Forum home› Plants
This Forum will close on Wednesday 27 March, 2024. Please refer to the announcement on the Discussions page for further detail.

Sambucus Nigra Cutting

aidanhoadaidanhoad Posts: 174
in Plants
Hi everyone,

A few weeks back I took a few cuttings from my sambucus nigra; they seemed to take really well and developed new shoots after a few days, standing tall and strong.

I have had them covered with a plastic bag, but each time I take the bag off, after about an hour they begin to droop… so I put the bag back on again!

Also, on one of them the newer shoots have now dropped off! 🥲

What can I do, I feel like they should be uncovered by now really!?

Pictures attached as an example of the change after an hour or so…

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thank you.

Aidan.

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    Are there roots showing in the hole in the pot bottom? That is what they need to really start growing.
  • aidanhoadaidanhoad Posts: 174
    Hi,

    Thanks for replying!

    No signs of roots on the underside yet, the the hole is very small and the pot very deep - should I be waiting until I see signs of that before uncovering?

    Aidan.
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Yes, they won't support themselves without roots.
    It would have been better to have the cuttings in a smaller pot.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • thevictorianthevictorian Posts: 1,279
    A couple of weeks isn't very long to get roots established, going by my experience. I have taken cuttings and tried every way to get them going and by far the easiest method is to root them in water and then pot them up as the roots get about a cm or so long. Doing this you don't need to cover them but it is best to slowly reduce the humidity over a period of time, once you are sure they are rooted strongly, and I find a propagator easier for this. With a plastic bag you can cut a small hole in the corner and then gradually increase the size of the hole. 
    The dropping foliage is normal as it's the plants way of stopping excess water loss through the leaves. It's telling us that it's roots can't support the top growth. 
  • aidanhoadaidanhoad Posts: 174
    Hi,

    Thats fantastic, really helpful thank you - I shall try the hole in the bag method and see how I go from there…

    Also relieved that there is still
    hope for the poor plant dropping its leaves!

    Thanks again,
    Aidan.
Sign In or Register to comment.