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I came across Malaysian Red Guava at Lowe's last night. More I read about it more I want to get one. Question for guava lowers/growers, which Pink/Red Guava is the best in terms of best taste, juiciness, sweetness, and soft seeds.Does anyone has extra scions that could be shared? Right now most Guava's are starting to go dormant or coming out of dormancy. Perfect time to graft as well.
The best way to propagate guavas is using newly formed green wood just before it turns brown. Get a 4-6" piece, cut off the sappy new growth at the top, and remove all leaves from bottom of stem. Leave between 2-4 leaves at the top but trim those in half. Dip in rooting hormone, place in vermiculite, and move to a mist chamber. In about 30 days roots form. This is how guavas are being propagated in the commercial nurseries. I rooted 12 cuttings last year, one of them now has a bud forming.
Here are some of the guava cuttings that I rooted last year. Notice that the wood is still quadrangular. Huge roots form in the vermiculite, but very little activity above the soil level. The cuttings are placed on potting soil for contrast. Use vermiculite instead of soil to root them. Vermiculite suppresses fungus growth unlike soil, and it encourages root growth because it allow lots of oxygen to be present in the root zone. In 30 days pull on the stem if it pulls out roots have not formed yet.Here is what those same plants look like today.Flower buds forming already.
Quote from: lkailburn on April 09, 2012, 12:19:15 PMWow thats great! So 100% vermiculite huh? Very cool i'll have to give that a try. I always do a batch of peat/perlite with sometimes a ratio higher or lower of either..whatever i happen to toss in the mix hahaah.Could you explain a little more about the misting station and how that works. Do you have something set up on a timer to mist the plants?Thanks-LukePeat and perlite both promote mold/fungus formation. My success rate was very low when using both those mediums. Vermiculite suppresses mold/fungus growth.Get it a HomeDepot. THERMOROCK 2.0 cu. ft. Vermiculite (Medium Grade)THERMOROCK 2.0 cu. ft. Vermiculite (Medium Grade) $20.97http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R-202187625/h_d2/ProductDisplay?catalogId=10053&langId=-1&keyword=Vermiculite&storeId=10051For the mist system I use the "Orbit Basic Outdoor Cool 3/8" Mist System" But you can fabricate whatever works for you. The key is that it must put out a very fine water mist (not drops of water), to keep a fine film of water on the leaves when the sun is out.http://www.orbitonline.com/products/Kits/04/04/10/114/For the timer I use the ART-DNe Adjustable Repeat Cycle Timer it can be adjusted down to 1 second on and 1 second interval. This is the most versatile mist timer that I have seen. I run it 10 seconds on, every 10 minutes interval. The key is to adjust the timer so that the leaves do not dry up and that a fine water film similar to dew is always present on the leaves. This timer cuts off at dusk to keep the cutting from sitting in water and promoting mold growth.http://beanfarm.com/product_info.php?products_id=6093The valve operated by the timer is the Orbit 3/4" Green Jar Top Valve, but any irrigation valve will work just fine.Item #: 289083 | Model #: 57460Phttp://www.lowes.com/pd_289083-74985-57460P_0__?productId=1179013&Ntt=irrigation+valve&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dirrigation%2Bvalve&facetInfo=You will need a transformer to convert 110vac the output of the timer to 24vac the voltage required by the irrigation valve. This one works fine. Any 110vac to 24vac transformer will work just fine.http://www.lowes.com/ProductDisplay?partNumber=63548-85538-LE-125C-A&langId=-1&storeId=10151&productId=3482857&catalogId=10051&cmRelshp=req&rel=nofollow&cId=PDIO1
Wow thats great! So 100% vermiculite huh? Very cool i'll have to give that a try. I always do a batch of peat/perlite with sometimes a ratio higher or lower of either..whatever i happen to toss in the mix hahaah.Could you explain a little more about the misting station and how that works. Do you have something set up on a timer to mist the plants?Thanks-Luke
Quote from: enduser on April 07, 2012, 08:15:19 PMThe best way to propagate guavas is using newly formed green wood just before it turns brown. Get a 4-6" piece, cut off the sappy new growth at the top, and remove all leaves from bottom of stem. Leave between 2-4 leaves at the top but trim those in half. Dip in rooting hormone, place in vermiculite, and move to a mist chamber. In about 30 days roots form. This is how guavas are being propagated in the commercial nurseries. I rooted 12 cuttings last year, one of them now has a bud forming.sounds easier than airlayering I'm going to try it. Thanks Enduser.