My chacruna cutting was planted the other day and is now looking really bad!
there were no roots only three leaves and some leaf buds.
should I take it out of the soil and into a glass of water?

thanks, I have some vermiculite I'm assuming that will work just as good?

Perlite allows for proper aeration of the roots by draining quickly and retaining minimal water, but enough to sustain a cutting/seedling as it establishes roots.

Vermiculite holds water like a champ, does not dry quickly and essentially goes to mud-like consistency when you hydrate it (minimal aeration for roots). Imo, vermiculite would make a very poor substitute in this scenario and in general.

For what its worth...

My psychotria Alba just started putting out roots after about 2-3 months. I've just been keeping it in a mason jar, in water (that I change daily), with a ziplock on top for a humidity tent.

So I ended up just putting it in some verm with a tent over it.
I think the verm will be ok since I live in a very dry area so the perlite may dry out too quickly anyway and I am not home enough to keep a close eye on it.
If she starts looking even more sad...which is gunna be hard she just lost her only three leaves and now only has small buds....then I will try something else.
Please pray for a miracle healing for her so I can do some healing of my own one day with her help

Best of luck with your little queen of the forest. May she thrive long into the future.

A little late on this.

But if your leaves are still falling off plant those...they will grow new plants! When I have a leaf fall I plant it in a McDonalds Hot Fudge Sundae container. You know the clear plastic one that snaps together in the middle. I find it to be a great humidity chamber for seeds and cuttings.

Fill the bottom half with your soil of choice, I simply use Miraclegrow potting soil for flowers. Use a scalple and bisect the leaf as this allows more water retention or something. Plant the leaf stem first with just a bit of the leaf sticking out. Mist daily and keep sealed to maintain humidity. I keep them in a spot away from direct sunlight. The leaf cutting will develop a root system in about 3 weeks and the slowly new stems and leaves will start to shoot up.

I started doing this in case my larger plant died, but it turns out to be a very good way to multiply the plants. They grow slow but hey, the more the merrier!

chacruna is a super strong plant...ive had them die all the way to the soil..but if left alone and moist for a few months..will shoot out a new plant..dont give up..keep it moist

[quote=Psikotrope] A little late on this.
When I have a leaf fall I plant it in a McDonalds Hot Fudge Sundae container. You know the clear plastic one that snaps together in the middle. I find it to be a great humidity chamber for seeds and cuttings. [\quote]

Thats was a very great tip Psikotrope, Im going to try this for myself! I also plant the dead leaves, although ive heard they wont have as high a success rate of rooting. Ive only had some dead leaves planted for 4 months, still no signs of life =(

Edit: Why wont my qoute work?

buy some super thrive, you dip your cutting in this stuff for about a min, and then look for some root hormone, after a super thrive soak its dipped and covered with a pink powder, then plant as you would normally, these two items are great for cuttings.

Best of luck to you.

Unfortunately she perished a while back, lost all her leaves and I tried to root in some willow water to no avail.

Sorry to hear that.
I have 1 chacruna that I started from seed, about 5 month germination period.
In all honesty I had forgot all about the bugger.
I had 4 seeds in a recycled margarine tub with MG potting mix.
They dried out several times during that time.
3 sprouted, 2 I managed to kill while transplanting. It's taking its time growing too.
Although it's been a difficult plant to start IMO, I sure love that little guy .