# Marcgravia clipping wilting



## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

I just got in a Marcgravia sintenisii cutting. Looked beautiful when arrived. I put it on top of wet sphagnum moss in a 4 inch pot under my 6500K lights. It looks pretty wilted and I would like to know if there is something else I should do? I thought I would get it rooted before placing in my vivarium.

Should I place it in a bag with a wet paper towel?


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## Dendviv (Apr 1, 2014)

JoeKitz said:


> I just got in a Marcgravia sintenisii cutting. Looked beautiful when arrived. I put it on top of wet sphagnum moss in a 4 inch pot under my 6500K lights. It looks pretty wilted and I would like to know if there is something else I should do? I thought I would get it rooted before placing in my vivarium.
> 
> Should I place it in a bag with a wet paper towel?


I recently also ordered and received a Marcgravia sintenissii cutting with about 8 or 9 leafs and it also arrived very healthy looking. It wasn't rooted though and I also put it in a medium container with moist sphagnum moss to get it going. It was in the middle of Summer so I opened up little bit of ventilation holes. I kept it in an area where it received plentiful bright day light, no direct light. The humidity stayed up very well but the cutting just didn't have enough strength to hold on and wilted after a week or two. 

What a let down it was. I thought I was doing everything right, even following the suggestions from the person I ordered it from. It was part of a plant package that cost me $160 bucks and he assured me I was getting a steal for it. At the time I thought I was but not long (3weeks or so) 60% of the plants had deteriorated, a lot of them didn't have nodes and I didn't see root systems starting from them. The only plant that survived was a pepperomia prostrata and another cutting of a tropical plant with purple and white/gray stipes, those seem to be doing well. 

So I'm not sure what you could do if doing what was recommended from those who've been doing it longer isn't working. It could of course depend on all sorts of factors but in my case, I thought I was pretty close to it's natural environment plus following the vendors suggestions. I hope you are able to turn it around and that its health is restored. 

Sent from my Nexus 6P using Tapatalk


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

That is a horrible experience Dendvid. I am sure it is my environment. I wet the moss, stuffed it in the 4"pot, then laid the marcgravia on top of the moss. The other Marcgravia (Marcgravia sp. ‘Ecuador Pink Vein’) I received is fairing better. I hope the Marcgravia Sintenisii makes it!


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

I just have my Marcgravia sitting under my T8 grow light in the open air. Should it be covered?


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## Hercrabit (Oct 6, 2016)

I always put my cuttings in a small clear deli cup with lid (works like a mini terrarium). Inside the deli cup I lay the cutting on damp sphagnum moss (don't let the leaves of the cutting touch the lid - they'll rot). My cuttings stay under a T8 grow light. Once I see the cutting has some good roots, I move it to one of my vivariums being sure it stays moist inside the vivarium while it gets started.
I've had great success with this method.


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## Tay0001 (Jun 14, 2017)

Keeping the humidity high around the cutting will help reduce water loss. So the clear deli cup, or if it's in a tray, maybe plastic wrap with small holes poked in for a bit of ventilation.

You could also try peeling away a few of the lower leaves and laying a little bit of damp moss over the end. Fewer leaves will help reduce water loss from transpiration. Peeling away the leaves will expose the cambium, which is the layer of cells just under the outer surface and the layer from which roots will grow. 

You could even try producing more plantlets from the leaves you stripped off. Just stick the base into the damp moss. Or, if you're feeling particularly ambitious, you could cut the leaves lengthwise down the middle of the central vein. Then put the halves, cut side down into the moss. This last method is risky, but can yield several plantlets from each half.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

JoeKitz said:


> I just have my Marcgravia sitting under my T8 grow light in the open air. Should it be covered?


Wait a minute, does that mean you have no lid?? No lid on the pot, and it's not in a sealed tank? You need humidity. These are not houseplants, and they can't handle the open air when they don't have any roots yet. 

4, 8, or 16 oz deli cup. Like you culture flies in. Moist sphagnum, and I did NOT say wet sphag, goes on the bottom. 1/2" or so should suffice. Lay the cutting on the sphagnum. Put the lid on. Some keep it fully sealed. I like to put 3 or 4 pinholes in the lid.

