Next step for Crabapple cutting propogation

LCD35

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My second batch of Crabapples cuttings I took on the 11th of May seem to be showing signs of 100% success. I didn't remove enough leaves initially, but the cuttings provided useful suggestions in that regard. I've kept in a clear storage bin, misted every third day or so, and washed out the bin once a week for mold/fungus. After 3 weeks and upon seeing new green growth, I provided a very mild rooting and propogation fert. Last night, I finally saw roots poking out the bottom of the Solo cups on 3 of 15!

My question regards humidity and hardening off. I'm south east of Boise Idaho. High plains desert. Extremely dry. I'm concerned about acclimating the cuttings to the much lower humidity. What is a good strategy for doing so? How long should i consider before moving into standard soil? Current mix for propogation is 50/50 peat and perlite. The Forsythia cuttings I replanted three weeks were pretty bullet proof, but those seem to be overall in general.

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Shibui

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To adjust to lower humidity I would move the lid a bit to allow some air exchange. After a few days make the air gap a bit larger and continue giving more space every couple of days until they are uncovered after a week or 2. You may need to adjust watering as they'll probably dry out faster when exposed to dry air.
There's no hard rule about when to transfer cuttings to potting mix. I usually use community pots for cuttings (about 20 cuttings in a single pot) so as soon as I see roots the whole batch is tipped out, bare rooted and potted into normal potting mix in individual pots. I guess I'm trying to point out that you could transfer these to potting mix now if you want to (but handle carefully as new roots can be very fragile) You could also leave these in the current cups but you'll need to provide regular fert as the propagating mix has no nutrients. They should be quite happy in these cups for as long as you like if you choose not to pot up immediately.
 

LCD35

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To adjust to lower humidity I would move the lid a bit to allow some air exchange. After a few days make the air gap a bit larger and continue giving more space every couple of days until they are uncovered after a week or 2. You may need to adjust watering as they'll probably dry out faster when exposed to dry air.
There's no hard rule about when to transfer cuttings to potting mix. I usually use community pots for cuttings (about 20 cuttings in a single pot) so as soon as I see roots the whole batch is tipped out, bare rooted and potted into normal potting mix in individual pots. I guess I'm trying to point out that you could transfer these to potting mix now if you want to (but handle carefully as new roots can be very fragile) You could also leave these in the current cups but you'll need to provide regular fert as the propagating mix has no nutrients. They should be quite happy in these cups for as long as you like if you choose not to pot up immediately.
Thanks for the feedback. My first batch didn't go so well, but probably because I tried too early. I only had 6 of 15 initially, and since then three are floundering. I have been pleasantly surprised with every single one of the second batch showing growth.

How do you deal with the roots entangling in a community pot? I threw some willow cuttings into a coffee can for grins and they were a nightmare to untangle.
 

Shibui

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That's why I like to separate and pot up relatively early before they get too many roots and get too tangled. If you do have long tangled roots they probably need to be cut back anyway so just cut them apart with shears or pot them up together and grow a clump style tree. The individual trunks should fuse together eventually.
 

LCD35

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So all of my cuttings have moved out into the sunlight and are getting full water and fertilizer. I've noticed I was having a hard time watering since I was bottom watering in the propagation container before. Since I was top watering out on the shelf with the other plants, water wasn't sinking in. I had a pretty thick layer of algae on top impeding watering. I decided to go ahead and repot into Bonsai soil and new cups. I think this is a pretty even spread out base and amazing roots. Because the cutting was jamed to the bottom of the cup, all the roots that grew spread out radially.
 

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LCD35

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For a first season over winter, what is recommended? Unheated garage, or yolo it outside in a winter bed with mulch covering pots? Idaho snow and wind is a concern for all my plants. Mugos are staying outside, but JBP and red pines seedlings are ginning into a cold storage garage.
 

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AlainK

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Never been to Idaho, or the Americas, so no advice to give you, but kudos on you for the cuttings. 👍
 

leatherback

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Well.. what would you do with crapapple bonsai? Do they live in yr climate? I find that they are very hardy. But then.. i only get a few degrees f minus in peak cold. That does not need protection other than wind and sun shelter.
 

LCD35

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Well.. what would you do with crapapple bonsai? Do they live in yr climate? I find that they are very hardy. But then.. i only get a few degrees f minus in peak cold. That does not need protection other than wind and sun shelter.
They are cuttings from trees in my neighborhood. I imagine with a bonsai, or at least something a bit more established, winter bed outside. But where I live, the trees were planted full grown and have in ground drip irrigation. In other words, not naturally occurring. They seem to be thriving, with this extra care.
 

leatherback

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Then just keep them outside, not exposed direct wind on the ground. Assuming your winters are not too brutal it should be fine..?
 

LCD35

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Well, ground squirrels, aka whistle pigs, native to Idaho continue to be the bane of my existence. I live on a military base, so my preferred eradication method of .22lr is a no go. I had a tangle with them last spring. Orkin was called and seemingly controlled them. Apparently they broke ground on a new city adjacent to a local grocery wholesaler: my winter bed. Crabapples seemed to be the special of the day, most everything else was left alone (jbp, juniper, willow, Amur). The funny part was seeing wires twisting through the air where I'd attempted training some of the vigorous growers.

I pulled them out of the flower bed, pruned back to below the chewed trunks, and relocated to the garage. Luckily it seems I have at least two to three inches of each trunk, so I should see so budding down low, you know, since the squirrels offered me advice on building taper.

A couple of interesting things. My bed down plan worked, buried in the flower bed and mulched. Roots were moist, no fungus or rot. Surprising was the amount of roots that'd grown when I was digging down to expose trunk. There surely weren't that many in October, so seeing this activity even in winter after reading about it was interesting. I even had roots escaping the bottom of the pot. Finally, it was warm enough in December, after temps in zeros in October, that forsythia cuttings budded and popped leaves. These were promptly killed.
 

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LCD35

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A wire cage to house your crab apples may be one solution to the whistle-pigs. I do that with certain trees and tender orchids that my local squirrels find irresistable. Looks ugly, but works.
It won't be an issue when winter is over, as they will be on the bench. I thought about doing that, but they burrowed through the mulch quite a bit, so I'm not sure how effective it would be. I'd rather shoot the damn things but cannot.
 

LCD35

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Well, the squirrel pruning was in interesting technique. I don't think I'll pursue it in the future as the timing was off. But at least the nubs they left were strong.
 

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