Serissa foetida cuttings

[Hawke84]

Hi,
I had a Serissa foetida I bought from a garden centre, loved it. Mrs Hawke84 left the window open one night and that was the end of him! lucky i cook a couple of cuttings which are now a couple of years old and have been doing well for cuttings!

thing is im struggling a bit of get any vigorous growth now from them. I've got them in standard garden centre indoor plant soil to try and retain some water as they are on a window that gets east and south sun so they do get warm.

any suggestions? do you guys think i thought transfer them into bonsai soil mix? im apprehensive as i know they hate root pruning and im trying to encourage the trunk at this stage

 

[coachspinks]

All my serissa foetida are growing like crazy. I dug up a bush last fall, left most of the Georgia red clay on the roots and just dropped it in a pot with a little soil from my garden to cover and it is pushing growth from the branches and the roots. I have several smaller ones that started as cuttings and they are growing really well. All are outside now and have been all winter. They are also in full sun most of the day. I would try moving them outside with more sun.

 

[Hawke84]

I get some cold winters and can get cold nights below the minimum for the tree so don't want to risk putting them outside for any long periods

 

[coachspinks]

They were down into the mid teens this winter. The bush was in the ground for 20 years before I dug it. How cold does it get there?

 

[Carol 83]

@Mellow Mullet should be able to help you with this.

 

[Mellow Mullet]

You will probably not get vigorous growth inside, outside you will. They can handle upper 30's no problem in a pot and occasional snow in the ground. The are actually "semi-tropical". Light is what they need to put on vigorous growth, inside they just get by, especially without supplemental lighting.

 

[Carol 83]

You will probably not get vigorous growth inside, outside you will. They can handle upper 30's no problem in a pot and occasional snow in the ground. The are actually "semi-tropical". Light is what they need to put on vigorous growth, inside they just get by, especially without supplemental lighting.

I have read that you can root serissa cuttings in a glass of water?

 

[Mellow Mullet]

I have read that you can root serissa cuttings in a glass of water?

I have read that too, never tried it. I just stick them in a pot or in the ground.

 

[Hawke84]

Would it be ok to take them out in the day and bring in at night or do they not like to be moved around? It does get cold here with a cold season wind

I've rooted these originated in a glass of water really easily so it is possible

 

[Mellow Mullet]

Would it be ok to take them out in the day and bring in at night or do they not like to be moved around? It does get cold here with a cold season wind

I've rooted these originated in a glass of water really easily so it is possible

That is what I would do. Here, I move my nicer serissa in and out all winter depending on the temperature.

 

[Anthony]

@Hawke84 ,

they come from zone 7 to zone 9 in China /Japan.
So you might be babying them and making them weaker.
Looks to be Chinese Serissas.

Perhaps you could take a few more cuttings and see if they can
handle late spring and grow outdoors through winter.
You may have to bury them in soil and cover with leaves.
As the winter resistance changes for pot to ground.

Mind you, it would have been interesting to see if cuttings treated
as above could have handled ------ the Beast from the East?

We use bonsai pots that are porous at the base, but glazed on the
sides.Tropics.

The Japanese types prefer cold, slowly fading away down here in the
Tropics.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Hawke84]

thanks guys. the beast from the east is exactly the thing im trying to avoid!
im still un-decided on what to do with these listening to you all, i am tempted to put them out but then i keep remembering what a cold draft did to a much more established tree. i might wait until early summer and have them outside for the season to try and get some growth going.

does anyone think i should switch them to standard bonsai soil but still in deep pots?

 

[coachspinks]

One thing I didn't mention is that I bury the pots in mulch all winter. I would switch to a good bonsai mix. Take a bunch of cuttings! Grow some out and put others in mini pots!

 

[Melospiza]

I get some cold winters and can get cold nights below the minimum for the tree so don't want to risk putting them outside for any long periods

With all due respect, I think serissas are much hardier than people give them credit for. I left my variegated serissa outdoors this winter (pot buried to the rim, mulched with a layer of leaves), and it went through a pretty severe winter (lows of -5 C (20 F), snowfall in December and January with snow remaining on the plant for nearly a week each time, and a week in january where the temperature never rose above 0 C (32 F)), and it survived just fine. I repotted in early March and it is now happier than ever, and blooming profusely.

Even though you are far more northerly than I am, I think the winters here can go lower and be generally more erratic.

 

[Melospiza]

One thing I didn't mention is that I bury the pots in mulch all winter. I would switch to a good bonsai mix. Take a bunch of cuttings! Grow some out and put others in mini pots!

As I mention in my reply above, Serissas are far hardier than people think. I think you did just fine. they seem to appreciate being outside in 1 spot, even if it gets fairly cold, more than constantly being moved around and being subjuected to low light and erratic humidity levels indoors.

 

[coachspinks]

@Melospiza that is what I am saying. With appropriate care they do fine in the cold.

 

[Hawke84]

@Melospiza that is a beautiful looking tree. i havent seen mine flower yet.

ok my plan then as i trust you guys.
1) report both in bonsai soil standard mix, but keep in deep pots for now.
2) keep indoors until the weather warms a bit
3) take outside 1 plant (my least favourite) outside to live for the summer
4) measure results and report here

Thank you all for your help. i will take a few more cuttings just s backup and for some more fun