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 Rooting Cuttings Soil Science Tips
When rooting in a low cation exchange (CEC)* media, which Perlite is 1.5 - 3.5 (exceptionally low), it is necessary to foliar/leaf feed rooting plants often for the proper development of the plant and especially the root system. The primary nutritional needs of the cutting when rooting and developing the root-mass are these properties; rooting hormones “IBA and/or K-IBA”, auxins, gibberens (GA3) and phosphate. The rooting hormone will supply the IBA and/or K-IBA, seaweed extract will supply the above and auxins and gibberens
and a liquid phosphate fertilizer that will convert to phosphate ions
quickly in the plant will supply adequate phosphate.
From my
experience I would suggest the addition of a media that has a more binding
effect on the root system which would be pine bark at 20% of total volume.
This will improve the binding quality of the media without being a detriment
to the rooting process. In addition, the cation exchange would increase as
Pine Bark is 53.0. Coir would be a superior substitute for Pine Bark because
the Cation Exchange is 300.00. This would facilitate the grower with another
feeding option by liquid fertilizer in the container and improve the
root-mass for transplanting. In addition, Coir has a very high natural
carbon content which is excellent for plant growth. A good cutting and seeding mix consists of pumice and coir at 1 to 1 ratio in warm months and 30% pumice, 30% perlite and 40% coir
in winter for green house propagation on a heated bench system. These mixes would allow the cutting to remain in the original rooting container  longer to fully develop the root mass. We root in our rooting tubes and allow the root system to fully develop and then transplant one time to a 1, 2, 3 or 5 gallon container depending on the production targeted for the plant. A rooted plumeria (or any plant for that matter) that has been given the appropriate nutrition will better survive transplant shock, pathogen and insect attack and begin growing again in less than half the time of a rooted plumeria suffering from mal-nutrition (I.E. weak rooted cutting).
*In soil science, cation exchange capacity (CEC) is the capacity of a
soil for ion exchange of positively charged ions between the soil and the
soil solution. A positively-charged ion, which has fewer electrons than
protons, is known as a cation due to its attraction to cathodes. Cation
exchange capacity is used as a measure of fertility and nutrient retention
capacity of a soil or potting mix.
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