pin oak cuttings - what to do at this point

[dustbust]

I trunk chopped a pin oak and cut up all of the remaining pieces for cuttings they range from pencil thick to an inch. I took the cuttings in May. I made a batch of sterile soil 10% organic 90% napa floor dry. I put them all in a 20 gal long fish tank in my garage by the window and covered with clear plastic. Gets very humid and I open once a day to air things out or add a bit of water if needed.

right now I have about 80% growing leaves and stems and such. I actually had to prune one because it was outgrowing the tank. Im confused because they are all growing well but zero have any roots. They are all reaching the top of the tank and at this point my idea is to get 4 sticks to now drape the plastic over so I can give them another 12" of growing space.

Is there a trick to get those roots to start growing? Or am I going to have to keep building up my tower of plastic?

BTW I have one I keep checking for roots and there are none but its growing very well.

 

[Poink88]

It is possible that since the cutting is getting enough moisture from the air through its bark, & leaves that it is not encouraged to grow roots. How about reducing the humidity slowly (maybe leave a bit more opening) and see if that helps? The roots also need warmth to grow, at what temp is the substrate at?

I would avoid cutting anymore growth until you have roots. The leaves should induce root growth actually as the water & nutrient demand increases.

Edit in: It is also very likely that the cuttings are growing off stored energy and you do not want to waste any of it (by pruning new growth).

Good luck!

 

[dustbust]

Ya its VERY humid in there. I think I will try lifting the plastic sheet up and possibly popping a few small holes in to cut down on the humidity. I can always mist if the leaves start to droop.

reason I pruned the one is it started to touch the plastic and mold. Sounds like I should have just caught it before it molded instead of pruning. wont do that again if im basically cutting away stored energy.

Not sure the temp of the substrate but its been pretty steady 80s here and it feels a lot warmer in my fishtank greenhouse.

Also, what point would it be a good idea to bring these outside of the garage into the sun. right now they are growing just with window light.

Thanks for the tips Poink88

 

[Poink88]

If you plan on putting the tank out...maybe you shouldn't poke too many holes on your tent yet. I'd move the tank out (under shade) first, observe then adjust other things later.

You do not want the new leaves burned and they need to acclimate slowly. You do not want to cook the cuttings as well, aquarium can get hot fast if kept in direct sun.

BTW, 80 degrees is within the ideal range for root growth so that is fine.

Note that once the stored energy is used up, your cuttings may suddenly sulk and man stay that way until next year or even dry up and die. If you are lucky, it may not go through that phase and just grow.

Good luck!

 

[dustbust]

well i left the tank in the garage for now (one step at a time) I put 4 sticks in each corner and now I have a tent over the whole thing. Because the plastic drapes there are small openings where it hangs so that will help "dry" the air up a bit. Before there was so much moisture that the plastic suctioned to the top of the tank and zero air was allowed in.

All the cuttings still look good. I think Im going to wait 2 weeks before I bring them outside to a shady spot. In ND we only have 1 month left of growing season then September hits and thing dramatically cool off. So im hoping these get to root by then otherwise they will go in my basement Ghetto greenhouse.