Next thing. You put them under your grow light, which is, of course, to grow. That would be excellent if you were growing. You are not. You are rooting. If your cutting is putting "x" amount of energy into growing more green leaves, then your plant is also _losing_ "x" amount of energy that could be going into root generation. Keep in mind, you have a bare cutting...an infant, so to speak. It is not only rootless, it is also in an environment with zero fertilizer. How long does it take sphagnum moss to decompose and break down into nutrients? Hint, it's much, much longer than it takes a plant to root, thus, zero nutrients. An infant cutting, with no roots, and no fertilizer, produces very little energy. Let's divert that tiny bit of energy, and use it where we want it to, in the roots.


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

Thanks everyone for the help so far. I put it in a deli container with a lid on top moist sphagnum moss. I could also put it in a 10 gallon tank I have set up with false bottom and ABG mix. I could put a layer of sphagnum moss and lay it on there if that would be more preferable. I have a lid on that frog-free tank to keep moisture inside.

Pumilo, should I maybe put it on a bottom shelf with minimal light until it roots?

Thanks!
Joe


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

Give it light. I always start might Marc cuttings under the same lights I grow all my other plants (T5s or LED). As long as the cutting is in a high humidity, sealed environment, it will take.


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## markpulawski (Nov 19, 2004)

Yes give it good light and keep it in high humidity, try and keep it pressed to the sphagnum so it makes contact. I also put the cut in into the sphagnum by 1/2" to 1" so the stem can pull moisture. Most root nearly 100% of the time but a few are more sensitive. Patience is a virtue with this plant, it will sit for 3 months growing roots and doing nothing else then once the green starts it usually takes off. You can prune the head to create several leaders off the stem after it has rooted and started growing.


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## Pumilo (Sep 4, 2010)

Reducing the lighting isn't necessary, it's just another helpful tool. I didn't make it up. I noticed cuttings at the edge of the light were throwing out roots faster than cuttings taken at the same time, in the center, brighter area. Then, I researched it to see it it was a known practice, or if it was coincidence. I use about half the lighting I would normally use. This link is a very short pdf download. You could google "reduced lighting for cuttings", but you'll have to wade through so many links to, umm...let's call it legal Colorado growers info, to find legit information. I guess it's extremely popular with...questionable farmers?
We want legit info, so here's the pdf link.

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct...cuttings.pdf&usg=AOvVaw0vHYPFvacO58XYQibhsfDV


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## Spaff (Jan 8, 2011)

My comments are in direct reference to propagating Marc. sintenisii. I start my cuttings in sealed grow domes 7" from Finnex LED bars. They grow and establish very quickly that way.

That link is in reference to starting cuttings in a greenhouse environment using sunlight. There are many variables taken into account there that do not apply to indoor, under lights conditions...the most glaring of which is the intensity of solar radiation and solar gain vs. that of fluorescent lights/LEDs in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment. 

From the link: "At the same time, light increases plant temperature and accelerates the drying of leaves, which can quickly dehydrate cuttings. (*Under LEDs, this would be less of an issue*.)"

In a high humidity, AC climate-controlled space, giving it "normal light" from the get go will be fine.


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

Thanks everyone for the helpful comments. The cutting is doing better now. I also got another cutting which was bigger but it never wilted and looks good.

Looking forward to a couple of others I ordered from a member here. I like to keep my plants I get out of my Viv's for a period of time to monitor before putting them in my vivariums. 

I have a couple of 10 gallon tanks set up with false bottoms, microfauna. I will use them in the future.

Best,
Joe


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## JoeKitz (Sep 18, 2017)

Update:

Lost all but 2 leaves within a week, but hung with him and finally now rewarding me with new growth. Thanks everyone for all your help! Certainly helped me with later Marcgravia's I added to my collection.


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## Woodswalker (Dec 26, 2014)

Now, that's some happy news! It's a really rewarding feeling to get nosediving plants to turn around.


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