These are the last atempt of rooting Guayusa still in the right season, initially there were about 10 cuttings, of which 5 were ideal, 3 of them are doing well, presenting some growth and leaves, but on inspection the roots are just forming… no actual roots yet…
The propagator is a small wonder, kept in the shade works a lot better than any other that I have tried so far. Yes its just a cola bottle cut in half and made to fit like a package by heating up the first 2 cm of the bottom of the top half to make it shrink, this is done by submerging the first 2 cm or so in hot water, it makes it shrink and after that the two half are a perfect fit, the irregular bottom of the bottle stores some water away from the pot, which is perfect for humidity control, and so is the bottle cap, that works like a valve.
I am now reducing the humidity gradually by opening a bit more of the cap every week.
The cuttings are in there since march this year, they were excellent quality, and even were scorched a bit by letting them in excess sunlight for a day, what might have affected the weaker ones a bit.
I regularly wash the vermiculite filing up the pot in the kitchen sink with water an letting it drain, about five times. I do this once week to eliminate fungus and bad bacteria that could accelerate rot.
I dont inspect the roots more than once a month as I dont want to disturb them or break them, filling up the pot with water to wash them works fine.
Finally, used Clonex in the first week to encourage root growth, and now feed them with Vitalink, using the irregular bottom of the bottle to keep it barely touching the bottom of the pot.
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