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Tap or rainwater?

shanelee66shanelee66 Posts: 28
in Plants
Hi everyone.  Ive been given some cuttings from a fig tree and want to try growing them in water(as not had much success growing them in soil!)but is it better to use rain or tap water or doesn't it matter? Didn't find out much by googling this. Thank you. 

Posts

  • shanelee66shanelee66 Posts: 28
    Thanks Philippa i will try both and see what happens! Ive had so many cuttings from my friend i don't think he has much of a tree left!! 
  • BobTheGardenerBobTheGardener Posts: 11,385
    Agree with trying several methods if you have several cuttings!  I've had 100% success using 50% perlite and 50% MPC but that was with the pot stood on a heated bed kept at 25C.  'Bottom heat' is the most effective thing for hardwood cuttings I find, so if you don't have a propagator or similar but have a windowsill above a radiator, give that a try with one of them (and only water once until you see signs of life unless the compost is dry about 5cm down.)  I always use tap water for seedlings and cuttings to reduce the chances of them catching something but switch to rainwater as soon as they get going.
    A trowel in the hand is worth a thousand lost under a bush.
  • shanelee66shanelee66 Posts: 28
    Thanks Bob i will follow your advice. Receiving several more cuttings today and i do have a tube heater in my greenhouse so i could place them above that? Just confused as ive read other articles about wrapping cuttings in damp paper towels for a couple of weeks first? Im a keen beginner as you can tell!!
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