My cuttings die

Greetings. Please advise. I have cuttings that I plant with rooting hormone and close with an empty two liter bottle to create a greenhouse effect. Weeks later leaves develop, a few more weeks later leaves flourish. I remove the bottle and leave it in a shaded corner, but the leaves all shrivel up and die. I read somewhere that it needs to happen gradually. Over what time span?  Would you suggest increasing holes in the plastic, or raising it higher?

Can I save the ones with dead leaves?

Cuttings can be tricky. I doubt that you can save the ones with dead leaves. The biggest issue I have found is maintaining the right moisture level until they have good solid roots. Too little moisture and they dry out, shrivel up, and die. Too much moisture and they rot below ground before they shrivel up and die. Try again and adjust the moisture level. My guess is that your transition was too abrupt and they did not have enough roots to support the leaves when you removed the cover.

RyanSA wrote:Greetings. Please advise. I have cuttings that I plant with rooting hormone and close with an empty two liter bottle to create a greenhouse effect. Weeks later leaves develop, a few more weeks later leaves flourish. I remove the bottle and leave it in a shaded corner, but the leaves all shrivel up and die. I read somewhere that it needs to happen gradually. Over what time span?  Would you suggest increasing holes in the plastic, or raising it higher?

Can I save the ones with dead leaves?

Hello Ryan,
Have you tried air layering?

Thanks guys. I read somewhere that I have to sort of gradually expose them to open air and sunlight. Or just go with air/ground layering (then we have none of those problems)

"I have cuttings that I plant with rooting hormone"


What are the cuttings? This makes a huge difference in whats going on while you root them. Bulking it into "cuttings" is taking a lot for granted.

Different species react differently. No general advice can be relied on completely.

But leaves drying up is most likely an indication the roots are not getting enough water up the trunk and into the leaves. If the rate of transpiration is faster than the roots can get the water in the leaves will die. I'd slow down the process of exposing the cuttings. First slowly reduce the water level and expose a fer rots to air. Second, make only a small hole in the container at first, and slowly enlarge it.

I'd also add a few splashes of willow water. https://deepgreenpermaculture.com/diy-instructions/home-made-plant-rooting-hormone-willow-water/