What cyclic timing sequence (on/off) do those of you that use a misting box find that works best for rose propagation? Do you use the same cycle pattern until you are ready to move them out?
John I use a setting of 1 second every 5 minutes from 6 am to 8 pm. It remains off until midnight and then it is on from 12 to 2 am, then off until 6in the morning. I mist them in the middle of the night because the heat is on.
Frank B
Frank,
What temp do you keep in your greenhouse at night?
Hi John,
The system I use is turned on for 1 to 2 minutes, and then off for 20 minutes. It runs from 6 AM to 8 PM in the summer (basically from sun up to sun down). I would probably only have it on for 10 seconds or so except that I run it longer for “insurance” in case one or more of the emitters gets plugged up.
The emitters look like this and produce a much higher flow than “fogging” type misters:
There are four emitters enclosed in clear plastic draped over a frame made out of PVC pipe. The clear plastic serves as a shower curtain to protect the rest of the greenhouse. In the small 6’ X 6’ enclosed area below, I can root about 1000 cuttings all at once in 2 to 3 weeks.
Jim Sproul
Hi Jim,
I am curious to know why you chose misting over fogging? As you know I have purchased a number of brass fogging nozzles and a digital timer. I have a mini greenhouse that is 5ft wide, 6ft high, and 2ft deep that I intend to install these in to strike rose cuttings. I ultimately decided on fogging nozzles instead of misting because I’d also like to try and strike some Australian natives in there, some of which have fairly hairy leaves/stems (like Correa alba) so I don’t think they’d appreciate being dripping wet all the time and figured constant high humidity would give the same result as cyclically sprinkling water all over them.
With the price of natural gas so high I have been runing it at 55 night and 65 day. I also have a heat pad under the cuttings and it is set at 75. The cuttings take much longer to root under these conditions in winter… I use the same flora-mist nozzles as Jim. The seedlings are taking forever to bloom at 55. In my old little greenhouse I had bloom in 28 days after germination, using bottom heat and s 400 watt high pressure sodian fixture 4 feet above the bench.
Hi Simon, I chose misting because I started out propagating rose cuttings outside. The misters shoot out the water with sufficient force to water things in the vacinity despite moderate wind, while with foggers in the open air, the fog could easily be blown about by the wind causing the cuttings to dry out. Also in my experience foggers plug up more easily than misters.
I have rooted all kinds of things on my misting table, but only use it during the warmer summer months. To propagate in the winter, I stick hardwood rose cuttings directly in the ground outside.
Jim Sproul
I recently picked up one of these timers - with adjustable on/off cycles from 6 seconds to 60 minutes. Cost $29 plus shipping. Check this one out if you need a misting timer.
My zone is the same as Jim’s, tho I’m farther north. I also use micro-sprayers In a cold frame or hoop tunnel. Ein Dor micro-sprayers (I think I’m using 10 or 15 gph), operate once an hour for a minute each time during the heat of the day and will produce nice rooted cuttings within 3-4 weeks. Ein Dor is excellent for producing a pattern of perfect coverage with no wet or dry spots. The emitters are fragile and cannot take any impact from things that happen outside. They are inexpensive and operate off a standard drip irrigation system. In a warmer climate you might need to spritz more frequently.