TRADESCANTIA Zebrina PROPAGATION: BEST Media for ROOTING in?

[@essay1786]

This channel has really reinforced my attraction to this beautiful plant! Hhahaha I have dozens of cuttings propagating just from the past fortnight, and no kidding I think I saw roots in a couple days 🥺🥺🥺 my new obsession !!!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Good to hear it!😁 They can grow roots while you're looking at them! No wonder they're on the invasive species list in many countries.

[@carolynmorgan4581]

I only use sphagnum moss. I swear I have 99% Success rate on root development. All Hoya’s, variegated string of hearts, Monstera’s etc.. I wouldn’t be successful without it. Great video sooo interesting 🤔. I might try some different techniques for fun.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

AS a gardener in the UK we only ever use it for lining hanging baskets so it was relatively new to me when I came across it in the orchid and carnivorous plants world. Looks like it would work great for propagating anything.

[@high_fructose_corn_syrup]

I used to have dart frogs and the viv had a top layer of long sphag moss. Everythingggg in the viv grew so good. I actually had to take the tradescantia plant out because it was just growing too fast in there and i was tired of the constant trimming.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yeah I also found Trads root best in moss., from the other media I tested it against.

[@sherrykumar2883]

Thank you for this. It’s interesting to see how they do with each medium. Sphagnum moss is great for propagating, it almost never fails however for finer rooted plants I often use perlite because I don’t worry about damaging the roots trying to remove the medium.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yeah someone else said exactly the same. I winder if it really has to be removed. After all, it's just a small amount if used for propagating. I don't know - might be worth an experiment growing them on in just sphagnum.

[@lesleyannhartman762]

Spagnum is amazing stuff…haven’t had any tradescantia for a long time but I shall be begging cuttings from friends now 😊 Thank you!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Good to hear, Lesley!😁

[@nicolebrown6382]

Nice experiment! I JUST cut my T. Zebrina yesterday and have been wondering what pots to put them in to trail down over my balcony, so it's cool to see that everyone else is doing it too! It has grown about 3x as fast as the planter boxes next to it, which contain coleus, fuchsia, hypoestes & trailing lobelia (where the conditions are dappled sun/shade, 22*C, 80% humidity). I think it'll grow so fast that I can do my balcony and make a batch of hanging planters to give as Christmas gifts! Oh, I originally filled up the planter box by taking tip cuttings and putting them back into the cactus mix soil.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

I've seen very established Trad. zebrina growing over a balcony into an atrium in central Rome. Now that's the way to see it! I think it'll fabulous over your balcony.😁

[@TrishsOrchidLife]

Good “experiment” will try this with my Nanouk

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Let me know how you get on. 😀

[@michaelmccarthy4077]

makes you wonder about starting seeds in sphagnum. 🤔 I have a lot of flower seeds right now, perhaps I shall try a couple pots and see what springs up.

[@colleenmcclurg2010]

I like presprouting seeds in damp rolled up paper towels. Put in plastic bags in a warm spot. I check them a couple times a day, they sprout really quickly, then transfer to growing medium.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yeah it's not something I'd have thought of previously. In the UK and possibly other temperate climates, using sphagnum for anything other than lining hanging baskets isn't even a thing. I only came across it after entering the orchid and carnivorous plants world. So Michael, next one is possibly seeing what happens if I leave it growing in sphagnum. Or possibly try replanting that cutting in multipurpose, and see how it grows - whether it continues horizontally, or breaks upwards from those rooted nodes. Any other ideas would be welcome...🤞

[@riikkas3822]

Last March I went semi-hydro (Lechuza Pon) with all my houseplants and they have thrived. These were plants with established roots. However, though I did grow cuttings (a.k.a all my new 7 different tradescantia) in the Pon, they were slow to get started and didn't really "puff up & grow out" - exept my T. pallida purple heart and T. zebrina puple joy. Methinks I need to get me a bag of spagnum. Thanks again for yet another informative video!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

My pleasure. I've had mixed results growing them on capillary matting - trouble is, they start rooting into the actual matting itself! 🤣 Good to hear your semi-hydro specimens are thriving.👏

[@trewti]

I take fallen cuttings (with permission of course) from under any hanging tradescantia in the big box stores and have always either rooted in sphagnum or water. Some are living in sphagnum they seem to love the moisture. I didn't know it wasn't a common propagating method for the genus...hmm! They thrive in sphagnum🤷‍♀️ you should try it!!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

That's next on my list! The odd thing is, they're related to succulents so you'd expect mostly wet sphagnum would rot them eventually but it appears not.

