Question on Cephalotus Leaf Propagation

[RandyS]

I'm kind of getting ahead of myself here, as I just got fresh leaf pullings in the mail today (thanks Werdna!).

However, I have propagated this species in the past, a number of years ago. The photo below is from that.

At the stage where I have small plantlet(s) attached to what was a leaf pulling, is it possible to remove the plantlet(s) and get the leaf to produce another round (or more) of plantlet(s)?

The photo below is of a leaf pulling several months after I started it. I had it recorded as 3 months, 3 weeks at most.



I've successfully used such an approach multiple times with other plants, such as Gesneriads and Begonias. In the case below I was able to get over 300 Streptocarpus from 17 leaf fragments (all originally from one small leaf).

Streptocarpus 'Blue Frills':


My impression is that production of subsequent rounds of plantlets is faster than the first round.

 

[Camden M]

From what you said (correct me if I'm wrong) I think you're asking if you can take leaf pullings from a small plant and cut them up into leaf fragments and then root those leaf fragments. The answer to that is no, unfortunately. In order to have success with leaf pulling you have to have white tissue. I don't know if you could cut up the white tissue and get more plants from that though.

 

[RandyS]

Actually, I’m wondering whether the original largest leaf can be removed from the leaf pulling + plantlet, and if so, whether this can be done sequentially when/if more plantlets grow.

Sorry about the confusion. I was just using the Streptocarpus as an example where the “mother” leaf material (in this case a fragment) was left intact, and plantlets were removed, starting another cycle.



On a completely different note, I am indeed curious what parts of the Cephalotus plant are known to be capable of giving rise to new plants, and how rigorously that’s known. Failure upon inserting it into media may not be a complete test.

 

[adnedarn]

I've never tried it, but I guess if you could "pull" the leaf from the new plantlet as if it were the mother plant and get the white part to once again come off of the plant and follow the leaf it could be possible. You also have to keep in mind how much life that leaf has left in it and if it will be able to support such growth again.

 

[RandyS]

I've never tried it, but I guess if you could "pull" the leaf from the new plantlet as if it were the mother plant and get the white part to once again come off of the plant and follow the leaf it could be possible. You also have to keep in mind how much life that leaf has left in it and if it will be able to support such growth again.

Or one could use a razor blade and try to balance giving the plantlet enough to get a start, while leaving the leaf enough (callus?) to start another one. There might be a choice of which gets root(s)… I haven’t looked at one of these in a while, but I bet there are some clues.

One point with the Streptocarpus (and Begonias) was that they did have enough left in them for more. And as I mentioned, the new plantlets formed more quickly.

 

[adnedarn]

I meant when the plantlet is small, the big original leaf is likely powering that growth. If you decide the plantlet is big enough to power along on its own and pull the big leaf from it, does that main leaf have life in it (until it's naturally ready to die) to power another plantlet.

 

[RandyS]

That’s a good question. My experience with other plants is that it’s fine.

 

[adnedarn]

I've had the beginner leaf live for quite a while after the plantlet forms, and I've had them die back even before a plantlet shows up (but does still grow one). Not sure what the difference is (age of leaf pulled? conditions?) but it has definitely varied for me.

 

[RandyS]

This is actually the first example that I tried. Begonia U614, with thin leaves. My point here is that even fragments of a thin leaf were stable enough to give multiple rounds of plantlets. I would naively expect an intact leaf (Cephalotus) to have at least as much longevity.

 

[RandyS]

I've had the beginner leaf live for quite a while after the plantlet forms, and I've had them die back even before a plantlet shows up (but does still grow one). Not sure what the difference is (age of leaf pulled? conditions?) but it has definitely varied for me.

That’s interesting, and useful to know.

 

[RandyS]

The Begonia (and Streptocarpus) leaves were sterilized, incubated on paper towels/ziploc, then moved to soil after rooted. So they did have the possible advantage of growing on richer media.