eggs & tea

You may recall from my previous posts big new batch, and after 1 month.  It’s now been nearly 3 months, and here’s the breakdown.  Here’s what was left in the trays today:

Of the 424 cuttings:
20 have produced some visible roots.  I have potted them up.
32 remain in limbo; not obviously dead, but no visible roots either.
392 were culled, for dying, clearly not rooting, or making only a rootball.

Here’s all that survives from tray 3Y, 7 with some root, 2 with rootballs:

This is rather frustrating.  Granted, this batch was meant as an experiment, rooted 6 different ways to see what works.  And that breakdown on the survival rate is:
in oasis cubes: 19%
in potting soil: 9%
in soil/manure: 0%
For choice of dip:
with Dip’n'grow: 8%
with hydrogen peroxide: 5%

The success rates are so low that i’m not sure how much to read into the results.  The ones with roots don’t have much leaf growth either, which in the past has meant it won’t survive all the way into the field.  So, roughly estimating that only 50% of pottings like these will make it:

then the overall success rate (excluding the soil/manure) will be 6%.  My previous best result, from Eliah’s branches, produced 25 plants in the ground, from 255 cuttings (10% success), and they took a full 8 months to all leave limbo, from October 2006 to June 2007.

<Sigh>  It seems like i’ve tried every single way – in soil, in cubes, with powdered root hormone, liquid root hormone, partial shade, heavy shade, outdoors on a table, inside a greenhouse, watering, misting.  I’ve made cuttings with 1, 2, 3, 4 nodes.  I’ve cut precisely the section between brown and green wood that should do best.  I’ve inserted the cuttings straight up, and at an angle.  I’ve studied the chapter in the Tea textbook from India.  I’ve taken instruction from Aileen, gone home to try it, and they almost all die.  I’ve followed the Mealani published shade-house instructions precisely, and they almost all die.

I really wish there was someone i could go to for advice or help.  But the Tea Society doesn’t do that, CTAHR doesn’t do that.  There’s not even a mailing list to ask for help, because HTS wouldn’t allow it.  It’s frustrating, but i will not be deterred!  I will grow a field of tea one way or another, and keep looking for ideas.  Have any?

Related posts:

1. Tea cuttings – at 4 months Out of 424 tea cuttings started back in September 2008,...
2. Tea cuttings not making roots Like many of the tea growers on the island, i’ve...
3. Propagating tea cuttings Today i did some major updates to my online notes...
4. Roots on cuttings from our own plants! It’s been a little over two months since i started...
5. First successful cuttings! Here they are. I know it may not look like...

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