[@trewti]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 I was new to plants then and experimenting with different mediums. They do quite well. The ones potted in soil are in cache pots, and there is always water in the bottom not touching, but they seem to thrive with the added moisture and humidity near the roots. I fertilize them with a water soluble fertilizer. I love tradescantia they are beautiful, add a pop of color, they're inexpensive and propagate easily. Definitely give it a try, just don't let it dry out for too long!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Thanks for the tips Tonya. 😀

[@trewti]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 Thank you for teaching me more about tradescantia which sparked my love for them! You rock!💜🌿Love your channel!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@trewti Haha - great to hear!

[@lleo9703]

I have had success with sphagnum moss with my hoyas, but taking the moss off delicate roots is a challenge and time consuming. You don’t want to leave too much sphag on Hoya roots to deter root root as the sphag holds onto moisture. I’ve changed over to perlite because I can pot those up without the tedious task of de-sphagging the roots. But if you are going to keep your plant in sphag, well sphag is a really good choice for propagation.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Great tip! Thanks for sharing your experiences. I'll have to test what happens if it's grown on in sphagnum. Maybe just root it in a small amount then dump the whole lot into multipurpose compost. Just an idea - but will have to try it for myself.

[@kimipbnikhuma8000]

I dont have much luck with compost and other media. Water works besr for me but I'm gonna try with your mix. Thanks for the helpful video

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

It’s hard to fail with sphagnum or perlite. I’m sure either will work great for you. 😄

[@sibelthecat5883]

Thank you, will definitely try to propogate in spagnum moss.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yeah me too! Never thought of using it before.

[@yuralala742]

Hello me again! Do you think I can plant them in Lechuza Pon? 🧐

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yes definitely. They'll root in anything where they sense moisture.

[@yuralala742]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 the spaghnum moss result was really good. Would you repot from the moss or could you keep it in spaghnum for it’s entire life?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Providing it's not a pot with your Tradescantia trailing over the edge then it could stay in a flat pot or tray for a couple of years before needing to be replaced.

[@LoHMysticAgent]

How do you wet perlite when making a perlite only propagation box? I wet the perlite and any excess water i drain out. My cuttings always rot for some reason and cant figure out why. Is the perlite supposed to be lightly moist or something?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

You water the same as any other media. They won’t look wet, but will be. If your cuttings are rotting Try leaving the lid off or put some holes in it to evaporate off any excess moisture. Also be vigilant with cleanliness - sterilise everything first including your snippers.

[@arshtravels10]

Hi can i use peatmoss instead of sphagnum moss kindly reply

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

This plant will root in practically anything providing the boxes can detect some moisture. So yeah go for it.

[@sarahg282]

So interesting 😊 Moss it is then 👍

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Thanks Sarah. I'm wondering what it'll do if left in moss. There's another one for the future!

[@lordnagatron]

I have even got it to root in succulent mix dirt.!!!

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

It's no wonder it's on many countries' invasive species list. Their loss is our gain.

[@anniefraser2599]

Can you plant the cutting with all that moss on it?

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Yeah definitely. Or just leave in the moss!

[@waynecummins9713]

I only use sphagnum moss for all my cuttings and it keeps fungus away. What new lights did you go for in the end.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Looks like it works great for all sorts of plants then. Nice to actually see the results for myself though. As for lights, I'm still digging through the literature to try to get a proper handle on them. But so far, it looks to me that any extra light is better than none. A cheap grow light is better still, and an expensive grow light will give the widest, most usable spectrum for optimal plant growth. I went for your suggestion as they're actually cheaper than tubular LEDs yet offer better spectrum. If I had the money I'd spend more, but for now, this is better than what I had going on before!

[@waynecummins9713]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 I have just added an extra light for my propagator. For £25 and fast delivery also a trusted seller on ebay with good feedback. 👍

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

Well yeah - it might not be the absolute best solution, but it's a pretty decent bet.

[@barbaramilbradt2188]

Mine sure are not as brightly colored as yours. 😒

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

That could be one of two things, Barbara. Colours are never natural in video processing. Or perhaps you just don't have yours in enough light. The brighter the light, the more exuberant the colours.

[@barbaramilbradt2188]

@@Grow_Up_Man55 It's in a south window. Maybe too bright and is faded.

[@Grow_Up_Man55]

@@barbaramilbradt2188 Well yeah that's also an issue of sun through glass. You want as bright as possible without full sun if it's behind glass. Not easy to achieve!