You may be able to make that green thumb of yours even greener by rooting many of your cuttings under a propagation system called a “mist system”. In this system. cuttings are simply bathed in a fine mist of water – in full sunlight or very bright light – for the entire rooting period. The mist is provided by special atomizing nozzles. which can be purchased, and it’s a simple matter for the home gardener to set up the system and keep it operating. All that’s needed are one or more flats or a propagation bench, one or more mist nozzles (fogging is also used), a hose or pipe, a continuous water supply with adequate pressure to operate the nozzle, solenoid value and a timer.
This system used for decades has several distinct advantages over the usual rooting methods. It affords almost 100 per cent freedom from the usual insect pests and diseases of the propagating bench, including damping-off. This effects a great saving in labor and time along reducing the necessity of spraying the plants. In fact, the only attention required is an occasional check to make sure mist nozzles are working properly.
Propagation Mist System In Action
Other advantages: the humidity of the constant mist system maintains your cuttings in tip-top shape, with no wilting; and in the case of many plants, cuttings root faster and yield a higher percentage of well-rooted plantlets. This system succeeds with many normally hard-to-root cuttings. An extra dividend is that the system can also be used to harden off new transplants at mist edge.
In warmer sections, constant mist can be used outdoors most of the year. In more northerly areas. the system would have to be moved indoors under cover in winter. When the system is set up outdoors, some kind of wind protection is likely to be needed.
For most of plants propagated under a mist system, the rooting medium used is ususally a well drained mixture of equal parts vermiculite or perlite and peat moss. Satisfactory rooting of cutting under mist has been obtained with many different types of media.
When a bench is under constant mist for a long time, deposits of soluble salts from the water may collect on the rooting media and sometimes even on the plants themselves. However, these salts do not appear to injure the cuttings and can be flushed away with water.
To give you an idea of the wide variety of plants that can be rooted under constant mist. here’s a list of some of those which have given good results in Florida:
- Azalea
- Boxwood
- Camellia
- Croton
- Ficus
- Gardenia
- Ivy
- Common and California Privet
- Myrtle
- Oleander
- Roses
- Blackberry
- Raspberry
- Blueberry
- and Various Other Plants
In some cases, several cuttings were used; in other cases, only a single cutting. Most cuttings were standard, current-wood, stem propagation’s from average plants.
Azaleas, gardenias, hibiscus, and privet are some of the more readily rooting plants which responded most rapidly to the constant mist, while other usually hard-to-root plants like holly, myrtle and roses react favorably.
If you are interested in setting up a mist system for your garden, talk with a local irrigation specialist for more details.
