Jostaberry cuttings - please help

[davholla]

My Jostaberry and blackcurrant cuttings are dying. I put them in a mix of manure and sand
and water them. I think they can survive but would like advice.

[davholla]

[saddad]

I 've never lost a jostaberry cutting... I just bung them in the ground....  :-\

[jennym]

When you say the cuttings are dying, I wonder if you mean that the leaves are dropping off, if so, nothing to worry about. If you scratch the bark with your fingernail and the stem is still green underneath, the cuttings are alive.
The jostaberry especially is pretty tough and I've had loads take root by just leaving stems in a bucket of water halfway up over autumn and winter, loads of white roots emerge and they can be planted out as you please. Another way is to layer the stems, just peg a longish stem down so that it's in good contact with the soil and when it roots you can separate it from the main plant.
I'm sure that if you do lose them there are plenty of people on here who can let you have more, rooted.

[davholla]

When you say the cuttings are dying, I wonder if you mean that the leaves are dropping off, if so, nothing to worry about. If you scratch the bark with your fingernail and the stem is still green underneath, the cuttings are alive.
The jostaberry especially is pretty tough and I've had loads take root by just leaving stems in a bucket of water halfway up over autumn and winter, loads of white roots emerge and they can be planted out as you please. Another way is to layer the stems, just peg a longish stem down so that it's in good contact with the soil and when it roots you can separate it from the main plant.
I'm sure that if you do lose them there are plenty of people on here who can let you have more, rooted.

Do you think I should take them out and put them in water?  Could the manure be the problem?

[jennym]

Still not sure what makes you think they are dying, symptoms would help  :)
Maybe you need to be a bit more patient with your cuttings? If they haven't been potted up very long, maybe they will put roots out if you leave them. I would guess that they could take 6 to 8 weeks to put out roots, but to be honest have never actually timed them.
If you have plenty of cuttings, it wouldn't hurt to try some in water.
I'm not sure about using manure - I wouldn't use it to strike cuttings myself - the stem isn't feeding at all so doesn't need it yet.
If I pot cuttings up, and usually with this sort of thing it's on the hurry hurry, I'd take a pot of say 15cm diameter, fill it with half garden soil and half sharp grit, soak it on water, poke in half a dozen holes round the edges of the pot, insert the stems, firm the soil down hard, and leave in a shady but sheltered place. I would keep the soil moist but they don't usually need watering a lot as the stems aren't taking water up at this stage.

[davholla]

Still not sure what makes you think they are dying, symptoms would help  :)
Maybe you need to be a bit more patient with your cuttings? If they haven't been potted up very long, maybe they will put roots out if you leave them. I would guess that they could take 6 to 8 weeks to put out roots, but to be honest have never actually timed them.
If you have plenty of cuttings, it wouldn't hurt to try some in water.
I'm not sure about using manure - I wouldn't use it to strike cuttings myself - the stem isn't feeding at all so doesn't need it yet.
If I pot cuttings up, and usually with this sort of thing it's on the hurry hurry, I'd take a pot of say 15cm diameter, fill it with half garden soil and half sharp grit, soak it on water, poke in half a dozen holes round the edges of the pot, insert the stems, firm the soil down hard, and leave in a shady but sheltered place. I would keep the soil moist but they don't usually need watering a lot as the stems aren't taking water up at this stage.

Sorry the only sympton is that the leaves are dropping off - so maybe you are right there is nothing to worry about.