Pepper Cuttings?

Starlight · December 19, 2015

Will still be several weeks before my head will be cleared to spend more than few minutes on computer a week, so if I don't answer your post right away, don't think I am ignoring you.

In the past I have dug up and planted in containers a few peppers and kept them alive over the winter to get a jump on spring and a bigger plant, but while I was looking at this hot chocolate pepper I brought in for winter I was wondering this.

Can you take cuttings off a pepper plant and root them? I have rooted cutting on flowering plants and tomatoes and such, but never tried on a pepper before. I had asked another pepper grower, but they didn't know the answer either.

Do folks do it or just keep growing new plants every year?

Appreciate any help and a how to do it, if possible and I'll be back in couple weeks to check post.

spacetogrow · December 19, 2015

I recall this issue being addressed on some "pepperhead" forum some years ago but can't remember where. The folks who sounded like they had the most experience said that it can be done but, even with great skill and patience, the failure rate is close to 100%. They seemed to think that, unless it is an extremely rare variety and you can't get any more seed, it isn't even vaguely worth the bother.

So, after reading all of that, I never tried it...

Worth1 · December 19, 2015

The best way I have found to do it is to take a fresh growing cutting from the tip of the plant.
Do this with sharp clean cutting tools.
Clean clean clean.
Remove leaves dip stem in Rootone and place in a container with perlite distilled water or filtered water.
Keep temperatures around 75 degrees and wait.
I can promise you I have had very good success doing this.
Not just with peppers but other plants of the same type not just tomatoes.
Tomatoes are easy.

Worth

December 20, 2015

Yes, you can root pepper cuttings. I did it a number of times, this year. Here's my recommendation:

1. For this method, take a fairly large cutting (if you're going to prune it off anyway, at least).
2. Put it in a glass of water for two or three days, in a windowsill.
3. Plant it in new, soft (not one you can get splinters in) seed-starting mix (it doesn't need roots, yet). If you use anything else, the nutrient balance may not be right, or else it may have diseases that cuttings are vulnerable to (like pythium).
4. Put it under lights, and make sure at least one of the lights is a 2700k fluorescent (because this will help protect it against damping off or root rot). A sunny window might also work, but no guarantees.
5. When it starts growing again, you should be confident that it has roots.

If you don't put it in a cup of water for two or three days, then you'll need to keep the plant out of bright light for a few days (because that can stunt or kill it). Peppers need to be out of the light longer than tomatoes, though. So, two or three days may not be quite accurate. (I've rooted more tomatoes than peppers). When I did it, I did it by shading them first (rather than putting them in a cup of water). The rational behind the water is that cuttings don't tend to wither and die the first few days when they're in a cup of water, even if the light is kind of bright (they do tend to wither in bright light when the cutting is put directly in soil).

You can also root peppers just by putting them in water and waiting for roots to grow. This probably isn't a bad method for peppers, actually. I don't recommend it for tomatoes (although it can work). I might recommend adding a small amount of sea minerals to the water, though (and maybe small amounts of other water soluble nutrients). I haven't tried sea minerals on cuttings, but when rooting in water, you need to make sure the plants don't get too depleted of nutrients, or it can weaken them. The sea minerals will likely help protect the plants against fungus and hopefully root rot, too (although other nutrients may encourage rotting, depending on what they are). Never give new cuttings nitrogen unless it's also balanced with plenty of potassium (and don't give them much nitrogen, in that case, if any at all). Nitrogen can kill cuttings (much as it can kill seedlings)

**carolyn137** · December 20, 2015

About all I can say is that in the past I've had about 100% failure rate in trying to root peppers.

But then I'm comparing that to the about 100% excellent rate I've had with rooting cuttings from tomatoes.

Tomato cuttings form roots along the lower stems of the cuttings while I did not see that with peppers.

Also, if one tries to root tomatoes, and those of you who try to root peppers and do it in a glass of water, that may not be the best way to do it b'c when you then transfer to a sold growing medium the roots have to adapt to that which sets the timing back quite a bit.

Here's a quick Google search about pepper cuttings and note the several threads from here at Tville as well.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+..._AUIBigA&dpr=1

Hope that helps at least a bit.

