A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Plants and Flowers Forum Plant Propagation stem cuttings

Hi guys, miss you all, so dropping in to say hi. I would also like to ask a question about geranium stem cuttings. I broke all the rules on what I should have done to keep my parent geranium over winter, but it still lives on my counter in bright light, with waterings just the same as my other indoor plants. My only problem is either gnats or fruit flies are coming out of the soil.
Now I want to make some babies, so please remind me how it's done, do I leave 2 nodules, or will 1 be enough to root. Should I put them in water, or should I put directly in the soil. Which method has better success?

Junie, thanks for advising me on the geranium seeds, but I think I will have to let it go for this year unless I can save the main stem of the parent plant in hopes that it will give me some decent seed heads come next fall. The ones I have this year don't look very promising.

I hate my computer--I had about 75% of my answer here & it is just gone--let me try again.

It is hard for me to tell you what to do since I don't know for sure what kind of fly that you have there--BUT as it does sound like the white fly that brought me to TGH the very first time, my suggestion is to let the soil dry out as white fly like a moist environment. It took me about 1 to 2 weeks but the infestation was gone.

you could also try a insecticidal soap. If you do not wish to buy it, you could make your own.

Use a pure liquid soap, such as Castile, or other all-natural soap.
You might try Ivory liquid soap. Don’t use detergents (which aren’t actually soaps), dish soaps, or any products with degreasers, skin moisturizers, or synthetic chemicals in them.

The ratio is 1 TB of soap to one quart of warm water.

This will give you a 2% solution, but you could cut it in half to make a 1% solution, so it will not be as strong on your plant.--The weaker solution will not be as effective but it will be more friendly to your plant.

You could make say 1/3 the amount (1-1/3 cup of warm water to 1 tsp liquid soap) for first & spary one leaf & see how that leaf does---

and I guess if the pot is small, you could always repot the plant & get rid of the infested soil. and wash off the plant & roots with mild version of soapy water. Repot with new potting soil

Good luck.

Juniegirl has some good info for you there on the fly infestation. I do use dish detergent on mine though as that is all I usually have around in liquid form. And I only spray the soil down fairly well around the plant. I makes for a nasty environment for critters. Also spray any other plants around as well as your flies may just move to a more comfortable home.
I have not had good luck with rooting plants in water so I won't give you info on that. I prefer soil as they develop soil roots instead of water roots which they need to thrive anyway. I like burying 2 leaf nodes under damp soil to give it as much head start as I can. But one node may work too.

Thanks. it doesn't look like a white fly infestation, definitely a little black fly one.
They are very small.

I let the soil dry out, later watered it with diluted ivory dish soap. I included all the other plants. Now it looks like I have a fresh batch of them but I don't see the little things swarming there, but when I water, I notice one or two come up out of the soil. The odd ones are also flying around in the rooms where there is no soil. Maybe it's fruitflies but I don't see anything here that would be drawing them. They sometimes come out of the bathtub facet and into the bath water? don't know why the constant running of tap and draining the tub, hasn't gotten rid of them. Maybe I need to aim a can of RAID in the spout and drain.

Tina, thanks, can I do the soil rooting, without putting rooting powder on the ends? I don't have any?

Junie, thanks, I hated my computer a few days ago, did exactly the same thing as yours, just when I was finishing a long post, poof, where did it go, must be in cyber heaven? Though, I've forgiven it since, LoL. Thanks for typing out the answer twice.

put a few dishes of water & dish soap mixed around your plant. It wont hurt to try and perhaps some will drown.

I must say, I cannot imagine why some would be living in the bathroom spogot.

Thanks, I found it strange as well that they are in the tap and drain pipe. I will see if I can find any information on it. Lol, maybe they like the scent of fruity soaps?

Another stem cutting question, do I cut straight across or at a slant?

Okay, just looked it up and there are such things as drain flies, but apparently moth like, which this isn't. Now the next culpirt is said to be fruitflies who can breed in the drain pipe. They don't necessarily need fruits and vegetables to do this, they can breed from guck in the pipes. Since we haven't been in this house for long, there is no telling what are in our pipes? If I can get my dh to take the drain trap off, then maybe we can get to the root of the problem, or maybe I can use a product that will dissolve whatever is down there? I pour disinfectant in there, but maybe I need a stonger solution like Javex, problem is that it goes down the drain too quickly.

If there is gunk in your drains, then anything that gets rid if gunk will be good. Pour boiling water down them. They are probably looking for water so they follow up the spigot until they find some.
If you see them coming out of your soil, it is best to treat them there. Do a coating of the soap/water to coat the top of your soil. Put a dish of apple cider vinegar out near your plants. You will see drowned gnats in it. When it has none drowned, your area is probably clear.
Geraniums cab be cut straight across the stems for rooting.

sounds like you have something called drain flies. You might have a leak somewhere. You can look them up online.

