How Root Plugs Handle Seeds and Cuttings Differently
The hole in the top takes either, but what happens next is not the same. For a seed, drop one or two in, then tear a small piece off a spare plug and cap the hole with it. Germination wants darkness, and an open hole leaves the seed lit. For a cutting, take two to four inches and dip it in rooting gel. Push it in until the stem meets the damp matrix all the way round. An air gap along the stem is the usual reason a cutting sits for three weeks and does nothing. Either way the media is the same. Sphagnum peat moss and composted tree bark, held in a plant derived foam polymer.
Choosing Propagation Plugs for a Small Run
Fifty is the number for a home run or a single tray, and it is the pack most growers should take first. A case of 1,400 is a nursery commitment, and media that sits for a year is media that dries out. Soak these for about two hours in water balanced near pH 6.0 before anything goes in. Squeeze them as they sit, until they are damp rather than wet. Keep them in a tray with a dome, warm, and with no more than a shallow film of water underneath. When white roots show at the sides, the whole plug moves into its next home. That is the real advantage over loose media. Nothing gets disturbed, so the transplant does not cost the plant a week.
Key Features
- Fifty per pack: The size for a single tray or a home run, rather than a nursery case.
- Peat and composted bark: Sphagnum peat moss and tree bark, bound in a plant derived foam polymer.
- Pre-drilled hole: Ready for a seed or a cutting with no preparation of your own.
- Cap the hole for seeds: Tear a piece off a spare plug. Germination wants darkness, not light.
- Full contact for cuttings: Two to four inches, dipped in gel, with no air gap along the stem.
- Two hour soak first: In water balanced near pH 6.0, squeezing as they sit. Damp, not wet.
- Shallow water only: A film in the tray under a dome, kept warm while roots form.
- Transplants whole: Into coco, soil or hydroponics, with the root ball left undisturbed.
- No transplant shock week: Nothing is pulled apart, so the plant does not stall after the move.
- Bulk available: The same plug comes in a 1,400 count case for continuous propagation.
Technical Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Brand | General Hydroponics |
| Part Number | 714135 |
| Product | Rapid Rooter replacement starter plugs |
| Count | 50 per pack |
| Composition | Sphagnum peat moss and composted tree bark in a plant derived foam polymer |
| Microbes | Manufacturer states high populations of beneficial microbes |
| Micronutrients | Fortified with General Hydroponics micronutrients |
| Hole | Pre-drilled for seeds or cuttings |
| For Seeds | 1 to 2 per hole, capped with a torn piece of plug for darkness |
| For Cuttings | 2 to 4 in, dipped in rooting gel, seated for full stem contact |
| Rehydration | Soak about 2 hours in pH balanced water near 6.0, squeeze as they sit |
| Moisture Target | Thoroughly damp, never dripping |
| Standing Water | No more than 1/4 in in the tray |
| Propagation Conditions | 75 to 80°F, 16 to 18 hours of light, humidity dome |
| Transplanting | Move the whole plug into coco, soil or a hydroponic system |
| Larger Pack | 1,400 count bulk case |