Carolyn

Cole_Robbie · December 23, 2015

As far as a I know, a cutting of anything can be rooted. There are 1,001 different ways. The trick is to maintain an oxygenated environment around the base of the cutting. Stagnant water causes stem rot by fostering anaerobic bacteria. Hydrogen Peroxide, or even a little bleach in the water will slow down the rot. But an aerated environment is best. Wet sand is the simplest, or vermiculite, or perlite. A cup of water would do a lot better with an aquarium air pump blowing bubbles in the water. If you can suspend the cut tip just above the water, close enough to get hit with bits of water as the bubbles pop, that's close to perfect. The only thing better would be a high-pressure aeroponics setup with over 35 psi, enough to atomize the mist. Low-pressure mist has much larger droplets, and is less effective.

There's a guy on the Internet selling books/information about how to get rich by cloning high-value landscaping plants and trees like Japanese Maples. He kinda glosses over the years of work involved to turn a cutting into a valuable tree.

I haven't tried it, but the weeping willow tree contains a natural rooting hormone. The willow is known for growing roots from its drooping branches that touch wet ground. The hormone can be extracted from the bark. A willow cutting makes a good first attempt at rooting anything, because it's probably the easiest with which to have success.

Aerial · December 23, 2015

A friend has experimented and confirmed that fresh willow twigs snapped into little pieces tossed into the water work wonder as root stimulant.

Misting or spraying the cuttings often help to keep them alive before roots form.

A friend who is a rose propagation expert roots rose cuttings in as little as 7 days in clear cups with sharp sand, and misting station spraying every 10 minutes for 8 hours in full sun.

Cole, what's the name of the book? I want to GET RICH!

Cole_Robbie · December 23, 2015

http://www.ripoffreport.com/r/Mike-M...th-no-f-339740

His web site was freeplants dot com. It's a dead link now.

Starlight · December 26, 2015

Thanks for all the information.

I think I'll give all of the methods a try and maybe I will get lucky and have one or more methods take. I didn't realize that rooting pepper seeds was so hard to do. No wonder I haven't seen talk about it around the web.

Wonder why peppers are so hard to root? Is it because of their stem structure?

December 26, 2015

Peppers aren't hard to root. It's very doable. Actually getting roots on a pepper cutting is pretty easy (as long as you avoid damping off and/or initially killing your pepper with too much light before it's ready for that much light, or giving it the wrong soil and/or nutrients). The most common risk in my experience isn't failure to root (at least with what I've tried), but rather that if you don't do things right, it can take a really long time to get the plant growing at optimal speed again afterward (but it does eventually happen, even if it takes two or three months). Grapefruit cuttings are extremely hard to root by comparison, however, whether in soil, water, with hormone rooting powder, or in water with a bubble stone pumping air into the water (I tried that earlier this year). The bubble stone is great for keeping the water clean longer (whether for cuttings or fish tanks without filters). In theory, it should help to provide more oxygen to the roots. I rooted a cucumber in water with a bubble stone (but I never tried rooting a cucumber in water without one). It's easier to root cucumbers in soil, though (watermelon will root in soil just fine, too). As for tomatoes, they are really easy to root in good seed-starting mix. The problem with rooting them in water is that they're prone to root rot after transplanting, and they're weaker from nutrient depletion (plus, it takes a long time). Tomatoes rooted in soil can generally get about their business again pretty quickly. Peppers tend to take longer and/or take more care.

Peppers will actually grow roots all along the stem like tomatoes (not just where the branches come out). I say this because in my experience and others', they have. In fact, they'll sometimes grow batches of root nodules on the stems even if you don't take cuttings (if the air is humid* for a long period of time, or if there's a physical wound on the stem that heals). Nevertheless, they tend to be more conservative about it than tomatoes, and/or take longer. Pepper roots don't seem to grow really fast, usually. Tomato roots grow fast, however.

*Such as in a warm indoor growing area with lots of plants (that tends to make it humid).

Peppers seem to be a lot more prone to stunting than tomatoes. So, you have to treat the roots well when they form. Take care not to damage them.

