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verbena bonariensis cuttings - mold/damping off?

puschkiniapuschkinia Posts: 229
in Problem solving
Hi everyone

I bought some small v. bon plants this year (after a complete failure to grow them from seed) and they grew to be massive. I love them and definitely want some next year too. So, I took cuttings from one of my plants and put them straight in a ~1L pot of seed compost and perlite by a bright, warm window.

I checked them today and all the cuttings have these nasty white patches on - looks like some sort of fungus. I've temporarily moved them outside in case any of my other plants get infected (is that possible?)

Maybe the compost was too damp, I'm not sure. Does anyone know whether they're salvageable and/or what I can do and/or what I may have done wrong? I can take more cuttings if needs be, but I don't want to repeat whatever mistake it is that I made!

Thanks :)


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Posts

  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    Did you allow some of the original plants to set seed? If yes, with any luck you'll have plenty of self seeded plants in sunny spots or between paving slabs .   Can't help with the cuttings, sorry
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    They look very wet. They're best in pretty dry conditions, which is also why keeping them right at the edges of pots is the best position. I do two or three in a 3 inch pot which is plenty of room for them to get rooted. I use perlite or grit, with just a small amount of old compost or similar, so that there's no chance of them being too wet.
    They wouldn't really need watering much for the next few months now. If they've rooted, you can pot them up separately too  :)

    It's not something I've ever had on V. bon, but a few people were saying they get it every year on them. Perhaps others can advise on it - but you can probably just wipe it off.
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • puschkiniapuschkinia Posts: 229
    @B3 I've left the flower heads on, but I can't see any seedlings yet unfortunately. Hopefully they'll come. The only new growth I'm seeing in my garden (apart from millions of dandelions, gernium herb robert and other nondescript weeds) is vast swathes of nigella seedlings. None where I wanted them ofc :joy:
  • puschkiniapuschkinia Posts: 229
    @Fairygirl ah ok, thank you! I'll give them a clean and move them to something tiny. Hopefully they can be salvaged :)
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    Just check they've got some roots, and don't put them into anything too big at this stage [assuming there are roots] as they won't do a lot of growing now.
    Even if they do, they'll slow down as it gets colder. :)
    They probably grow much quicker with you though, due to the climate where you are. I don't know if you'll need to give them any protection when it's colder. I usually keep mine in the little greenhouse if they're still small, but I usually take cuttings earlier in the year, so that they're a decent enough size by autumn. They don't always do terribly well here otherwise  :)
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • puschkiniapuschkinia Posts: 229
    Yes I'm now regretting not taking cuttings earlier! Time goes by so quickly - I'd thought about it once they started taking off around August, decided to wait a little and now it's mid-November.

    If you put them in your greenhouse @Fairygirl then perhaps they'd be better off in my little cold frame. It doesn't get too cold here, though our back garden feels a good 5-10 degrees chillier than the south-facing front! 
  • B3B3 Posts: 27,505
    You won't see them until the spring. They will be in little clumps with
    leaves
     

     close to the ground and many of them will have a purplish tint.
    In London. Keen but lazy.
  • FairygirlFairygirl Posts: 55,117
    A cold frame should be ideal @puschkinia :)
    I sometimes lose a few, but it's just how it is. It depends on how severe the winter is too, but it's the cold, wet stuff that does the damage, rather than just cold, frosty weather. My little g'house isn't great, but it's against the house wall, so that helps.

    They don't seed readily here either, because of the conditions, which is why I do cuttings to give me a back up. The main plants don't always make it either, so I try to do a few just in case we don't get these milder winters that we've had here in the last 5 or 6 years. 
    It's a place where beautiful isn't enough of a word....



    I live in west central Scotland - not where that photo is...
  • LoxleyLoxley Posts: 5,698
    All my V.bs have similar patches of mildew, even young seedlings; it's something that happens at this time of year before they go fully dormant. I think they'll be fine, I've had miniscule cuttings and seedlings make it through winter without special protection; just label the pot and be patient in spring, they may look dead but usually come up from the roots.
    "What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbour". 
  • LynLyn Posts: 23,190
    Living in a very damp part of the country, almost all of my cuttings get mould like that,  I take no notice,  in the Spring they’ll all shoot up from the base, with good clean growth, then just cut off the old mouldy growth. 
    Just let them dry out a bit and look again in 3 month time.   Not anything to worry about.
    Penstemons are the worst for that.   They all come good by Spring. 
    Gardening on the wild, windy west side of Dartmoor. 

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