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Propagation Chambers |
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I have gotten a lot of questions about propagation chambers, so I figured it deserved its own page. Propagation chambers are actually very easy to make and they can be made out of just about anything. The only purpose they serve is to provide a humid environment. No matter the type the setup is the same. You want to use peat/perlite or lfsm or vermiculite for the media. Basically, any media you use to grow carnivorous plants in can be used as the media in the propagation chambers. But, keep in mind that you need the back side of leaf cuttings in good contact with the media. So I wouldn't use lava rocks, for example. :-) LFSM or 50/50 peat/perlite works best. Keep the media moist at all times, not overly wet though or the cuttings will rot. You don't want water standing on the bottom of the propagation chamber, thats too wet. The media doesn't need to be deep, 1/2" deep media is fine. The propagation chambers increase the humidity because they have a lid. If your not careful humidity will become too high and the cuttings will rot and or mold. It will probably take a couple tries to figure out exactly how moist to keep the media. You want to keep it as wet as you can without pooling water or causing rot. If you end up with a lot of condensation the media is either too wet or there is not enough fresh air getting in, or both. You can set it up without putting anything in it to watch and test for several days. The higher you can hold humidity without causing other problems the higher your success rate will be. The exact media and propagation chamber is going to determine how much water is needed and how often it needs to be replaced. A 50/50 peat/sand mix works well but because of the sand it dries out very fast, so check it daily. LFSM works great, slightly difficult to recover well rooted plants though. 50/50 peat/perlite also does well. I don't recommend 100% peat unless its pellets, pellets work fairly well. |
The cost of a propagation chamber should be near zero. Use what you already have, almost everyone has something. Whether its 4 or 6 inch water trays, take out containers, or clear plastic deli containers from the grocery store. Most everyone already has something that will work laying around or easily available. Just use what's handy for you.
Here are some examples of propagation chambers:| 4" & 6" water trays make excellent propagation chambers. Just use one for the top and one for the bottom. The 4" dry out very fast though so start them a little on the wet side and check often. LFSM will hold its moisture much better than a peat/sand mix. Peat/sand in 4" water saucers is shown, started a little wet. |  click for bigger pic |
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Plastic Chinese food take out containers work excellent. This is by far my favorite propagation chamber for cuttings. Drill four or five 1/4" holes in the lid and its perfect. Press very light or drilling tends to crack the lid. I prefer using LFSM in mine but peat/perlite works well too. My highest percentage of success comes from this type of propagation chamber. |
| You can start the cuttings on pots and place the pots in larger covered containers. Or do the same with larger cuttings like Nepenthes. Larger containers are harder to raise humidity in. If I use a large one like this I cover the bottom with a 1/4" to a 1/2" of water for the pots to sit in. Lids can be made from anything clear that lets light in, including cellophane. I used the top off a rectangle cheese and cracker tray and taped cellophane over the remainder. This method works great for nep cuttings but not so great for leaf cuttings. 4" pots were used, this one held 2 pots wide and 4 pots deep. |  |
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Or you can simply put a water tray on the pot. Keep the pot standing in water to ensure the media stays moist enough. You can use pot liners for pot domes if you need the height. This method keeps you from having to move the plantlets later as they can remain in their pots. Just edge the dome off over several days to acclimate. |
The water trays and chinese take out food containers make the best propagation chambers to learn with. If the cuttings die and become very soft, and generally get white or grey dots of mold, the media is too wet. If the cuttings die but remain mostly the same texture and stiffness of normal dead leaves then the media is too dry which in turn lowers the humidity too much. You can gently mist the media as needed with a spray bottle. Remove molded cuttings and pitch. Don't give up on your cuttings too fast though, some take a long time to get started, especially flytraps. And sometimes they start from cuttings that have looked dead for weeks, especially flytraps.
Some people freak out if the media starts to turn green. This can be from several things. Don't worry about it unless it grows on, or overtakes, the cuttings. Most often its algae and doesn't hurt anything, mostly doesn't impact the cuttings at all except in extreme cases. If you get a pool of green ooze then scrape it off and replace media as needed, this is a sign of too much water. Peat and LFSM tend to start to grow in this type of environment, again not an issue unless it overtakes the cuttings.