stem cuttings on Anthuriums

From: "Michael Pascall" mpascall at eisa.net.au> on 2000.04.27 at 04:15:53(4444) If you want to be certain not to lose the stem, the best way is to lay the plant on its side ! I know this sounds difficult, but severing the head can cause the whole stem to die !!!! This happened to me with a very nice Anth. I bought on a bus trip with an Orchid Soc.Many members wanted a cutting,and with 2' of stem I thought I could get a few plants propagated, but I should have waited until warmer weather. I took the cuttings in Autumn,the base that I left in the original pot , rotted almost straight away, and the stem that I cut into 4 x 6" bits took 5-6 months to slowly pass away . The crown survived! +More Re-pot the plant into the largest pot you can find/afford. Trim dead and old roots, remembering that you want the stem to lay on the media, not in it !A half to one inch layer of sphagnum moss on the surface will ensure new roots do not dessicate. If the stem is very long, you could chop off 2-3" chunks until a manageable size is achieved. Then use the same method for the cuttings, but keeping more roots on them. I have got 4 plants from a chunk of Anth.corrugatum stem over a 2 year span ! When removing plants from the old stem i wait until at least 3 roots have formed,and they all have a bit of length to them. This is an old orchid growers hint,for when removing 'keiki's' from Vandas. Michael Pascall

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