| Peat and Perlite are great rooting media for | | | | neutral, sterile and extremely light weight. A |
| softwood cuttings. Successful plant propagation | | | | disadvantage to rooting with straight Perlite is the |
| begins with understanding the strengths and | | | | fact that the Perlite may not hold enough water |
| weaknesses of each rooting media as well as the | | | | against the stem of the cutting which will keep it |
| advantages of mixing the two. | | | | from rooting. |
| Peat | | | | Which is best? |
| To Quote Wikipedia: | | | | There is no real all around "best" when it comes to |
| Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed | | | | rooting media. Some plants will root best in straight |
| vegetation matter. Peat forms in wetland bogs, | | | | Peat, some in straight Perlite, others in a mixture of |
| moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp | | | | the two. Rooting softwood cuttings is always an |
| forests. | | | | ongoing experiment, but for general purposes, a |
| So essentially it is decaying plant material has been | | | | mixture of 50/50 Peat and Perlite works well. |
| forming for 360 million years. Plant propagators use | | | | How to measure the Peat and Perlite to get an |
| peat as a rooting media because it is sterile, holds | | | | accurate mix |
| moisture, and is Ph neutral. These three qualities are | | | | To get an accurate mix of Peat and Perlite, it should |
| one of the best reasons to use peat when rooting | | | | be mixed per volume and not weight. Simply fill a |
| cuttings. One disadvantage is that straight Peat may | | | | container with Peat, transfer it into a container that is |
| hold too much water against the stem of the cutting | | | | at least twice as large, fill the smaller container with |
| that is being rooted which may cause it to rot. | | | | Perlite, transfer it to the larger one and mix it |
| Perlite | | | | together very well. This will give you an accurate 50 |
| Again quoting Wikipedia: | | | | 50 mix. |
| Perlite is an amorphous volcanic glass that has a | | | | In Conclusion |
| relatively high water content, typically formed by the | | | | As you root your cuttings, try making small changes |
| hydration of obsidian. It occurs naturally and has the | | | | to your Peat/Perlite mixture and see which ratio |
| unusual property of greatly expanding when heated | | | | works best for you. Just remember to keep |
| sufficiently | | | | accurate records so you can replicate what worked |
| It is when the Perlite is expanded that the great | | | | best. Always remember that what works great in |
| qualities of Perlite are found for rooting cuttings. This | | | | one part of the country may not work as well in |
| expansion creates small pockets that air and moisture | | | | your part. Finding out what works in your area is part |
| fill. As well as having those pockets, Perlite is Ph | | | | of the fun of rooting softwood cuttings! |