Planning, preparing and receiving your cuttings
Sanitation Protocols Sanitation protocols for handling and growing vegetative annuals start as soon as you unpack your cuttings, so be sure your team knows what your sanitation program entails. When handling and storing unrooted cuttings, there are two important factors to consider: barriers, such as gloves or aprons, and sanitizing agents . Be sure every employee is wearing aprons and gloves when handling cuttings, even in the cooler. Provide a sanitizer – for example, a quaternary ammonium product – for employees handling cuttings to use periodically to sanitize their hands. Ideally, employees sanitize hands between opening boxes. Additionally, be sure to sanitize carts, trays and any other equipment or resources used to handle and store cuttings. This should be done in between each use. Sanitation checklist • Written and posted sanitation protocols for handling and sorting URCs • Barriers – Do you have aprons and gloves available for employees handling and sorting the cuttings? • Sanitizing agents – Mixed, ready
thunbergia and purslane are very sensitive to transportation stress and tend to perform best if they’re stuck the same day they arrive. If you cannot stick them the same day, be sure they’re unpacked and stored appropriately to minimize the stress. Not all crops have the same temperature, humidity, light and mist requirements, and because of this, it helps to group cuttings in your propagation house so you can better deliver the right environment. We’ve developed a list you can use as a starting point and then tweak to fit your location and facility (see page 5). Factors to consider when creating groups are the length of time under mist, soil and air temp, light levels and mist frequency. Certain crops like osteospermum and bracteantha need more frequent mist to remain turgid. Geraniums should have their own misting regime. Lantana need very little mist, so they would also have their own misting group. All of this grouping and planning will help improve your chances of success once the cuttings get into the prop house. • A failure to plan is a plan to fail • Storing cuttings in the wrong environment (temperature, humidity) • Not prioritizing or sorting for success in the propagation house • Poor sanitation practices BIGGEST MISTAKES
to go and applied using the labeled rates and instructions Sticking Priority
Certain crops are more sensitive to the stresses that are incurred during transit from the stock farm to your dock. It’s important that you have a priority list of crops to determine the order of sticking (see chart on page 5) when they arrive. Crops like geraniums, euphorbia, lantana,
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