Friday, March 26, 2010

Rooting Rose Cuttings in a Fish Tank




Aquariums are a common curbside scrounge item, with many perfectly good and non-leaking. I found this big one (30 gallon?) some months back, and am trying it out as a rose cuttings rooting box. There is a few inches on the bottom of a mix of homemade compost and gritty sand from hurricane sand bags, and I have the broad side facing south. Cuttings (some with rooting hormone, some with none) are stuck in, marked with a strip of miniblind, with a horizontal strip of miniblind dividing the groups of cuttings. A long shallow plastic storage tub I dumpster dived over the top keeps out rain and traps humidity. To prevent overheating from excess solar gain, I placed two blue plastic bread trays over the top and laid a tray of sunflower seedlings onto them to hold them down and block more sunlight. It has been "running" a couple weeks ago and so far there are no dead cuttings...same with my inground method I am testing I posted earlier about. I sure my near 10 year curse of no longer being able to root roses easily is cured so I can begin growing and selling my own hybrids and others in 5 gallon Water Wise Containter Gardens as a new perennial income source. Plus when people buy and bury their rose container gardens, they will discover that rose growing in central Florida CAN be easy while using VERY little water since water shortages are now the new norm for this overcrowded state I love and was born in.



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