December 19, 2015	#1
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	Pepper Cuttings? Will still be several weeks before my head will be cleared to spend more than few minutes on computer a week, so if I don't answer your post right away, don't think I am ignoring you. In the past I have dug up and planted in containers a few peppers and kept them alive over the winter to get a jump on spring and a bigger plant, but while I was looking at this hot chocolate pepper I brought in for winter I was wondering this. Can you take cuttings off a pepper plant and root them? I have rooted cutting on flowering plants and tomatoes and such, but never tried on a pepper before. I had asked another pepper grower, but they didn't know the answer either. Do folks do it or just keep growing new plants every year? Appreciate any help and a how to do it, if possible and I'll be back in couple weeks to check post.

December 20, 2015	#4
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	Yes, you can root pepper cuttings. I did it a number of times, this year. Here's my recommendation: 1. For this method, take a fairly large cutting (if you're going to prune it off anyway, at least). 2. Put it in a glass of water for two or three days, in a windowsill. 3. Plant it in new, soft (not one you can get splinters in) seed-starting mix (it doesn't need roots, yet). If you use anything else, the nutrient balance may not be right, or else it may have diseases that cuttings are vulnerable to (like pythium). 4. Put it under lights, and make sure at least one of the lights is a 2700k fluorescent (because this will help protect it against damping off or root rot). A sunny window might also work, but no guarantees. 5. When it starts growing again, you should be confident that it has roots. If you don't put it in a cup of water for two or three days, then you'll need to keep the plant out of bright light for a few days (because that can stunt or kill it). Peppers need to be out of the light longer than tomatoes, though. So, two or three days may not be quite accurate. (I've rooted more tomatoes than peppers). When I did it, I did it by shading them first (rather than putting them in a cup of water). The rational behind the water is that cuttings don't tend to wither and die the first few days when they're in a cup of water, even if the light is kind of bright (they do tend to wither in bright light when the cutting is put directly in soil). You can also root peppers just by putting them in water and waiting for roots to grow. This probably isn't a bad method for peppers, actually. I don't recommend it for tomatoes (although it can work). I might recommend adding a small amount of sea minerals to the water, though (and maybe small amounts of other water soluble nutrients). I haven't tried sea minerals on cuttings, but when rooting in water, you need to make sure the plants don't get too depleted of nutrients, or it can weaken them. The sea minerals will likely help protect the plants against fungus and hopefully root rot, too (although other nutrients may encourage rotting, depending on what they are). Never give new cuttings nitrogen unless it's also balanced with plenty of potassium (and don't give them much nitrogen, in that case, if any at all). Nitrogen can kill cuttings (much as it can kill seedlings) Last edited by shule1; December 20, 2015 at 01:59 AM.

December 20, 2015	#5
carolyn137 Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Upstate NY, zone 4b/5a Posts: 21,169	About all I can say is that in the past I've had about 100% failure rate in trying to root peppers. But then I'm comparing that to the about 100% excellent rate I've had with rooting cuttings from tomatoes. Tomato cuttings form roots along the lower stems of the cuttings while I did not see that with peppers. Also, if one tries to root tomatoes, and those of you who try to root peppers and do it in a glass of water, that may not be the best way to do it b'c when you then transfer to a sold growing medium the roots have to adapt to that which sets the timing back quite a bit. Here's a quick Google search about pepper cuttings and note the several threads from here at Tville as well. https://www.google.com/search?q=Can+..._AUIBigA&dpr=1 Hope that helps at least a bit. Carolyn __________________ Carolyn

December 23, 2015	#6
Cole_Robbie Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Illinois, zone 6 Posts: 8,407	As far as a I know, a cutting of anything can be rooted. There are 1,001 different ways. The trick is to maintain an oxygenated environment around the base of the cutting. Stagnant water causes stem rot by fostering anaerobic bacteria. Hydrogen Peroxide, or even a little bleach in the water will slow down the rot. But an aerated environment is best. Wet sand is the simplest, or vermiculite, or perlite. A cup of water would do a lot better with an aquarium air pump blowing bubbles in the water. If you can suspend the cut tip just above the water, close enough to get hit with bits of water as the bubbles pop, that's close to perfect. The only thing better would be a high-pressure aeroponics setup with over 35 psi, enough to atomize the mist. Low-pressure mist has much larger droplets, and is less effective. There's a guy on the Internet selling books/information about how to get rich by cloning high-value landscaping plants and trees like Japanese Maples. He kinda glosses over the years of work involved to turn a cutting into a valuable tree. I haven't tried it, but the weeping willow tree contains a natural rooting hormone. The willow is known for growing roots from its drooping branches that touch wet ground. The hormone can be extracted from the bark. A willow cutting makes a good first attempt at rooting anything, because it's probably the easiest with which to have success. Last edited by Cole_Robbie; December 23, 2015 at 03:10 PM.

