Weldenia root cuttings

Dennis Szeszko dszeszko@gmail.com
Mon, 13 Feb 2006 09:38:01 PST
This is purely speculative because I've never tried it, but I think that it
would be helpful to take root cuttings that leave a portion of the central
disc still attached.  Let me explain...

Weldenia roots are like a starfish in shape.  There is a central disk with
tuberous arms going out radially.  Instead of just taking snippets of pieces
from the ends of the roots, it would he helpful to excise the whole rootlet
along with a portion of the center.  The plant's leaf growth emerges from
this center portion so if you had a piece of it along with the root your
chances of propagating the plant would be much better.  The plant does not
form dormant shoots in this central disc at the end of the growing season in
the same manner that a Dahlia would form an "eye".  The new growths with
meristematic tissue arise spontaneously from the central disc when the plant
starts growing again in the spring.  Normally, the plant would have growth
regulators that prevent more than one growth from emerging from this disc
(this is why I imagine that Weldenia plants do not offset in the wild); but
if you split the roots into several pieces you could get several new plants.


This should be attempted during the plant's dormant period.  The root
cuttings as I described should be placed in a dryish sandy medium until the
cut end forms a callus.  In the spring or when the rainy season begins
(whichever is first) the plant will hopefully form a new growth from the
central disc portion attached to the rootlet.

Good luck


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