I need some advice about rooting cuttings in water...
Ian Green, by email
Stefan says: You’ve had success with some plants but not others; and you report that sometimes even plants that have succeeded in the past fail to do so again. There’s no general rule about which types of plant produce what are called water roots. You mentioned willows and certainly any species, like willow, that grows well in wet conditions, is likely to succeed. In my experience plants such as begonias and fuchsias that strike readily in compost are also successful.
As with all cuttings, success will vary with the time of year and age of the shoot being used, both of which affect the level of rooting hormone in the tissues. And it’s worth adding that when a cutting that has produced water roots is transferred to compost, it doesn’t necessarily establish well in the new medium.