube and remove the agar (gel) completely from the roots with somewhat warm water. Also remove the lower leaves.
• Put the cutting with the roots into the soil, and water lightly.
• Put a plastic bag over the container to increase humidity. Tighten the bag with a rubber band and place the plant in a warm (20 ° C) and light place, but not in the sun! To remove the bag once every 3-4 days and spray the plant is the best way to keep it moist. After about one week you will notice new growth.
• After three weeks the plant is growing well. Now you can choose to keep the plant in a moist environment ("humidity tent") or to slowly harden the plant into 'living room' conditions. This can be done by punching 1 or 2 holes in the bag each day. This way you gradually bring down the humidity. When black edges appear on the leaves this is often due to a (too) low humidity. In the beginning the new growth is often thin. By topping the plant a stronger and bushier plant can be obtained.

boolie's method
See images: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] ... 404180039/

[nothim]

....one or two cm below a node, make sure you have that node in the soil, it would be recommended to have two if applied ....

there are many notes on the small greenhouse project--with the cutting.....

http://www.flickr.com/photos/boolie2010 ... 3187663985

[Chewy]

Heres my methods that have proven succesful for me. I always wait tell i can get 5 to 10 cuttings off a plant. If done at this stage of the plant it will act like a renewal on the mother plant shedding a bunch of branches and i usally trim her up to. Salvia needs its big leaves but it also does well with regular trimming. I see a huge explosion in growth after cutting were takin. I cut mine a little shorter at maybe six inches.Remember that plants have presure in the stem that pull water up threw the stem to the leaves. The longer the stem the farther that plant has to try to push water. Anyway keep them short. I cut the leaves off exept for the small growing tips and a set of leaves under that. I get rid of all large leaves. While getting rid of the leaves will slow growth down. It also keeps your cuttings from dehydration. The biggest issue with cuttings are keeping them from drying out. Salvia has a fantastic ability to absorb water from its leaves. So keep it humidity. I have a box i built outta wood and wrapped it in plastic. I bought a cheap vaporizer from walmart for 10 bucks . it works great. Keep the soil moist. You will see the leaves drop and get a little willty. That will happen. give them time, dont mess with them to much. And with any kind of luck you will get baby plants.


Ive rooted in water with a bubbler, ive used rooting gels. i find good old soil works the best. As long as it stay wet and you keep humidity in the chamber it everything the cuttings need. I always try to encourage people to experiment with diferent methods. Grow your plants big and you can try different things.

Most importantly have fun with your plants.

[Ulmdorgr]

Hey guys, we could use more info on how to safely send cuttings. If you have info about how commercial growers do it (probably from memory), let us know! boolie, what are your techniques? I've lost your pictures, sorry =/

[nothim]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] ... 404180039/

these?

[Ulmdorgr]

Ok so how i package my SD cutting steps:

1st the sd was in a small 4inch pot

2nd place wet napkins/tissues around the stem of the sd/covering the sd pot so that no soil show then put tape around it so that the wet napkins wouldn't fall out.

3rd I cut the bottom out of a 2liter soda bottle.

4th I place soda bottle on top of the sd pot making sure i placed the sd leafs carefully inside the bottle.

5th I placed a lot of tape around the soda bottle and sd pot securing that they wouldn't come apart during shipping

6th Placed SD pot in large enough box that it would fit in.

7th I placed newpaper/paper/bubble wrap(what ever you have for cushioning) around the sd pot so that it doesn't roll back and forth in box during shipping.

8th I payed usps(united states post service) for express shipping (1-2 day shipping) and cost $17(US) bucks so yeah pot+box+soil+shipping = totaled around $25 bucks in all.

I thought shipping would be around $10 bucks so that's what i asked for now you know around what price shipping an sd plant cost.

[reboot31]

this is helpful for me..thanks...