Signs your propagation has rooted

[tranip]

Hello All!

I bought a nursery stock azalea in May, who's roots were very rough when unpotted. I decided the next best thing to do would be scrapping the tree for spare parts.

I decided to propagate some cuttings in a mix of 50% perlite, 30% vermiculite, 10% peat and 10% sphagnum moss. I have them in a clear plastic container for humidity, and they get maybe an hour of direct sun and shaded the rest of the day.

The cuttings have been there for 2 weeks now, and I notice they are all pushing out buds out of the hardwood. This seems a little early for a tree to develop roots, any idea if this is a sign they're rooted?

Please feel free to give me any other tips, like when to take them out of the container or when I should think about repotting.

 

[bwaynef]

2nd growth, after the initial push, is usually a good sign things've rooted. Let this growth settle and lets see if you get further extension. (Azaleas are pretty easy to root. They do it on their own w/ low branches.)

 

[pandacular]

One signs is that if you take it out of the pot, and there are roots, then it has rooted.

Okay that's a joke (though technically factual!)

 

[leatherback]

This is a good sign, and this will oush the formation of roots.

I would just allow the lid to be a little open, like on one corner put a constick in the corner. In 2 weeks if they keep going, lift the next corner. And continue this until end of july you have free circulation into the box. If they wilt, close back

 

[tranip]

2nd growth, after the initial push, is usually a good sign things've rooted. Let this growth settle and lets see if you get further extension. (Azaleas are pretty easy to root. They do it on their own w/ low branches.)

ok great I'll wait for that second push, hopefully they're feeling energetic!

This is a good sign, and this will oush the formation of roots.

I would just allow the lid to be a little open, like on one corner put a constick in the corner. In 2 weeks if they keep going, lift the next corner. And continue this until end of july you have free circulation into the box. If they wilt, close back

super helpful thank you! I have it popped open a little already, but will definitely grade their exposure.

 

[Deep Sea Diver]

All good helpful hints above.

If there are no roots and it’s an azalea hard wood cutting, these usually take the longest to root. Buds will push quite a bit ahead of the roots, as energy stores inside the stems are fueling both these and nascent roots. It’s gonna be a race to see if the resources last long enough to create functional roots. However the profusion of buds is a good first sign.

Would encourage you to screen the container to cut down the incoming solar radiation (…and crack the container as @leatherback recommended to avoid damping off.) as once the leaves are fully functional the resources draw increases by a whole lot.

Finally plan leaving these in the pots through the winter. At some point once the cuttings are productive and stable…maybe next year… you may want to prune the stems down by 3/4 or so. As is they aren’t the best for future work.

Cheers
DSD sends

 

[Shibui]

As above. New buds are just a sign that the cuttings are not dead. It does not mean roots - yet.
Usually I tell people growing cuttings to wait for roots to show at the bottom of the pot but these are azalea which do not usually grow long roots so NOT good advice for azalea cuttings.
Wait for a couple of months of growth then place fingers either side of the trunk to cover the soil. Gently invert the whole pot and let the soil ball slide out of the pot. Usually it will stay (mostly) together. Check for roots around the edges of the soil. If no roots ease the whole mass back into the pot (or if it has fallen apart, check the trunk for roots then repot). If you see roots it is ready to pot up -and many of the others will probably also be ready.
These appear to be bigger cuttings than I would normally use for azaleas so they may take even longer to root.