Serissa cuttings

will0911

Shohin
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So i had gotten a random voicemail from this older
gentleman who had saw my ad on craiglist and
had given me a call. he had some frost
damaged JMs of various varieties that he said
i could have. well, when i got to his nursery he also
had a serissa bush/shrub and asked if i wanted
some cuttings. I of course said yes. he said they
were fairly easy to root so i took a good two
handfuls of cuttings with me along with some
JM seeds.

when i got home i stuck some of the cuttings in a
organic soil, some in bonsai type soil, and some in
just plain water. i also gave some a rooting hormone
and some in the water i added a little root stimulator.
so my question is did i do anything right/wrong and
how long do serissa take to root on average?

any info would help. most are outside right now except
one that is a glass of water i have inside with several
cuttings just to see if they do better in my bathroom
which has a skylight and stays fairly moist due to the
ridiculously hot showers my wife takes every morning.
thanks for the time to read this and any info is welcome
and appreciated

Thanks,

Will B.
 
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treebeard55

Chumono
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Cuttings of any kind need high humidity: that's how the foliage gets moisture while new roots develop. If there's enough light in your bathroom, its humidity will be just what the cuttings need.
 

Mike423

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If I remember right when i took cutting of my serissa it took about 3-4 weeks for them to root.
 

will0911

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Yeah they aren't very abundant here so hopefully I can get a bunch to take then I can just make propagate my own!
 

Brian Van Fleet

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They should be fully hardy in your zone as well. Once you get some roots growing, put them in the ground and let them go. They tend to stool out, so you'll end up with clumps of them. It was a surprise to see a clump of very established Serissa at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens' Japanese Garden. The smell was unmistakable!
 

will0911

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So...one of the cuttings flowered....I took it off but hopefully its a sign of a strong cutting? Anyways some of the cuttings have started making roots. Do I need to bring them inside when it get cold, say 40°F or below.

2011-09-20_07-14-41_601.jpg


Will B.
 

Bill S

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Seeing as you are in Fla. when do you expect below 40 temps. If these have established roots by then, you can wait till it drops a little lower, at this stage of the game(kind of late to do cuttings) I would say no less than 35. This year only, because the roots are so new.

Here is where the herrasy begins, as Brian said, these you should be able to grow in the ground, even if it is for a donor plant. Serrissa actually are more of an almost temperate plant, and enjoy a cold winter. Maybe not a all winter freezing area, but from N.J. south these can be treated as sensative temperates.
 

will0911

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In my area we can get 40 or below in november not very often but we definately get below 40 nights from early january through february. I know it was late but the guy offered and they were free so I took them. Also, thanks for the info. Ill just listen for around freezing temperature and move them as needed. If I get enough roots ill just plant them and mulch them.
 
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Bill S

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late isn't a problem for you with these, they can be grown inside with your trops if you have any, but once established, they will do better outside.
 

will0911

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Yeah we are in our second planting season now...ill just keep a close eye and hopefully get some in the ground before it gets too cold. And yes it gets cold here. I live in northwest fl. or southern alabama so we do see below freezing for a week or so sometimes longer.

P.S. I don't have any tropical trees it just feels weird having a tree inside. I like them outside just as im sure they like it outside to.
 

Bill S

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Understand the winter snaps you have there, but you should be fine. We had a fairly cold and dry start to our winter last year(well below freezing and no snow cover), and the one I stuck out in the ground made it thru, for the conditions it saw if it made that, I am pretty confident that you can be successfull.
 

will0911

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Bill,

That comment for florida wasn't aimed at you it was aimed at people who think just because you live in florida you grow ficus and other tropicals. I have no true tropicals and just wanted everyone to know that we indeed see our fair share of cold weather that can kill cuttings and other things. I appreciate the info very much and sorry if it seemed like I was directing that towards you.
 

Bill S

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Wasn't taken aback or anything Will, just wanted to give a little more explanation of my point, Serrissa has been a point of contention for quite some time, trying to get out that they aren't as fussy a they have been made out to be.

Although with the extended season you have, I am jelous, I am already doing the bonsai shuffle already, all the trops. and semi's in at night, and out just before I leave for work. I limit the inside trees for this reason, if I was down there I might be willing to have more. Realizing that you do have winter, but that extra time, again I am jelous.:cool:
 

will0911

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Yes the nine or so month growing season is nice especially for a beginner like myself. But the heat here can be tough aswell trying to water everything two even three times a day can be tiring. But every place has its goods and bass so can't complain. I feel for the people in texas who have had a drought all year. Again thank you for the insight. The guy I got these from had his bush outside and it seemed very happy. I think its when they are grown inside is when they would get fussy but that's with most trees. Good luck with winter!
 

Meadowmorph

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Meadowmorph

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I hope the above helps, it certainly helped me. My Serissa is of the variegated variety and they most definitely only want full sun in the morning in the height of summer. I have them in a place where the sun moves to be filtered by trees by eleven o'clock. That helped a lot. Before then, I was watering like crazy, but the heat caused the leaves to drop when they were in full sun all day, poor little thing.

Good luck! It looks like you are truly working your way to having too many serissa by the end of summer. =D
 

sorce

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Dunno about a link on a post to folks from 2011.

No clicky.

Sorce
 

Meadowmorph

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When one searches the topic "serissa from cuttings", they find this string. Whether it's 6 days old or 6 years old, people who are needful of this info might find it useful. Rest assured, the above link is active right now..
 
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