Thank you,
I will try the boiling water right now, in both the bathtub and the sink drains, that will probably take care of them unless the standing water in the drain is too deep down for the boiling water to reach it? If that doesn't fix it, then pouring a whole bottle of javex down there should.

Try boiling water every day for a bit.

Thanks Tina, I will do that. Yesterday I was able to get a close up look at one of these minin pests with my magnifying glass, and compared it with the computer photos of little flies. It does not appear to be drain flies, or fruit flies, more like gnats by their longer wings and color. Mind you, it's pretty much the same, they all like humid places, soil, etc. so far seen 2 buzzing around today.

I planted 12 pieces of geraniums, and a tray of 6 that I thought should be thrown out, but figured hey, lets plant this and see if something comes up. If I pretty much cut up the parent plant, will it still produce new shoots from the ground up if I keep watering it?

It might. It won't hurt to wait and see.

Hi guys, need your help again. Think I have a problem with my cuttings?? Some of the smaller new leaves that were left on the stems are turning yellow. Is this normal, or am I losing my cuttings? They have been in the soil 6 days. Hope I am left with something?


Think I have a new batch of fruit flies or gnats. I put a clear plastic glass over the drain in the tub so I could see if any were coming up, but none came up into the glass, instead a few tried to get in, possibly looking for water or humidity, but were blocked, so now it's back to looking for the source, which I think goes back to the soil in the pot that I had brought into the house with my geranium.

Either that or it could be from the apple wine my husband was making downstairs in the fall that drew them? That is all cleaned up long ago, but they could have gotten their start from there? What a pain these pests are?

Yes, it is normal to lose some leaves on new cuttings. They are putting their energy into root growth, hopefully. Only leave a couple of leaves on the top to absorb energy from light.
Have you tried any dish soap spray on the soil surface of your plant? Have you put out a dish of apple cider vinegar with a drop or two of dish soap as a trap for those critters?

I think it would not hurt to put a piece in some water to try that method as well. and if you are careful put a very weakened dose of plant fertilizer in the water--

I would figure the ratio advised when mixing with water to put on plants in soil & then cut the amout of product in half or you could use even less & add that to the presecribed amount of water & then add the plant to the treated water.

This will give your plant a boost in the beginning.

Thanks, I did try the apple cider vinegar but think I may have added too much dish soap. There was no evidence that it worked, didn't see one fly go for it. Looks like the flies are in the new soil now, guess the floaters found themselves a new home. Will try it again but with less dish soap in it.

Junie, I was thinking of the same thing to put a few in water. Guess it can't hurt. Thanks

Yellow leaves come from shock .
They will fall off.. Don't put leaves in the soil or water to root.. Remove them.
Good luck.was -5 this am, too cold here to root plants.
Good luck there.

Thanks Dodge, we have -19 c right now, supposed to be -25 c over night and more snow predicted overnight. We just don't have room to put it anywhere anymore. That spring Ticker looks real good as I count down the days, it gives me hope (Thanks AGF)that maybe this winter will soon be over and spring is around the corner.

I removed all the leaves from the stem that was put in the soil. The leaves that turned yellow were further up the stem towards the top. Yesterday I stuck a few in water, figure I don't have anything much to lose, but lots to gain if they start rooting for me. By the time this snow all melts and planting season arrives at the end of May, they should be about ready.

Thank you all, I will continue to update you on how my cuttings are rooting. However I will be transferring my fruit fly or gnat questions over to Plant Pests and Problem Forum. I really appreciated the help here.

good idea, Daisy--you will probably get more answers if it is posted there--

Here's an update on my stem cuttings. The parent plant that was almost stripped down to the soil has let out many new minature leaves. Glad I didn't toss it. I tried a few stem cuttings in water, but the bottoms started to rot, so cut that part off and stuck them back into the soil. Another week or 2, they should start to root. Please forward me a green thumb, lol.

Now that's cool.. You rock

very neat about the parent plant. I had a small stem break off my outside geranium last year so I stuck it in the dirt in the same pot and it rooted and bloomed. It was outside though.

How is your fly or gnat problem. The reason I mentioned drain flies is because my niece, who lives in a rental house, started having a problem with small flying things around her shower drain. She put some store bought drain things down first and it got better for a while but returned. She didn't do anything about it and it got really bad. They were in the shower all the time and started moving from the shower into the bathroom. She called her landlord and there was a leak and rotted wood under the house. The people who came to fix it called them drain flies but they don't like flies at all. They're tiny and look more like a gnat.