Thomas Giguère PLNT 310 – Plant Propagation Propagation of a herbaceous species: Tradescantia Pallida Species used: Tradescantia pallida Commonly known Wandering Jew or Purple Queen, it is a herbaceous perennial plant that occurs as an invasive weed in many natural areas around the world. Because of its ease to propagate and spread through stem cuttings, it also turns out to be a popular ornamental houseplant. Objectives : 1) Evaluate the effect of rooting hormone powder on rooting of stem cuttings of T. pallida 2) Evaluate the effect of growing medium on root formation of T. pallida 3) Evaluate the interaction between rooting hormone and rooting medium on root formation of T. pallida Technique used: Stem cuttings In this project, T. pallida was propagated through stem cuttings. At least two nodes were included on each cutting. Cuts were made just below the lower node with the help of a razor blade. Cuttings were then submitted to their respective treatment. A total of 4 treatments were performed: - Treatment 1: 10 cuttings, no rooting hormone, Agromix G-10, under mist frame - Treatment 2: 10 cuttings, Stimroot #1, Agromix G-10, under mist frame - Treatment 3: 10 cuttings, no rooting hormone, hydroponic unit - Treatment 4: 10 cuttings Stimroot #1, hydroponic unit Results after 8 weeks of rooting: Treatment Rooting success Average root length #1 8/10 20 cm #2 9/10 25 cm #3 6/10 10 cm #4 7/10 10 cm Rooted cuttings of treatment 2 Rooted cuttings of treatment 3 Conclusion : Treatment #2 was the best treatment, since it resulted in the highest number of rooted cuttings (rooting success), 9/10, and the highest average root length, 10 cm. It was observed that the treatments that had used rooting hormone powder resulted in a higher rooting success compared to the ones that hadn’t used it, rooting medium being the same. This could be explained by the fact that rooting hormone powder, such as Stimroot #1, promote root initiation. It was also observed that cuttings that had been put in the hydroponic unit experienced an overall decreased rooting performance, characterized by lower rooting success, a lower average root length, and a lower average number of root per cuttings. Acknowledgments: Thank you to Dr. Danielle Donnelly for her advices and the supervision of the project, to Sandrine St-Pierre Lepage for filming and to the greenhouse management staff for providing the materials and plants. .