Aeroponic propagation of JM cuttings

[Sootys trees]

Probably a very well discussed topic amongst most members, especially those interested in propagating in my opinion one of the best species for bonsai and ornamental trees in general…

I just got an xstream aeroponic propagation system and I’m currently trying to root some Sango Kaku and little princess cuttings.

All cuttings where this years, hardened spring growth form very well trees that are pushing nicely, all from the upper parts of the tree with most auxins.

I used clonex at the base of the cutting and tried to include at least 1 node at the base, many had 2 nodes or where at a junction where two branches stemmed out.

I was reluctant to remove a large amount of leaves, I left most including the top shoots as well, only removing the lowest leaves so they wasn’t sitting in any water from daily misting or blocking light from any other cuttings…

I’m using one 18 inch sun blaster led light that is sitting in the groves of the lid on the propagator.

The reservoir is filled with tap water and a few tiny drips of bleach to help with any mold or parasites…

I’m running the pump and the light 24/7 and have been since the beginning (48 hours or so)

The temperature of the water is room temperature which is continuously 20 degrees C…

I mist when the leaves don’t have any moisture on them, but other than that it’s just a waiting game…

Being new to propagating I have lots of questions !

Obviously; when do you think I’ll see callous or roots ?

- does my set up or technique sound ok ?
- what’s the best additive I can mix into the reservoir water for faster root development ?

That’s it really, ill put some more pictures, but would also love to here any feedback if anyone is interested or knows any tips etc ?

Thanks

Also, I’m full aware the clonex has most likely been washed away, but I believe it obviously in the water reservoir and I did allow some time for the cuttings to soak in it.
So I guess it’s a waiting game and see if these things root…

Sango kaku and little princess are certainly species that can root from my research and they do make very nice looking bonsai or even garden trees, dreaming here obviously lol

Joe

 

[Daniel son STL]

Interesting technique.
I’ve rooted many types of trees with ease, jm’s seem to be the most difficult, for me anyway. 3 or 4 failed attempts lol. I’ve got 4 different varieties of jm cuttings going right now. I’m about 3-4 weeks in and so far they’re looking really good so I have high hopes for this batch.

Good luck and keep us updated. Hopefully you get it your first attempt

 

[Sootys trees]

Interesting technique.
I’ve rooted many types of trees with ease, jm’s seem to be the most difficult, for me anyway. 3 or 4 failed attempts lol. I’ve got 4 different varieties of jm cuttings going right now. I’m about 3-4 weeks in and so far they’re looking really good so I have high hopes for this batch.

Good luck and keep us updated. Hopefully you get it your first attempt

Thank you, it’s mainly composed of everything I’ve read on this site, along with endless google searches.

Yes JM’s seem very ‘hit and miss’, I suppose the failures will only make you better at it
which technique are you using ? Hopefully you get some roots too ! lol

Thanks again and likewise, I will definitely keep this updated with any notable changes if any happen

 

[Sootys trees]

After 7 days the kaku cuttings are hardening off and the bases have callused significantly. There are dozens of bumps on the stems and small roots are starting to push through.
I’ve started to turn off the pump for 10-15 minutes once or twice a day to force the plants to reach for more moisture and dry the stems a little.
I’m happy these are progressing the best they can.

As soon as this batch is ready I’ll be trying a few more, maybe shishi, definitely some more little princess and also standard acer palmatum Japanese maple.

 

[Daniel son STL]

Thank you, it’s mainly composed of everything I’ve read on this site, along with endless google searches.

Yes JM’s seem very ‘hit and miss’, I suppose the failures will only make you better at it
which technique are you using ? Hopefully you get some roots too ! lol

Thanks again and likewise, I will definitely keep this updated with any notable changes if any happen

I think the right time of season has plenty to do with it as well. Towards the end of spring, little to no cold weather I believe is what’s helping me.

I’m just doing a standard green house to help keep humidity. Mostly shade with little sun

 

[Sootys trees]

I think the right time of season has plenty to do with it as well. Towards the end of spring, little to no cold weather I believe is what’s helping me.

I’m just doing a standard green house to help keep humidity. Mostly shade with little sun
View attachment 549725

Definitely agree with that, i tried some cuttings in early spring and they all perished, i think the stems are too fleshy to handle propagation.
That said it’s my first year trying this, but the warmer weather has helped a lot with the cuttings I have in my shed also.
I’ve read a lot of research stating warmth for the roots especially is important for rooting the cuttings a lot faster… cold damp soil i suspect will only rot the cuttings before they have a chance to root.