December 26, 2015	#10
shule1 Guest Posts: n/a	Peppers aren't hard to root. It's very doable. Actually getting roots on a pepper cutting is pretty easy (as long as you avoid damping off and/or initially killing your pepper with too much light before it's ready for that much light, or giving it the wrong soil and/or nutrients). The most common risk in my experience isn't failure to root (at least with what I've tried), but rather that if you don't do things right, it can take a really long time to get the plant growing at optimal speed again afterward (but it does eventually happen, even if it takes two or three months). Grapefruit cuttings are extremely hard to root by comparison, however, whether in soil, water, with hormone rooting powder, or in water with a bubble stone pumping air into the water (I tried that earlier this year). The bubble stone is great for keeping the water clean longer (whether for cuttings or fish tanks without filters). In theory, it should help to provide more oxygen to the roots. I rooted a cucumber in water with a bubble stone (but I never tried rooting a cucumber in water without one). It's easier to root cucumbers in soil, though (watermelon will root in soil just fine, too). As for tomatoes, they are really easy to root in good seed-starting mix. The problem with rooting them in water is that they're prone to root rot after transplanting, and they're weaker from nutrient depletion (plus, it takes a long time). Tomatoes rooted in soil can generally get about their business again pretty quickly. Peppers tend to take longer and/or take more care. Peppers will actually grow roots all along the stem like tomatoes (not just where the branches come out). I say this because in my experience and others', they have. In fact, they'll sometimes grow batches of root nodules on the stems even if you don't take cuttings (if the air is humid* for a long period of time, or if there's a physical wound on the stem that heals). Nevertheless, they tend to be more conservative about it than tomatoes, and/or take longer. Pepper roots don't seem to grow really fast, usually. Tomato roots grow fast, however. Such as in a warm indoor growing area with lots of plants (that tends to make it humid). Peppers seem to be a lot more prone to stunting than tomatoes. So, you have to treat the roots well when they form. Take care not to damage them. Last edited by shule1; December 26, 2015 at 07:53 PM.*

December 19, 2015	#2
spacetogrow Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: MN zone 4 Posts: 359	I recall this issue being addressed on some "pepperhead" forum some years ago but can't remember where. The folks who sounded like they had the most experience said that it can be done but, even with great skill and patience, the failure rate is close to 100%. They seemed to think that, unless it is an extremely rare variety and you can't get any more seed, it isn't even vaguely worth the bother. So, after reading all of that, I never tried it...

December 19, 2015	#3
Worth1 Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Den of Drunken Fools Posts: 38,539	The best way I have found to do it is to take a fresh growing cutting from the tip of the plant. Do this with sharp clean cutting tools. Clean clean clean. Remove leaves dip stem in Rootone and place in a container with perlite distilled water or filtered water. Keep temperatures around 75 degrees and wait. I can promise you I have had very good success doing this. Not just with peppers but other plants of the same type not just tomatoes. Tomatoes are easy. Worth

December 23, 2015	#7
Aerial Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: CA Posts: 410	A friend has experimented and confirmed that fresh willow twigs snapped into little pieces tossed into the water work wonder as root stimulant. Misting or spraying the cuttings often help to keep them alive before roots form. A friend who is a rose propagation expert roots rose cuttings in as little as 7 days in clear cups with sharp sand, and misting station spraying every 10 minutes for 8 hours in full sun. Cole, what's the name of the book? I want to GET RICH!

December 26, 2015	#9
Starlight Tomatovillian™ Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: AL Posts: 1,993	Thanks for all the information. I think I'll give all of the methods a try and maybe I will get lucky and have one or more methods take. I didn't realize that rooting pepper seeds was so hard to do. No wonder I haven't seen talk about it around the web. Wonder why peppers are so hard to root? Is it because of their stem structure?