Cuttings do not survive transplanting??

Hi,

i recently taken 24 cuttings from a healthy mother (snow white - nirvana)

all cuttings were taken from mother under water to prevent emolism and i used
"root riot" sponges and clonex gel, placing cuttings under a florescent light in a
propogator with gentle bottom heat.

My first cuttings began to root on day 9 and by day 16 all had rooted and
looked healthy BUT when i potted them on into 4 inch containers with soil and
a little perlite and vermiculite under a 400 watt HPS all growth stopped and by week 4 - 5 i pulled the
root sponges out of the soil and the roots had not spread from the cubes.
Does anyone have any idea why all 24 of my cuttings failed transplanting??
is it because i did not fertilise them when they showed roots??
or maybe i did not wait long enough before i transplanted???

Any help would but much appriciated as i am about to try again very soon and
if my next ones dont survive im totally screwed

Pictures would be a great help if you have any. I dont think fert'n was an issue.

sorry mate i dont have any pics, they looked fine although i must admit i may have transpalnted a little too soon, these were the first cuttings i have manged to root been trying for ages so im gutted they came to a stand still

No pictures and the lack of info on your soil makes it hard to say with any amount of certainty. Sounds as though the soil or medium you are using doesn't like your plant's roots. There are several possibilities with the soil basically being toxic to your plants, ph, nutes in the soil that are to strong, even bad soil if it is store bought.
I would suggest placing some that still have roots into a very bland mix and see if they show signs of recovery. I personally have never heard of such a large failing unless it was soil related.
Best of Luck to you

Thanks mate will have to try again....the only thing i can think off is that i transplanted too soon as soil was i fine i normally use the same stuff to grow from seed

m23mark said:

Thanks mate will have to try again....the only thing i can think off is that i transplanted too soon as soil was i fine i normally use the same stuff to grow from seed

Click to expand...

Too soon may have been a factor.

How wet did you get the soil you xplanted into? This is critical. The interface between the cubes and soil must be solid and tight or there will be a bit of air or space between the two that roots will not cross.

I use rockwool, but same difference. When I transplant, make sure the mix is very wet, almost soggy. Hold the cube down with a couple of fingers and make sure the soil is placed firmly against all sides of the cube. Bury the cube ~1/2" or so deep.

It's a feel thing. I pack it in with my fingertips. I mean, you don't want to jam it down so tight that the roots can't penetrate, but you do want good contact between the soil and the cube.

When I'm done, I water almost like a flush to where everything is totally saturated. I don't know about those cubes, but with rockwook, if the medium is drier than the cube, it will suck the moisture right out of the cube killing the cutting.

When both are saturated like this and allowed to dry out together, they will reach and maintain a balance from then on.

HTH

Wet

I think that could be what was wrong as when i removed the cubes from soil the cubes were dry but soil was moist! Thanks a lot for that info mate will defo try that when pot them on next time.
I was also wondering...the tray that the root cubes came with is white plastic...i would have thought that this is bad for root tips when come out of cube as reflect light from florescent maybe i should use a black tray next time?? Got to love this site!!