Back in mid-October I took some cuttings of gaura and penstemon. It was a little late in the year but I wondered if it would work in the hydropod.
A few months later many of them had decent roots.
I made up a loose compost mix, just multipurpose with some added sand, vermiculite and leaf mould then potted them up. To do this I pop some compost mix in the pot then suspending the cutting over the compost with one hand I lightly fill with the other. I don’t firm in, just tap the pot gently on the bench to settle it all down.
So with very little effort and fuss, a baker’s dozen of little plants. I have put them in the heated bench under the grow light, I’ll leave them be until I run out of room, when they can be moved to unheated staging.
I’ll be back soon with more propagation piffle.
The Propagator 
Great result ! Did you know that you were at the 8th place on Google with the search “hydropod” ?
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Only 8th? Clearly I need to work on my SEO!
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😂 for Google France, maybe you’re the top of UK?
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8th here too. 🤔
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But 7 with Propagator ! 😁😂👍🏻
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Some of our penstemon at work just had babies. It was quite a litter. Several out stems were covered with mulch, and consequently rooted. Now I need to find home for them. I know propagation can be a bad habit, but this is NOT my fault!
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Brilliant to see this when so little else is growing
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Thanks, yes, always good to see new growth. Before the snow covered it there was plenty of evidence of perennials re-emerging from their sleep.
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Hi. I’m really intrigued by this propagator. I’m new to propagating but have a need for several hundred border/edging plants. It’s become obvious the only way I will be able to fill out our borders is by propagating as much of it as possible myself.
I’ve already taken a look at the merchandiser – and would likely buy the 40 cuttings unit in a flash, but need to hear back from them concerning delivery to Finland – where we live. I’m also concerned about the electrical aspects as we have the EU plug prongs and this unit may be set up for UK sockets.
What results, even preliminary have you achieved through with the hardwood cutting trials? Glad I found your site. You were recommended to me by Ronnie@Hurtled to 60.
Best of luck – Kathryn
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Are you looking at ‘greenhouse sensations’ as the supplier? I’m not sure if they supply with an EU type plug but i expect you could use a UK-EU travel adapter or similar. If you were feeling adventurous you could just remove the UK plug and replace with an EU one.
Results-wise, I find it very reliable in comparison to the usual methods, a much higher % root successfully. There is also less room to make errors as you can see whether roots are there just by looking. No impatient tugging required! I have found the unit does need a good clean 2 or 3 times a year, just to stop build up of gunk that might cause rot etc. Will you also try growing from seed? That’s A good way to grow large numbers of plants.
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My seed success has been nearly 0 – it’s rather cold here until quite late into April usually. so our climate difference is mostly at issue. Plus, my patience level is also about 0.
Greenhouse Sensations is what I was looking at. Tried plugging Hydropod into some local Finnish gardening merchandisers, and came up 0. None of them offer this product.
As a complete newb, I would much prefer something that improves my odds right from the get-go. Cleaning the unit periodically is a good tip, thanks. Hopefully it won’t cost and arm & a leg to get a unit here.
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You might also look at vitopod, another product from greenhouse sensations. It’s a top notch heated propagation unit, great for growing seeds, grow lights included. Could be the answer to your dark and chilly winters. Good luck!
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I saw that, while I was poking around the GS site. Spendy little gadget but it does look like it’s got all the bells & whistles and could probably help even me! Thanks!
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Wonderful. A great success.
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Thanks Linda, always a joy to see good roots on a cutting.
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