tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post2259796358003929486..comments2024-03-27T07:35:21.832-07:00Comments on Plants are the Strangest People: Work-related: Vermiculite (Schefflera propagation)mr_subjunctivehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-3270265082665712272010-09-15T19:28:30.113-07:002010-09-15T19:28:30.113-07:00oddly enough i have had a very easy time with shef...oddly enough i have had a very easy time with shefflera... i am completely inexperienced in cutting plants and am not sure i have ever produced a cutting from another plant. <br /><br />i just stick them in water to my hands liking, and give a "trunk" with multiple "stems" ample time to get comfortable and shoot out roots. if the water gets ratty i dump it and give it new boddahhttp://catcheroftheeye.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-4034088189971241272009-06-24T08:01:52.827-07:002009-06-24T08:01:52.827-07:00Shows what I know - I have always used salicylic a...Shows what I know - I have always used salicylic acid when taking cuttings - I seem to get close to 100% success - but didn't realize that it wasn't necessary.<br /><br />Thank you for the eye-opener - off I go to purchase vermiculite!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-60076496055047107442009-06-23T10:03:48.457-07:002009-06-23T10:03:48.457-07:00I don't understand the question. We cut a piec...I don't understand the question. We cut a piece of the plant off, stuck the lower end in vermiculite, kept the vermiculite moist, and when roots had formed, we potted it in soil.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-3813660102525823912009-06-23T09:45:35.421-07:002009-06-23T09:45:35.421-07:00Great blog - thank you for all the useful info!
D...Great blog - thank you for all the useful info!<br /><br />Do you use a rooting medium when you are taking the cuttings?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-22150880724535285902009-03-05T03:38:00.000-08:002009-03-05T03:38:00.000-08:00Last I knew, they were both bad. I think I read so...Last I knew, they were both bad. I think I read something a while ago saying that Massachusetts had set up guidelines for length of exposure to the dust, or what they considered a maximum safe level of dust in air, or something like that. I don't remember getting any specifics on what that level was, or which of the two was worse.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-26290716904459492512009-03-04T20:05:00.000-08:002009-03-04T20:05:00.000-08:00I stopped using vermiculite a while back because o...I stopped using vermiculite a while back because of concerns about the dust being bad for your lungs - does anyone have any current info about that? And is perlite dust equally dangerous?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-20712368743158531892009-02-26T11:26:00.000-08:002009-02-26T11:26:00.000-08:00LOL!...ok thanks! I thought that's what the case w...LOL!...ok thanks! I thought that's what the case was but wasn't sure verm could be used alone for any purpose.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-43819203931644478152009-02-26T11:15:00.000-08:002009-02-26T11:15:00.000-08:001) More vermiculite, and2) 100%.1) More vermiculite, <BR/><BR/>and<BR/><BR/>2) 100%.mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-22635261455870657132009-02-26T11:03:00.000-08:002009-02-26T11:03:00.000-08:00When you say vermiculite can be used to grow plant...When you say vermiculite can be used to grow plantlets from leaf cuttings of certain plants, what are you mixing vermiculite with? And what percentage of the planting medium is vermiculite?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-68283958094589981522009-02-25T07:40:00.000-08:002009-02-25T07:40:00.000-08:00We don't use perlite because we have a suitable al...We don't use perlite because we have a suitable alternative - lava - that does not require high energy to create.<BR/><BR/>We use very little vermiculite for the same reasons, but there are not good alternatives for the little we do use. But we keep it to a minimum.<BR/><BR/>Another alternative to perlite is pumice, lighter than lava, less energy than perlite.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-47614585025059279752009-02-24T18:29:00.000-08:002009-02-24T18:29:00.000-08:00Thanks for the tips. I can't wait to try this on m...Thanks for the tips. I can't wait to try this on my grandmother's house.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-55736525494660327222009-02-24T16:55:00.000-08:002009-02-24T16:55:00.000-08:00Ivynettle:No offense taken, either. Now Lantana --...Ivynettle:<BR/><BR/>No offense taken, either. <BR/><BR/>Now <I>Lantana</I> -- <I>Lantana</I> we can do. Granted, we've only tried a small batch so far, maybe ten cuttings, but at least all ten rooted. <BR/><BR/>Peter: <BR/><BR/>How is perlite energy-intensive but vermiculite isn't? Aren't they basically the same process?