How do I get my Boston ivy cuttings to root? (growing, spring)

[Ethereal]

Last time I placed the Japanese creeper/Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata) cuttings in water and one began to form roots but it rot. The rest then all dried up.

So I got a new set of cuttings and I placed them in soil - I feel that it's a better choice than water (?) Where should I place the container? It is summer here in Australia. Will they do better outdoors in sun or in shade?

[gentlearts]

It appears you are trying to root old wood, although it’s hard to tell from the picture.
Cuttings should be on fresh growth.

Thoroughly moisten the soil in the pot.
Take cuttings just above a set of leaves, so there are several sets of leaves on each cutting. They should only be a few inches long.
Remove some leaves if necessary, so you have a few inches of clean stem. You want these leaf nodes to be in the soil. Dip the end in water, then in a rooting hormone powder. Shake off excess.
Plant in the soil.
Ivy is very easy to root.

They like shade, not full sun, especially the tender cuttings.l

You might experiment with those cuttings and lay a few sideways, buried in the soil. You might get them to sprout along the stem.

[Zoisite]

Yeah, the branches you're trying to root are old wood, they're way too long and they should not be stripped of all their leaves.

Each cutting should be no more than 4" long plus each individual cutting should have 2 or 3 healthy leaves remaining on the upper half of their stems so the leaves can photosynthsize and manufacture sugars for food energy while the new roots are getting started at growing.

Try doing it the way this instructor is showing in this video:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbiAKsGWHc

.

[Diana Holbrook]

yes, smaller, new growth cuttings, with leaves!


And I would try some rooting directly in dirt. Try some of each.

[Ethereal]

Originally Posted by gentlearts

It appears you are trying to root old wood, although it’s hard to tell from the picture.
Cuttings should be on fresh growth.

I tried to get rid of the old woods. Only two are legit older stem as you can see from their darker colouring. The rest are pretty much recent. Btw, the older set of cuttings were even much newer as I got them in spring. Not sure why they didn't root (in water) - And they had some leaves.

You might experiment with those cuttings and lay a few sideways, buried in the soil. You might get them to sprout along the stem.

Interesting tip.

Originally Posted by Zoisite

Yeah, the branches you're trying to root are old wood, they're way too long and they should not be stripped of all their leaves.

Each cutting should be no more than 4" long plus each individual cutting should have 2 or 3 healthy leaves remaining on the upper half of their stems so the leaves can photosynthsize and manufacture sugars for food energy while the new roots are getting started at growing.

Try doing it the way this instructor is showing in this video:

.

Thanks. Yeah, I was told about the length of the cuttings. So I did cut them down and placed the additional cut ones in the soil.

I had leaves on the older cuttings set and they just withered off. So I thought maybe the leaves were "taking" energy from the roots to develop, hence why I made these cuttings bare of any leaves.

Originally Posted by Diana Holbrook

yes, smaller, new growth cuttings, with leaves!


And I would try some rooting directly in dirt. Try some of each.

So the consensus here is "with leaves". Now is there no hope for these leafless cuttings? Can they still root without leaves? They have buds and I can see some green sprouting - Can that help? I have now laid a plastic bag over them.

Oh, Aussie dirt/soil is rather infertile. We have the worst soils in the world. Our soils are pretty unsatisfactory when it comes to rooting cuttings. Only some succulents and cacti can successfully root though.

[NORTY FLATZ]

Ivy?

Who'd voluntarily put that cancer in? Once it's established, good luck getting rid of it....

[luv4horses]

Ivy roots best by laying a strand of it on the ground and holding it down securely for a few weeks. Then tiny roots will have started and you can cut up the pieces, each with a little soil on the new roots.

The new roots always form at the “nodes”. A node is where the existing leaf or leaf bud is located on the stem. So rooting can also take place when the node plus an inch of stem is placed in water but it’s slower and trickier. The leaf supplies food to the node which can help roots develop in ivy. But the roots need oxygen too so gently swirling the container every couple days can help. Root hormones might be released into the water so a small amount of water is best and don’t change the water until roots are at least a half inch long if possible.

[gentlearts]

Originally Posted by Ethereal

I tried to get rid of the old woods. Only two are legit older stem as you can see from their darker colouring. The rest are pretty much recent. Btw, the older set of cuttings were even much newer as I got them in spring. Not sure why they didn't root (in water) - And they had some leaves.


Interesting tip.


Thanks. Yeah, I was told about the length of the cuttings. So I did cut them down and placed the additional cut ones in the soil.

I had leaves on the older cuttings set and they just withered off. So I thought maybe the leaves were "taking" energy from the roots to develop, hence why I made these cuttings bare of any leaves.


So the consensus here is "with leaves". Now is there no hope for these leafless cuttings? Can they still root without leaves? They have buds and I can see some green sprouting - Can that help? I have now laid a plastic bag over them.

Oh, Aussie dirt/soil is rather infertile. We have the worst soils in the world. Our soils are pretty unsatisfactory when it comes to rooting cuttings. Only some succulents and cacti can successfully root though.

When we make cuttings at the botanical garden, we only leave 2-4 leaves at the tip, and 2-4 nodes below. You don’t want the new roots to waste the energy supporting a lot of leaves.

What you have, is what you have. Try everything and see what is most successful.

[Ethereal]

Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ

Ivy?

Who'd voluntarily put that cancer in? Once it's established, good luck getting rid of it....

This is NOT English Ivy (or Ivy-ivy).

Rather it's Boston ivy (Parthenocissus tricuspidata). It's related to the grapevine.

[Ethereal]

I'm happy to say that the cuttings have leaves budding:

Spoiler

Btw, is that plastic bag too opaque? And do they still need it or should I give them some fresh air?