Vacinnium ovatum cuttings not rooting much

In early January I made 2 flats of cuttings from the Vaccinium ovatum plants in my backyard.

0.5 liquid IBA applied to 2 types of cuttings but both with a few leaves left on:
a) those w/heel
b) nodal cuttings with basal buds wounded

Note: a friend has mentioned that the liquid IBA was administered incorrectly as I did not allow the liquid to evaporate before placing cuttings in the media.

The rooting media is of equall parts peat and medium sand and is being kept damp and the cuttings are being misted once or twice a day

They were placed on a heated bench in which the sand base was at 20 degrees C. I realised after 3 weeks the air temperature was too warm, also 20 degrees C, so I moved them to another room where the air temp has been set to = outside temps. Cooling has not been added.

After 4 weeks I have noticed a few cutings have very small root hairs developing but overall root development is lower than I had expected ... am I too impatient in expecting results?

Does anyone have suggestions as to how I might salvage a few plants from this experiment or should I just "chilln out" for a while?

Your suggestions and opinions are very welcome!!

Thank you,
Michael

 

I'd expect these to take much longer than 4 weeks to develop much activity. You may see roots from other cuttings after more time has elapsed.

You could also try growing this species from seed, unless you are trying to replicate a specific clone. I would probably be tempted to try it from cuttings only if I was making more of a good fruiting individual with tasty, bloomy or bluish fruits (these are found here and there among the less conspicuous, normal purplish black-fruited ones).

 

'Vaccinium' are slow to start. If you are seeing roots, they should be fine.
Fertilize when you see 1/4" to 1/2" of new shoot growth and use ammonium as the nitrogen source.

 

Thank you both for your comments - patience is a virtue eh?

I chose the method of cuttings vs. seed as I was impressed with the heavy fruiting of these 2 specific plants in my garden. I may experiment with seed later - depending on the success here.

So, I will monitor the cuttings and when the time comes to remove them from the flats and pot them up into small pots w/fertilizer are there any specific suggestions as to the form/brand of fertilizer/nitrogen? Would a balanced slow release fertilizer be a good choice - i.e. Nutricote 16-16-16 ... or should I also encorporate a tiny amount of phosphorus to ensure the root growth continues?

Thanks again!

Michael

 

Strictly speaking it depends on minerals in water there, potting medium used. A local grower that produces these commercially might have some hints, if you can hook up with one who is willing to take the time to talk about it with you.

 

Alrighty ... I'll keep experimentinf - with 2 flats I'm sure to get a few plants!

Thank you both for all your help!

M.