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View Full Version : Separating Pups were harder than I thought.


nph
08-25-2010, 11:24 PM
I just separated some pups from my Gran Nain and they grew really close to the mother plant. I don't think I got any corn from the main plant even though I tried to cut toward the main plant at an angle. Basically no roots so I dusted some root hormone on the edge that was cut from the mother, planted them and put them in the shade. Now I am hoping for the best.

I also separated pups from my plant from Costco that I think is California Gold although I am not sure but here the pups definitely grew a little further from the mother plant. However even here I doubt if I got corm from more than one of the pups. Although two out of three here at least had some roots.
Did the same, dusted with root hormone, planted them in potting soil and put them in the shade.

What did I do wrong and do you think they will survive anyway? I am hoping to keep these in my garage over winter and plant next year in case the main plants don't survive the winter.

Thanks

imclueless17
08-26-2010, 08:25 AM
It seems you did everything right in your "emergency" situation! Just water them and soon they should be fine.
-Jamie

Gabe15
08-26-2010, 12:24 PM
It takes a lot of practice to get right. When teaching, I always tell people to go closer to the mother and down deeper than you think is necessary, and then it usually enough. Usually you must go at least 1ft down from the soil behind the sucker to make sure the entire corm is severed intact. Different varieties act different of course, it just takes experience to know how to handle each situation.

pitangadiego
08-26-2010, 01:37 PM
Ditto Gabe's comments.

sandy0225
08-26-2010, 05:18 PM
It helps if you use a sharpened spade to sever the pups, and angle the shovel back towards mama plant quite a bit, almost like a 45 degree angle. It's better to get "too much" corm, than not enough. The mother plant will recover if you get too much.

nph
08-26-2010, 09:29 PM
Yeah, I was probably a little to careful about not hurting the mother plant...

enigma99a
08-26-2010, 10:48 PM
I always use a big handsaw from Home Depot/Lowes. It cuts very easy but i'm not sure if it is the best thing for the plant. So far I haven't lost one:)