My indoor Garden

[smogs]

maybe the best way to light cacti would be to have the lights on the side? but then you would need 4... or rotating

[mescalito]

I put a nice fat (100mm)rooted Peruvian from Rev into the Phototronic(yeah the one in HT mag)for 2 months.The unit has 3 vertical u-shaped flouros and mirrored sides.

She grew about 200mm in this time but remained the diameter of the tip at around 40mm so I took her out and planted in the ground in full sun.After about a month the tip pumped up to 60mm dia.

[apothecary]

flip:

"well by that logic, it would also inhibit the ability of the cutting to form roots.

wouldn't it? "

No? By slowing the total growth cycle, the plant sees that its root:leaf ratio isn't correct and attempts to rectify it. If you leave cuttings in full sunlight, they simply continue growing without roots until that causes them to die.

"well, that doesn't quite make sense. "

I thought it made perfect sense. A branch cannot form roots directly after separation from its mother. Clones have a limited energy "budget", only what they "contain" the instant they are cut. Almost all of that energy is needed just to establish good rooting. Strong light forces photosynthesis, thus food production, transpiration and other process not needed for rooting. For this reason, lighting should be kept quite soft and diffuse until the clones fully root.

"don't you mean it converts light (energy) and stores in a chemical form useable by the plant?"

Yes, sorry.

"Are you saying you're trying to halt it's ability to capture energy and produce food for itself so that it can expend it's limited resources and produce roots? (this sounds of shroomery logik?)"

Not halt the growth cycle, just slow it.

"wouldn't it be better to continue to let any cutting produce food for itself and apply that to root production?"

No? Because plants don't work that way. If you let it produce food for itself, it'll use that food to just keep the plant alive, not to re-establish a rootball.

What you're saying is contradictory. You say rooting is not a factor at all in rooting. Only water. Then, above, you say energy -> food conversion is nescessary for root formation.

"I think that your first point is misattributing the fact that a cutting tends to root at the end of the plant, that just so happens to be where it was separated from it's mother plant."

Pardon my french, but that's bullshit. If you take a cutting of a cactus, and place it "top down" - for want of a better term - in soil, it isn't going to root.

"According to my reasoning (stated in posts in another thread) hormones that stimulate root production are carried "down" the length of the plant."

Doesn't this contradict what you said above? If the rooting hormone is carried down the length of the plant, then why am I the one misattributing roots at the end "when they just so happen to be where it was separated". If the above was true, wouldn't rooting hormone have to travel up and down the plant?

"rooting power is a hormone mutagen.

it actually changes cell structure, it's doesn't "activate" dormant root cells, but changes cell types.

The callous caused by rooting powders/hormone are different than a healing over of a wound.

they're tissues that have been mutated and trying to re-organize themselves.

due to a cacti/succulents structure I've said that external application of rooting hormone causes more harm than good on our cacti."

1. I don't believe anyone actually said anything about rooting hormone activating rooting cells or anything along those lines.

2. Actually, the callous from rooting hormone is very similar to the healing over of a wound on cacti. The difference being that the healing causes roots to form directly behind the callous and push their way through.

3. I agree, but again you confuse me. If the callous from rooting hormone is so different to that of a healed wound from a cactus, then what can be so detrimental about rooting hormone? The only times rooting hormone is bad for a cutting is if their isn't enough or too much. In the case of cacti, any additional hormone is often too much, simply because it has evolved it's own method of producing rooting hormone, and thus roots.

to teo:

"leave as much leaf surface area as possible so that it wont wilt and die from high transperation, the more surface area it can support the quicker it will root because the more photosynthisising it can do."

Actually, leaving as much leaf mass as possible increases the chance of dying from transpiration. The more surface area of leaf, the harder it has to work to re-establish the corect root:leaf ratio.

You'll notice if you order a cutting from Torsten, that when it arrives the full grown leaves will have been trimmed to half their size.

From overgrow.com growFAQ on taking cuttings of cannabis plants:

"Special Technique: Trimming fan leaves.

In this example, the clones shown are Crystal Light x AK47 (unsexed).

The fans were trimmed prior to setting them in the cubes because they were already quite large and lush when the cuts were taken, experience will tell you when you have "too much" leaf surface and the clone will just wilt and resist efforts to revive it. So, trim the big stuff before "stabbing it". If it remains "wilty" remove the largest trimmed fans completely, this usually does it for stubborn ones. You can even then trim the smaller fans if you REALLY are trying to save a "special" clone"

[ 20. February 2005, 19:47: Message edited by: apothecary ]