<BR/><BR/>I try not to use peat any more than I have to too, though that's mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-58199904527898779342009-02-24T12:48:00.000-08:002009-02-24T12:48:00.000-08:00Yep, me again :)Just wanted to say, I was really j...Yep, me again :)<BR/>Just wanted to say, I was really just surprised - not sure I got that across.<BR/>(Though I have to admit, I do have a tendency to be unpleasantly smug since managing to have 100% success with Lantana camara, which we haven't managed in the recent years.)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-55385520557872609282009-02-24T10:49:00.000-08:002009-02-24T10:49:00.000-08:00No offense meant :) It just seemed very little to ...No offense meant :) It just seemed very little to me, but then I suppose you might also not have the facilities we have (and, truth be told, there are people at my workplace - journeymen even - who manage to get similar results with geraniums, make of that what you will)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-76305460392110876902009-02-23T17:39:00.000-08:002009-02-23T17:39:00.000-08:00I've been reading your blog for sometime now (I di...I've been reading your blog for sometime now (I discovered it when I was searching for "Amaryllis"). I think I'd better say "Hi".<BR/>I'm from Vietnam. I've been using vermiculite ever since I'm into African violets. I mix the stuff with other things to pot my AVs in.<BR/>Thanks for the new use, Mr S.<BR/>(Oh, I have a blog, too, should you be interested. Check it out here http://Hà Xuânhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11757459921320531368noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-88812501112129615752009-02-23T16:20:00.000-08:002009-02-23T16:20:00.000-08:00We use some vermiculite but mostly just for seed s...We use some vermiculite but mostly just for seed starting. <BR/><BR/>We never use perlite because it's from a very energy-intensive manufacturing process. We prefer to improve drainage with red lava, which is mined locally (roughly speaking) in Northern California.<BR/><BR/>But then we also don't use peat for various environmental reasons. That's what happens when you're in Berkeley.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-58449000830004748212009-02-23T12:11:00.000-08:002009-02-23T12:11:00.000-08:00very cool and the cuttings look so healthy! I'll ...very cool and the cuttings look so healthy! I'll have to try it.The Fern and Mosseryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00292141420061520883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-11242470952223186672009-02-23T11:36:00.000-08:002009-02-23T11:36:00.000-08:00Ivynettle:You have to appreciate that we're really...Ivynettle:<BR/><BR/>You have to appreciate that we're really a retailer, not a grower. We try to start some of our own stuff, and extend what we've got through division and cuttings and what have you sometimes, but the impression I get is that until I started working there, nobody worried much about propagating, and people sort of regard my interest in, and enthusiasm for, propagation as weird. mr_subjunctivehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14113199755474482747noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-838695635500601152009-02-23T10:07:00.000-08:002009-02-23T10:07:00.000-08:00Thanks for the the tip about using vermiculite to ...Thanks for the the tip about using vermiculite to root Schefflera. I tried several times last summer to root cuttings, but they all died.<BR/> <BR/>ElsieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-58901628183855079762009-02-23T08:03:00.000-08:002009-02-23T08:03:00.000-08:00Really? 60% success with geraniums? Provided we're...Really? 60% success with geraniums? Provided we're talking about the same plant, I've found them one of the easiest - I'd be in big trouble at work if I got anything less than 99%.<BR/><BR/>(I've stumbled across your blog recently while searching for the name of one of my Dracaenas, and I'm enjoying your posts a lot. :) )Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-86155229646470840622009-02-23T06:25:00.000-08:002009-02-23T06:25:00.000-08:00I will agree with Ben, never gave vermiculite much...I will agree with Ben, never gave vermiculite much thought, perhaps I too will re-think it. This plants do look great!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13061146166736270529noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2481706068105246695.post-12139884447008368752009-02-23T05:50:00.000-08:002009-02-23T05:50:00.000-08:00This is just great, Mr. S.! Like you, I'd always t...This is just great, Mr. S.! Like you, I'd always thought of vermiculite as a benign moisture-retainer in soil mixes. Now you've inspired me! (But, er, not to try scheffleras. Ugh!) Thanks!!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com