Cuttings vs Seedlings?

[zeuspaul]

Once established is there a difference? Will a rooted cutting perform as well as a seedling?

I am short on plants, seedlings so I have been rooting cuttings. They get some nice roots after a week or so. Then I place in some potting soil. How long should I wait before planting out in the garden. Should there be a well established root ball? One week? Two weeks? Rooted cuttings seem to give me a plant faster than starting from seed so if the end product is equivalent is there a reason to favor a seedling over a cutting?

[Clkeiper]

depends on what you are taking cuttings on? tomatoes? peppers? marigolds?
tomatoes you can root right in the ground if the stems are the size of a pencil. just push then into the ground and put a white bucket over them for a week. or you could cut the bottom off a pot and fill it with sterile media and put that rightin the ground and plop a bucket over it. this works for me.
Peppers... sterile medium in the greenhouse rooting chamber or whatever you use. make sure they are well rooted before putting them out.

[rxkeith]

main advantage of a cutting vs seedling going into the garden is time. i see a cutting producing tomatoes
much sooner than a seedling would. makes a big difference for the shorter growing season folks.

as for when to transplant,

if the cutting has a decent root system, treat it like a seedling that needs to be hardened off. over a weeks
time gradually expose it to longer periods of sun light. once it can be in sun all day where its going to be
planted without going all droopy, you should be good to go. make sure it is watered in.




keith

[zeuspaul]

Thanks for the response. To clarify I am referring to tomatoes.

depends on what you are taking cuttings on? tomatoes? peppers? marigolds?
tomatoes you can root right in the ground if the stems are the size of a pencil. just push then into the ground and put a white bucket over them for a week. or you could cut the bottom off a pot and fill it with sterile media and put that rightin the ground and plop a bucket over it. this works for me.
Peppers... sterile medium in the greenhouse rooting chamber or whatever you use. make sure they are well rooted before putting them out.

[Shule]

One big difference is that the cuttings won't have a taproot. I'm guessing cuttings will probably have more available phosphorus to them and less potassium (since taproots grow deeper than others, and potassium is supposed to be more available further down; plus, it's cooler further down, and potassium is more available when it's cooler; phosphorus is more available when it's warmer). Giving cuttings supplemental potassium might be a good idea.

I've read an anecdote (from J. Musser on gardening.stackexchange.com) that seedlings seemed less prone to viruses.

Given plenty of time, you'll probably get better results with seedlings, but if you're stretched for time, either way is probably just as effective. However, if it's too hot to start seeds or for them to mature easily in your climate, cuttings are probably much better. Tomatoes stop sprouting after it gets above 90° F. or so.

I've grown cuttings side-by-side with others transplanted the same time, and haven't noticed a big difference (but neither of them did terribly well that year; so, it wasn't very demonstrative). I've grown later cuttings, but I haven't gotten much fruit from them by comparison with the parent plant. My growing season is 5 months (but plants grow slowly in it for the first while).

I recommend saving seeds from fruits from your cuttings, if you plan to do it again next year. They may experience an acclimatization benefit to growing without a taproot.

I think how well they do really depends on a lot of stuff.

[peebee]

[mention]zeuspaul[/mention] it sounds like you are starting them in water first, then potting them up, then you want to plant in soil. 3 steps. You can do what others have suggested, directly in soil. I always put them in potting soil in small pots or those Hefty plastic 16 oz cups w/ holes on bottom. Put them in a shallow pan w/ water in bottom, in shade. I think they do better when they are in any soil from the get go, not water. I can give them away already in a cup/pot so the recipient can either plant in the ground or in a larger pot. I made lots this year cuz of covid & people gardening more now.

[zeuspaul]

[mention]peebee[/mention] you're right I have been starting them in water. I wanted to see what was going on and how long it took to develop roots. However just today I did place a couple in small pots and potting soil as you suggest. Without seeing the roots I won't have a good feel for when the plants will be ready. I am guessing a week to get some small roots and then perhaps another week before they have enough of a rootball to plant outside??

@zeuspaul it sounds like you are starting them in water first, then potting them up, then you want to plant in soil. 3 steps. You can do what others have suggested, directly in soil. I always put them in potting soil in small pots or those Hefty plastic 16 oz cups w/ holes on bottom. Put them in a shallow pan w/ water in bottom, in shade. I think they do better when they are in any soil from the get go, not water. I can give them away already in a cup/pot so the recipient can either plant in the ground or in a larger pot. I made lots this year cuz of covid & people gardening more now.

[peebee]

I did both as an experiment this year & it took about the same amount of time. My cups are clear so I can see roots but if I use non-clear ones I just gently tug on the stems to check if roots formed.

[Shule]

[mention]zeuspaul[/mention]
I usually take new growth as a sign that a soil cutting has roots. However, unusually vigorous cuttings can sometimes grow before they have roots (but they grow roots fast, anyway).

For rooting in soil, I definitely recommend adding potassium to that soil (no nitrogen for a cutting; it can kill it). Potassium seems to increase success rates quite a lot.

If it's a large cutting, keep it out of bright light for a while (unlike cuttings in water, large soil cuttings are sensitive to bright light for the first day or three; younger leaves are less sensitive to light). My large soil cuttings have rooted faster than my large water cuttings. Soil cuttings also don't have the problem of nutrients leaching. I've been hypothesizing about a hybrid solution for large cuttings for some years now (to get the best of both worlds), but I haven't evaluated it much, if at all: That is, have it in water for the first day or so (however much time is needed), and then continue rooting it in soil after that. That way, you might circumvent the light-sensitivity, and can have it in good light unceasingly. Well, that's the hypothesis. Make sure the light isn't brighter than it was when it was in water (at first).

People usually recommend younger growth for cuttings, and small amounts of it. There are a lot of reasons that could be a good idea (but I haven't done that much).

[slugworth]

I have plants I started last year,8 months old already.
I got one crop in the windowsill back in the winter and when the plants started to peter out I topped and cloned them.
The bottoms sent out suckers and are at the bloom stage.
The same for the clones.From a determinate type so I am getting good mileage from those plants.
If they make it to the end of September I will light a candle for them (1 year old)
I just started seeds may 1st so I am relying on bought plants and clones.

[slugworth]

I never root in water
I always use warm soggy potting soil in a 16oz translucent cup no drainage.

[slugworth]

Recent plant purchases;I tried to find ones with suckers.
I let them grow about 4 inches and cut those off to clone.