Pro tip from my grandma about rooting cuttings in plain water

My grandmother always said to use rainwater instead of tap water when rooting plant cuttings. I thought she was just being old fashioned but I tried it last spring with some coleus stems. The ones in rainwater rooted in about 10 days while the tap water ones barely had nubs after 3 weeks. Has anyone else noticed a difference with rainwater versus tap?

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spencer_bell2mo ago

My tap water rooted cuttings in about 12 days and grandma's rainwater gave me mold in a week lol. I tested it with 4 different plants and the tap water ones were actually healthier looking once I potted them up.

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alice9912mo ago

Maybe the fluoride in tap water helps sterilize things?

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