Here is pic of the cuttings ready for potting up..


I will Cover the tops with baggie till new growth when I pot them up..
Will update this thread as they grow...
Patty,
Whitcomb root builder system air prunes roots and when it is air pruned it forces the root to branch out.. a root that is more branched out will take up more nutrients and water.. To put it simply..
If you want the complicated version... (have to have adobe acrobat reader to see this page...)
http://www.freepatentsonline.com/5557886.pdf


Thanks for all the interest in my rootings..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Here are cuttings I have in a mini green house thingy.. also some seedlings and Misc..


Bottom left two Etrog seeds one is up.. then Pineapple and swingle rootstock cutting..
Next line up Meiwa Kumquat seed from my first flower to fruit fruit I ate. then two fingerlime cuttings.. and two more swingle root stock cuttings..
Third line.. another kumquat seed then the rest are Meyer Lemon leaf cuttings.. I cut the bud so there is a bit of bud at the bottom of each leaf.. Not sure how it will work out.. but is a fun wait and see project..

the 4th line has one swingle rootstock cutting and the rest are tangelo seedlings..
top line is tangelo seedlings all mono..

Thanks for looking!!

Gina *BabyBlue*

Gina just a FYI, I think those are Aust. round limes. I got a plant from Citrus Joe which I believe was a cutting he made from a plant from Stan. Last time I was up at Stan's he had plants with the same very thin narrow leaves. Finger limes have a round shaped leaf. Only time will tell, but from the research I have done I believe they are round limes & not finger limes.

Have a look at Mike's photos. http://www.saalfelds.freeserve.co.uk/microcitrusleaves.htm

Hmm.. your right.. doesn't look like the finger lime leaves..
have to wait and see I guess... I was looking at bunches of pics.. looks like there are a few that start out with the thinner willow looking leaves..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Lazz, Stan and I have discussed those limes before. I agree with you - they seem to me to resemble the round lime. Actually, I posted pictures of a small tree, stems and leaves a while back, and Citrange indicated he thought they were Citrus australis too. Like you said, time will tell. I have one I hope will bloom in the next year or two. The foliage in the top of the plant is a good bit larger than it was when it was small. I take that as an indication that it is reaching maturity.

One thing in favor of Stan's tree, so far it has done much better in our climate than the finger lime I have.

Ned

here are a couple of close up pics of the "parent" plant..





I was wondering if maybe another lime aus or aus type? On Mike's site looks like could be leaves from
http://www.saalfelds.freeserve.co.uk/citrusgarrawayi.htm The fruit looks like finger lime..
Then I was reading about the Sydney hybrid.. wonder about that?? Also the desert lime has same type leaves..
I still think it looks cool.. That is what drew me to it..
If any one can id from my pics that would be great.. No biggie.. But would like to have a proper name to put with pics I post...

Thanks!!

Gina *BabyBlue*..

PS.. off to go pot up the rooted cuttings.. will post pics tomorrow.. got some Witcomb planters today...

Here are pics of some of the cuttings put in whitcomb starters.. Looks like normal six pack from top..


side view shows the root pruning air holes and the way the walls of the planter directs the roots to the holes..

I will try and remember to take pics regularly for those interested in how well this works..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Gina, when your cuttings begin rooting, the Whitcomb containers have to be set on an open air wire bench, or in some manner that the two large openings on the bottom are airborne in order for the bottom roots to be air pruned. Roots are air pruned, by desiccation, when the root tip grows out of the openings and out into the air. If the bottom two openings are setting directly on a hard surface, the roots cannot be air pruned. This is especially true when a seed is started in a Whitcomb air pruning container, or any type of air pruning container, because the seed's taproot is the first root air pruned, and it is, of course, air pruned at the bottom of the container. - Millet

When a person wants to root a single cutting using a Whitcomb air root pruning container, and they don't have a mist system, they can use a scissors to cut just one cell free, and place the single cell with the cutting in place inside a plastic bag. This method keeps the cutting from drying out. - Millet

Thanks Millet!! That gave me an Idea!!!
I just went and found some old cookie racks to raise them up!
I had been using these super Ziploc baggies mostly for kids travel bags great for stuffing pillow and blanket in for a sleep over.. I found the larger ones better for my kids and had these smaller super baggies left over and had decided to use them for my rootings but was concerned about moisture collecting at the bottom.. I took the wire cookie rack and placed it in the bag to raise the planters above the plastic.. After they are established in their new homes I will take them out of the baggie and the wire cookie rack can stay under them.. Do you think about half inch raise is enough?? it is half to three quarter inch raise.. another bonus of the cookie rack in the baggie is the sides don't touch the foliage as much.. I love these baggies though!!! they have handy handle that if I need to move the plants I can do so with out disturbing them at all!
I potted the plants in the planters yesterday evening and did not water till this am then I allowed them to air dry all day before sticking them back in the baggie.. some of them are a bit on the limp side because of it..
The rough lemon have looked limp since day one.. I was sure none of the rough lemon was going to take..
Here is the setup.. planters on cookie rack inside giant Ziploc..



I knew I'd find another use for those Ziploc baggies!!

Gina *BabyBlue*

I was so surprised to see roots coming out of the peat pellets that I put the leaf cuttings in.. I carefully took apart each pellet to inspect the roots and look over the buds that I had cut with the leaves.. they were callusing over nicely and the buds looked very healthy. couple of them the buds were bulging like they would start growing soon!!



I'm going to keep my eye on them to see if the buds to form new trees.. if it works I think this would be a great school project that wouldn't take much room and beats the heck out of growing a bean plant..
If a small pop bottle was used the kids could watch the roots grow to the sides of the bottle.. of course this would take more work on the instructors part as the pop bottles would have to have holes drilled and the tops cut off to make mini green house.. any way.. I'll keep the forum posted on how it goes.. I know a teacher at the grade school that loves to do plant projects with her kids.. I have donated plants every year that I have had a child in her class.. I wouldn't mind helping her out with a project like this even though I don't currently have a kid in her room..

Gina *BabyBlue*

Gina, citrus leaves root quite easily, but you will never ever get a tree to develop from them, not one! The leaf will develop a few more roots, and will eventually just die. - Millet

Millet, do you know whether or not the previous attempts to grow a tree from a leaf included a bud at the base like Gina has done. I would think that if a bud can turn into a tree on a graft it should be able to grow from a rooted leaf.

Skeet

Hello,

I am following this thread with interest, and would like to ask a potentially stupid question.

When you place these cuttings in ziplock bags, are the ziplock bags sealed? If they are sealed, how does the plant get enough air to grow? I would think that the gas mixture would become unfavorable over time.

Just curious,

Ed.

Not to get to technical, but the gasses plants need to survive are both oxygen and CO2. The leaves when exposed to light will produce oxygen, but will consume it to a lesser extent at night. The leaves will also use CO2 during photosynthesis, but produce that in the dark. Soil decomposition will also produce CO2 and consume oxygen, but that should be a relatively slow process--probably consuming less oxygen than produced. The CO2 level is probably slightly higher than in normal air, but that will improve growth for the plant.