Root bubbler December update

Its amazing what a little added oxygen can do for plants, a few months ago I upgraded my bubbler to use air stones. The same kind you find producing bubbles in aquarium tanks. Originally I had a series of air tubes with holes poked in it. But I found the bubble formation poor, so I decided to upgrade to an actual air stone strip. I added three of them to my plastic bin that holds the water and sponges that hold the plants. And over the last few months in use the roots of the cuttings have grown.

Before I added bubbles I found the root growth would stall and go stagnant. Possibly because not enough oxygen in still water for the plants to uptake. So it would seem by adding bubbles it has "oxygenated" the water to the point the plants are happy.

The cuttings I used were from a plant called Heimia salicifolia. I have one large bush that I take cuttings from. And use those to try to start new plants. I tried last summer to do this but without the bubbles the roots did not get strong enough to be planted. But I think if they keep up in this state I will have strong plants by spring time to plant outside.

I pulled a couple of the plants out of their sponges and checked out the root growth. It looks quite vigorous. I hope I do not need to add any liquid fertilizer to these as its just normal tap water used. But they look okay and as long as they are happy I will keep them growing this way.

The plant I am taking cuttings from is a cool looking shrub you would more likely find out in the desert. But seems the bush does quite well where I live too. Its been alive and well for about six or so years. I did move it once around two years ago to give it more space and it seems quite happy with its new location.

I kind of feel there should be an in between stage for these cuttings. Now roots have formed and seem to be quite strong I want to put them in some kind of soil medium. Maybe I should place a couple of them in some small pots and place them by the window. The new growth on top of the plant has gotten so big its making them lean over and the sponges are having a hard time keeping them up straight. So I may put them in pots, or at least a couple so they are happy.. Hard to tell how happy they are at the moment. But since I see alot of root growth and leaves forming on top I think they are good.

Growing cuttings this way excites me as I now have a whole new way to start plants. Normally for cuttings I do the following, cut a layer of material from where I want the roots to grow from. I normally use a sharp razor for that, sometimes I take a lighter to them but not always.. Helps to keep the cutting equipment from getting some kind of pathogen and spreading it to the plant. After scraping I normally just put them in a mason jar outside with just a little sunlight and hope for the best. Many plants do great this way, but other cuttings just slowly die. And I think its due to the lack of circulating water and bubble formation.

I have a rose stem that I may give a try in the bubbler. It broke off of the main rose bush so I wonder if I can grow a new plant from it.

I laid out the stem to show how long they are, I made sure to take long cuttings so they would reach the water in the bin. I found out on my early cuttings they were too short and most of them died.

The roots are almost as long as the cuttings themselves, thats a great sign! If I put some in pots I will use the cuttings with the longest roots. As they have the best chance of surviving and to start uptaking nutrients from the soil instead of living in water. I find the sponges work great for that but I dont think they want to be constantly wet from the sponge down.