50-60 mph winds tore through here 2 days ago and make a mess of my larger orange mint and Monarda blue stocking. I have placed a couple cutting in water to try and root them but the plants really look bad and I was thinking of simply doing it to all of it. Will they take root in water or do I need to get a rooting hormone and plant them in potting soil? Will cuttings take root at all?
Well so far neither one has taken root at all. I have them in rain water out in the greenhoouse and no signs of them starting. Maybe I am doing it wrong or maybe they just don't like me.
I've always found it difficult to grow cuttings from herbs. Let's hope your mature plants come back after their storm damage as many of mine have done in the past.
Gee at this point, could you just trim down the damaged plants and let them grow back? With mints and monarda both, I've had luck with that kind of approach. Both are very resilient here -- I hope they are there too.
fish, are there any willow trees around where you live? if so, take a small branch of one and put it in with the water and sprigs. it might help them take root. also, sometimes putting the sprigs in dirt/potting soil will help them. good luck!
I have tons of willow here, a literal forest right behond the house and across the street and up the road and everywhere else. lol. I will definately give that a try. As for cutting them back, do you think it will matter with my lousy cold cloudy weather? I think it is a good idea also and will likely do it today just to see if it works. It will give me more cuttings to try and get to root anyway. Maybe I should just bring them in the house so they have a warmer environment to try and take root. Probably doesn't help that the cuttings have aphids too.
fish, take a bucket and fill it with soapy water. stir it until you get a bunch of soapy foam. cover your twigs with that foam and leave on for a minute or two, then rinse thoroughly. that will kill the aphids. (smothers them) before you put the twigs back in the water, cut a little bit off the bottom. it'll give them a fresh start. and inside does sound better till the weather warms up outside.
Does it matter what kind of soap? I have Palmolive and Ajax, both are Antibacterial. Should I get some other soap or will either of those work?
i'd use the Palmolive. i usually just use plain old Dawn, not anti bacterial. from what i understand, it's the petroleum in the product that suffocates the aphids, spider mites, etc... you can even just dip the whole twig in the soapy bucket for a minute plus, then rinse thoroughly.
I think getting the Dawn is a better choice, better to treat them well and hope to get the to root. Thank you Bunkie, I would have never remember the name of the dish soap. Do you have a recipe for the mixture for spraying plants? Also, do you know if ladybirds/ladybugs will be hurt by it?
fish, i just mix a little soap in some water and stir up a foam and put that all over the plants, then rinse. i suppose one could make a soapy water spray and spray that...maybe a teaspoon or less of soap to a couple plus gallons of water. they key is to leave it on for only a couple minutes, then be sure to rinse thoroughly or the oil in the soap will burn the plants (from the sun). good to do on a cloudy day, and we sure have a bunch of those coming and going! aas far as lady bugs and such, i wouldn't spray near them, imean, you know what soap tastes like, right?
