I am in the process of doing my research into Portulacaria afra (Elephant's Food, Elephant Bush) My interest in in the propagation and growing of this plant as a food source for uromastyx and bearded dragon lizards as well as a safe plant for vivarium's. I have the opportunity to buy 100 cuttings of this plant for propagation. The person I am getting them from said to just stick them into a good medium and they will grow. I know this is not always a good way to plant new cuttings. One thing I noticed is to use a 50% sand and good loam mixture for the growing medium. The plant likes to be on the dry side and not be over watered. Would these cutting need a root powder to start them growing? My plan is to utilize a 120 gallon fish tank as the greenhouse with grow lights. Any advise or help would be appreciated. Thank You bob/stano40
rooting hormone never hurts!! it's generally not necessary for these, though. if you don't know how long it's been since the cuttings were taken, i'd use the rooting hormone - if they've been sitting for a while, they may appreciate the boost. you don't have to use the fish tank - although a good light source will be helpful. if you do use the tank, make sure you've got good air circulation - as in a fan that is on for most of the day. any lighting should be set on timers for 12 hours on/12 off. distance of the lighting from the plants depends on the lumens used. the lights will produce some amount of heat and if you're going to use the tank, you've got to keep that in mind and the tank walls will hold that heat in. that soil mix should be fine for getting them rooted - then into something pretty porous once good root systems are established. after you first plant them, let them sit in the dry soil for a week and then water. water thoroughly and then allow the medium to dry well before watering again. you ARE going to be putting the cuttings into small pots, right?? and not just putting a bunch of soil in the bottom of the tank?? these plants need the water to be able to drain away...they don't like soggy roots.
My plan for using the tank was of space. Seeing the tank is just sitting there taking up space I figured to use it as a greenhouse to start the plant cuttings. It's big enough to start the 100 cuttings. I'm glad you recommended the use of the root powder. I was thinking of using it until the person that I'm buying this from mentioned I don't need it. This is what I've learned from him as of today. His answers are in parenthesis & in red. Sorry to ask all these questions but I've never grew cuttings before and I would like to know how it is done and the success rate(should be 100%). (I send a few extra cuttings)(stick 1" of bottom stem in lightly moisten potting soil, place in bright light but not direct sun, roots will begin in 1-2 weeks) Do I need a special powder for the cuttings?(No) Do I need a special medium to plant them in. (any well drained potting soil should work)(I do like my own mix it has good drainage with lots of trace elements,... to keep the elephant bush high in nutrients, its much better than even the best potting soils out there) My plan on the aquarium tank was to leave the gravel in the bottom of the tank for drainage of any water that comes from the plants. This is only as a bottom layer in the tank itself. I will use flats that have holes in them for drainage and place the cutting in 2 or 2 1/4" peet pots. I was going to leave the 1/2 the top off the tank for air circulation and have the lights on during the day. The lights will be the grow lights that some aquarium's use of I can get the one's for the plants, whichever is better. How close should the plants be to the light source? bob/stano40
the root hormone isn't totally necessary for this type of plant. it's still a good idea to use it though since you don't know how long the cuttings were sitting. i agree with his procedure for planting and the amount of lighting...you can ease them into full light conditions after the roots are going. good idea for the cuttings in a container and that to be on gravel so the excess water drains away. you do want to be sure that too much excess water does not collect in the tank though...that will cause high humidity and that's not the best for this type of plant. since you will be keeping them in the tank (i'd make use of the space as well :) ), you need to make sure they get enough air movement - a small fan on a timer that can be set to multiple on/off times a day would be good...set it to come on for an hour or so every 6 hours or so - that should work well enough - or you can leave it on longer each time, too (won't hurt). since the tank walls will hold in heat, you want to be careful with how close the light is to the plants. not just for light levels (which don't need to be quite so high as when the plant is actively growing); you also need to keep residual heat in mind. the tank will retain the heat - even one as large as yours. the shape of the tank will determine how much/little air circulation you need to add as well as how to deal with lighting. what are the dimensions of the tank?? length/width/height.
Dimensions of the 150 gallon tank are all outside diameter's Length = 72" OD Width = 18" OD Height = 28 1/2" OD The tank is in my don's basement room, so the temps right know are around 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit. During the winter it's more around mid 70's. bob/stano40
