My husband's aunt recently gave me some shoots from a Christmas cactus that was very special to my husband's grandmother. I desperately want to grow one in her memory, but the shoots won't root. The aunt told me to wrap them in damp paper towels, which I did, but nothing is happening. The shoots are still plenty healthy (it's been a couple of weeks). Should I try another method to get them to produce roots, and if so, what is the best way? moderator's note: added a more descriptive title to topic
Usually I just stick them about halfway down in a pot of potting soil and they root just fine. Someone else may have other ways of doing it tho.
Thanks Toni! I have a few shoots. She gave me some just in case a couple didn't work out. I'll put one in a pot tomorrow and see what happens.
How is it doing? Both water and soil have worked really well for me without doing anything special at all. I now have 5 new starts from simply taking the last leaf off and potting it about 1/2 inch into the soil. So far I have not lost a single start putting them in soil. Just remember to water properly and you should be fine.
Thanks for asking, fish, but the starts didn't make it. I must have got to them too late. Hubby's aunt said there are some small, established plants still at grandma's house. They're from the original plant that I got my starts from. His aunt said I'm welcome to take one of those, so I think I'm going to do that. I'm not exactly the world's biggest fan on them... it's just a matter of keeping grandma's memory with us. That was one of her favorite bushes.
Sometimes they can take a long time. A friend gave me three cuttings, and I wasn't having any luck getting them to root or grow new. In fact, unfortunately, my friend died some months later! For that reason, I couldn't bring myself to stop watering these woeful little cuttings stuck in a pot! Then one day, they just took off. The only thing different was I moved the pot to a sunny south-facing window over a radiator -- the extra light and heat might have played a role. It took nearly a year, though. They didn't die, but they weren't doing anything either during that time. ..Christine..
