Viewing post #3029805 by Gina1960

You are viewing a single post made by Gina1960 in the thread called Rhapidophora Tetrasperma.
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Nov 20, 2023 5:22 AM CST
Name: Gina
Florida (Zone 9a)
Tropical plant collector 40 years
Aroids Region: Florida Tropicals
Until it forms roots the drooping is normal.
There is an old technique that has been around since plants were cultivated (well, maybe not that long) that seems to have fallen out if common usage (I still do it and some older gardeners I know still do it but largely I don't know any younger gardeners that do it).
When you take a cutting, cuttings should be at a minimum of 2 nodes but 3-5 is better. Strip the leaves off the bottom 1-3 nodes and put that whole section in the media. Then cut the next to the top set of leaves in half and leave only the one very top leaf intact.
This gives the plant a strong base of nodes for new roots to form from simultaneously, and takes the stress of a bunch of leaves off the top that it doesn't have to support and keep alive while rooting.
The leaf material left is enough to photosynthesize and grow new roots but not so much it overly stresses the cutting.
Most people nowadays will not do this especially on variegated plants because they can't let go of the instant gratification of having the leaves
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