stem rot on cuttings

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thinman

thinman

54
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i have been experiencing problems with my cuttings lately. most recently i tried using 50/50 verm/perlite, dip 'n grow, tray and humidity dome. i have been careful with temps and relative humidity levels. i have washed my hands and used clean scissors and new razor blade for making my cuts.

what's going on here is that the cuttings look fine above the medium, but after a couple weeks of no roots showing, i open them up and find that the stem is rotten from the very end working its way up the stem. if the rot gets to the top, of course they tumble over.

i think what i'm seeing and trying to describe could be called "stem rot". because it starts at the very end of the cut, i first thought it might be embolisms, but i always stand the fresh cutting in some water immediately after the cut to prevent an embolism.

some history: have recently battled fungus gnats. i know these are vectors for various plant diseases such as FUSARIUM. i'm wondering if my mother plants are infected with something from the gnats and are passing it on in their cuttings, even after the gnats are history.

does "damping off" disease also effect cuttings? all i could find on damping off had to do with seedlings only.

i have on hand: SM-90, Hydroguard (now Aquashield).....

fungus gnats were finally defeated using GNATROL and DIATOMACEOUS EARTH.

i grow in a peat based soiless mix in black containers, pure blend pro, liquid karma, cal/mag+iron, guanos, etc....

any help would be greatly appreciated here.

thanks for your kind consideration---
thinman
 
S

shdowlkr

129
0
Sounds like your cloning medium is staying to wet or getting to warm. Are the leaves also yellowing and getting brown spots?

I've cloned in 100% vermiculite with good results. And I tried to root in perlite/vermiculite mix, took twice as long or never took.

Have you tried rooting directly into your soilless mix?
 
BOSSMAN88188

BOSSMAN88188

894
48
I agree sounds like too wet.
I keep mine moist for 3 to 5 days then let them dry out.\
Almost to the point of wilting. Then water lightly. repeat.
The drying is what causes roots to grow and look for water.
 
thinman

thinman

54
6
"Are the leaves also yellowing and getting brown spots?" shdowlkr

no. the cuttings look excellent above the medium. in fact, its hard to believe they can look so good up top while the stem is rotting below.

one of the reasons i tried the 50/50 verm/perlite mix was i was told it is nearly impossible for it to be too wet.

temps have not gone over 80 degrees.
 
J

JohnUFC

37
0
It seems like a heat and air circ problem. Are you opening the vents on the domes at all throughout the cloning process? The only time I have come across stem rot on my clones. Is when they are too moist, the stem was broken upon entry of the medium and didnt know.
 
G

greenenergy

12
1
you need cooler temps and scrap the dome, use sterile practices
 
mr_rodzilla

mr_rodzilla

134
43
I was having similar problems a few months ago ------- I started planting directly into my soil and placing those cuts under the dome ------ worked wonders for me. Hope that helps --- on my very first attempt at this method I had 20 out of 23 survive!
 

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