Growing Cuttings - Vietnamese Mint, Common Mint, Rosemary

Day temperature was about 24 degrees celsius with mild sunshine. This is the pot of Common mint (below on the left) I have bought recently. I am taking it out into the sunshine daily but shielding it with a box which I have modified into a 'greenhouse' - providing protection against the cold as well as keeping potential pests away. The mint cuttings in the black pot (below on the right) are taken from the main pot. Both rooted in water and potted in premium potting mix + some coir fibre + 1 g slow-release fertiliser and watered in Seasol. I also used a plastic cloche over these mint cuttings :

Left : Common mint (main pot) Right : Mint cuttings taken from main pot.

The two vietnamese cuttings which were grown in the green planter did not do well. (http://organic-is-better.blogspot.com/2009/02/smoky-day.html) Their leaves became yellowish and limp after two weeks. I had to pull them out of the planter and investigate. I repotted one of them, hoping it will recover. The potting mix in the green planter was rather waterlogged. The planter only has two small holes on two ends of it and I think drainage was very bad. I cannot reuse it until I drill more holes in the middle of it. The roots of the vietnamese mint cuttings could not breathe and were rotting in the wetness, and thanks to my generous watering, which worsened the situation. Fortunately, the one repotted in premium potting mix slowly regained its health and its yellowish limpy leaves are gradually turning green and turgid again. The vietnamese cutting which I salvaged on another day (it was broken from the main stem and wilting in the pot) has been potted. Also http://organic-is-better.blogspot.com/2009/02/smoky-day.html . I used premium potting mix + some coir fibre + some composted cow manure for this cutting. I also covered the cutting in the few days after potting with a made-shift mini green house fashioned out of a cut plastic bottle. I made two holes on the side of the cut bottle so that there is some air circulation. This two weeks have been rather cool and vietnamese mint likes warmer temperatures, so the cut bottle provides some protection from the cold. It is also good to keep potential pests out while the cuttings are establishing themselves :

Left : Vietnamese mint found broken from parent plant, salvaged and potted. Right : Vietnamese mint uprooted from green planter and potted again. Note right's leaves are not as healthy as left's. Salvaged Vietnamese mint protected by mini cloche made out of cut plastic bottle.Using a cardbox, I made it into a 'mini-greenhouse'. It is not waterproof but rain over here is predictable anyway.

Mint cuttings protected by 'mini cloche' against cold and pests to help with establishing themselves.

Two rooted cuttings of Rosemary were also potted in Premium potting mix + coarse sand and watered in with Seasol. Seasol is a plant conditioner and helps transplanting shock