I had a snapped shoot on my sango and decided to not waste it and put it in a bottle with perlite and stuck it beside the propagation tank, I’m hoping the heat and artificial light will help it get some roots, it’s basically a terrarium.

 

[Sootys trees]

I think the right time of season has plenty to do with it as well. Towards the end of spring, little to no cold weather I believe is what’s helping me.

I’m just doing a standard green house to help keep humidity. Mostly shade with little sun
View attachment 549725

Please keep me updated if you have any success or progress.
What cultivar are yours ? Are you in the uk climate ?

 

[RoadManDenDron]

This is not my technique and if you're in the UK I highly recommend catching the talk by Mark Morland of the UKBA on propagation


The bottle is cut and holes are made in the lid and part of the bottle near the lid, this is now your pot.

Use whatever substrate you prefer. Perlite/vermiculite or both mixed with some organic,
Bonsai soil, just organic, grit, whatever you use.


Place the new pot in the bottom half and water.


Place in a propagator dome, I didn't have one tall enough so have been using a makeshift one

I have seen this method prove successful on large cuttings, which mark creates shohin and mame trees from very quickly!

My cuttings pictured are all pretty small so I used smaller bottles like yours, marks originals are in 2L soft drinks bottles!

The beauty is that the 2 parts of bottle form such a tight seal, especially when packed with substrate, that the only way for the water to evaporate is back into the root zone, these maintain high humidity.

Edit: sorry to hijack a very interesting thread with another method, I am very interested in aeroponic propagation and plan to make one myself, but wanted to provide another way to bottle propagate and hopefully promote marks talk!

 

[Sootys trees]

This is not my technique and if you're in the UK I highly recommend catching the talk by Mark Morland of the UKBA on propagation

View attachment 550102View attachment 550101
The bottle is cut and holes are made in the lid and part of the bottle near the lid, this is now your pot.

Use whatever substrate you prefer. Perlite/vermiculite or both mixed with some organic,
Bonsai soil, just organic, grit, whatever you use.

View attachment 550103
Place the new pot in the bottom half and water.

View attachment 550104
Place in a propagator dome, I didn't have one tall enough so have been using a makeshift one

I have seen this method prove successful on large cuttings, which mark creates shohin and mame trees from very quickly!

My cuttings pictured are all pretty small so I used smaller bottles like yours, marks originals are in 2L soft drinks bottles!

The beauty is that the 2 parts of bottle form such a tight seal, especially when packed with substrate, that the only way for the water to evaporate is back into the root zone, these maintain high humidity.

Edit: sorry to hijack a very interesting thread with another method, I am very interested in aeroponic propagation and plan to make one myself, but wanted to provide another way to bottle propagate and hopefully promote marks talk!

Hi, I will look this up and have a read thank you,

I really like the idea of how there is constant humidity and moisture available to the roots without the need to water, and how you can actually see the roots develop (if they do) without disturbing the cuttings. It seems very low maintenance regarding on going care once it’s all set up so I’ll give this one a go too when I finish some drinks bottles

Oh that’s no problem, not a hijack at all, I appreciate any additional information and technical advice, and the photos of success’s are always nice to look at.

 

[penumbra]

You have inspired me to give it a go. I have all the equipment I need and and 50 or more cultivars to choose from. I believe my failures in the past were at least partially because of timing.

 

[MaxChavez]

I have been experimenting the past month as well. I have a Turbo clone system. No stunning successes so far. Starting a new batch/"recipe" this week, so we'll see how that goes.

 

[Sootys trees]

You have inspired me to give it a go. I have all the equipment I need and and 50 or more cultivars to choose from. I believe my failures in the past were at least partially because of timing.

I have been experimenting the past month as well. I have a Turbo clone system. No stunning successes so far. Starting a new batch/"recipe" this week, so we'll see how that goes.

Good luck guys, would love to see the results and progress if possible
I’ll put some pics of progress later today, some really good callus and bumps are showing on most of the stems, it’s about day 10-11 days now

 

[Sootys trees]

Chiyo-hime and Sango kaku stems

 

[MaxChavez]

Chiyo-hime and Sango kaku stems

Would you mind sharing what's in your resevoir and your spray timing?

 

[Hack Yeah!]

@Sootys trees please add your location or zone to your profile. Looks like you've got a good start. I've been playing with maple cuttings the last few years. Intermittent misting seems to have greatly improved my results. I took these about 1 month ago, dipped in clonex planted in vermiculite. Misting for 5 minutes every 6 hrs. That will be reduced soon. I don't really see any dead plants yet so fingers crossed. Cheap hose timer and a piece of plastic for makeshift greenhouse and voilà!

