tobym

Update: I received a new Gros Michel corm, dry and rootless as usual, on 10 April and potted it immediately into 50% quartz sand (for aquaria) and 50% perlite. It went under 50% shade cloth in the greenhouse, min 70°F air temperatures, 85-90°F during the day and 85°F bottom heat at night from the underfloor heating. Watered well once then left alone.

I couldn't resist tipping it out today, 5 days on, because YOLO... and behold, a mass of 2" long roots. I'll give it another week before final potting.

No movement yet on my Thousand Fingers corm potted the same way, but no signs of rot either.

I imagine the extra heat this time of year helped, but I suspect the addition of sand into the mix provided a better atmosphere for rooting than perlite alone. Seems well-draining moisture matters more than air circulation...