 

[Sootys trees]

Would you mind sharing what's in your resevoir and your spray timing?

I just have tap water in the reservoir which isn’t ideal as my region has notably hard water but it doesn’t seem to be hurting the process, next time maybe rain or bottled water would be better.

I used clonex rooting hormone gel on the base of the cuttings and also added some to the reservoir,
I’d like to try ‘clonex pro start’ too that looks good and maybe super thrive but I’ve heard the liquid based nutrients can be really expensive as most of the contents is actually just water
But maybe they are really worth it ? I can’t say I know but I’ll definitely be try something else in the future.

Oh and the spray is on all the time, I do turn it off when misting and checking the cutting though

 

[Sootys trees]

@Sootys trees please add your location or zone to your profile. Looks like you've got a good start. I've been playing with maple cuttings the last few years. Intermittent misting seems to have greatly improved my results. I took these about 1 month ago, dipped in clonex planted in vermiculite. Misting for 5 minutes every 6 hrs. That will be reduced soon. I don't really see any dead plants yet so fingers crossed. Cheap hose timer and a piece of plastic for makeshift greenhouse and voilà!View attachment 550672View attachment 550673

Thankyou and will do , I’m in the south of the United Kingdom, zone 9
My propagation unit is in the house which is consistently around 20 or so degrees C this time of year

That’s a great gadget especially for outdoors, misting is definitely needed especially where any water can escape or the leaves are in less than 100% humidity.

What is the temperature where you are this time of year ? Have you had any success with this method ?

 

[Hack Yeah!]

Yes, success with a smaller set up last year, our summer's are consistently in the 30s C, 90s F

 

[MaxChavez]

I just have tap water in the reservoir which isn’t ideal as my region has notably hard water but it doesn’t seem to be hurting the process, next time maybe rain or bottled water would be better.

I used clonex rooting hormone gel on the base of the cuttings and also added some to the reservoir,
I’d like to try ‘clonex pro start’ too that looks good and maybe super thrive but I’ve heard the liquid based nutrients can be really expensive as most of the contents is actually just water
But maybe they are really worth it ? I can’t say I know but I’ll definitely be try something else in the future.

Oh and the spray is on all the time, I do turn it off when misting and checking the cutting though

Thanks for sharing. I'll be interested to see how things develop.

Here's what I'm attempting:

Test 3
Using tap water, ph adjusted to 6 after all the additives.
Dip cuttings 5 minutes in dip n grow Rooting hormone

In the resevoir, per gallon:
1ml dip n grow concentrate
8ml Hydrogen peroxide
5ml clonex cloning liquid
2.5ml humic/fulvic acid

If there's callusing/root tips after 1 week,
I'll add:
5ml clonex
2.5ml humic acid
1ml kelp

1 18in led plant light on 24/7
Water temp 65deg F ish
Spray 30min on 1hr off.

We'll see how it goes. I've reduced the additives, thinking maybe that's preventing growth? I also had the timer on 30/30 last time. Lots of people seem to run Timers 1 min on/5 off or 5/30off. But, the cost and programing for a short interval timer is way more, so, trying to cheat a little bit.

 

[MaxChavez]

Thanks for sharing. I'll be interested to see how things develop.

Here's what I'm attempting:

Test 3
Using tap water, ph adjusted to 6 after all the additives.
Dip cuttings 5 minutes in dip n grow Rooting hormone

In the resevoir, per gallon:
1ml dip n grow concentrate
8ml Hydrogen peroxide
5ml clonex cloning liquid
2.5ml humic/fulvic acid

If there's callusing/root tips after 1 week,
I'll add:
5ml clonex
2.5ml humic acid
1ml kelp

1 18in led plant light on 24/7
Water temp 65deg F ish
Spray 30min on 1hr off.

We'll see how it goes. I've reduced the additives, thinking maybe that's preventing growth? I also had the timer on 30/30 last time. Lots of people seem to run Timers 1 min on/5 off or 5/30off. But, the cost and programing for a short interval timer is way more, so, trying to cheat a little bit.

Here's a pic of Acer Rubrum after 20 days. I think things are happening, but I'd like to get it to speed up a bit. I also put in a traditionally rooted hinoki cutting, just to monitor growth. As @cmeg1 pointed out a while ago, I think there's also some potential for mini air-layers to establish a very even radial root spread, or just to move the roots "up" a few inches on a seedling.
For the new cuttings that I add, I'll probably test more pencil thick cuttings as maybe they have more stored energy/water. @cmeg1 also advised taking cuttings from very well hydrated mother plants at the end of the day.
it's all just theory and testing at the moment.
Cheers!