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enter image description hereI had some new youngish fruit trees, I am not sure which variety this was... (plum, I think) Anyways I have issues where deer will come and bite off a branch, Later in the fall they bit this piece off and I tried to clone it... Cut it to a nice shape, cut little notches up the shaft a bit and root hormoned it, I have kept it wet (went directly in soil and I have kept the soil damp/wet all through the winter and I brought the branch in. The leaves grew afterward and that greenish growth happened early winter. The leaves dried out a bit (I didn't want to wet them, mold risk) and we have real dry winters.

With that said, for a few months it has looked just like this. No new leaves, no growth (its under 24 hours of light, lazy and I need my timers for my livestock).

Did it root? Is it stunted? Should I just toss it?

Ignore the long green branches, its rose rootings that have taken over (yes I know their leaves are dryish too.) Also I think that's a weed growing in the pot, was going to let it leaf out first to make sure it wasnt a shoot.

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    I'd keep it for a couple more months and see what happens. It may be to early in the season to tell. (Also, how cold was it where you were growing it? Plum trees need quite a few "cooling hours" over winter)
    – davidgo
    Commented Mar 13 at 1:04
  • I had brought it inside over the winter (70s inside? Maybe some chillier days due to draft) I have a large terrarium with over hanging LED growing lights... I just have it in a pot, was going to plant it outside with the rest over the spring. I don't know if its light sensitive but I tried to prevent it from going into a wintering stage (more than 18+ hours of light) I thought maybe it might give it more root production over the winter so it go grow outside? Either way it was just a experiment... Temps still are dropping bellow freezing for about a month here (should I move it outside? slowly)
    – E C
    Commented Mar 13 at 1:18
  • Sorry, I can't help. (I would have left it in a fridge until spring to try and germinate the cutting). Good luck with your experiment though!
    – davidgo
    Commented Mar 13 at 6:45
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    Thanks and yes, in hindsight there is a lot I would have done differently. Was more or less thrust on me, when a deer bit off one of the main branches. (I am going to play with the original tree now (since it's already topped) and see if I can force very short bushy production. Sorry, no real professional experience... I just have done it as a hobby over the years and like to push everything and see what I can learn. (also impatient and seeing leafy growth, green branch growth, followed by a long period of nothing...) Here I am, lol thanks again
    – E C
    Commented Mar 13 at 17:59

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Looks like your plant has gone through a rough path. It has not one but multiple issues.

  1. It is definitely under stress.
  2. The leaves are dried and curling which shows that lack of humidity. If there was required humidity then you would have seen some new sprouts.
  3. There may be an issue of over watering. Browning the leaf tip is a sign of irregular watering.
  4. You may want to put some fertilizers in the soil which may help in sprouting fast.

In my opinion, you should not toss it. Just try to address the issues I mentioned earlier and see the result in about a month.

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  • Thanks, I tend to use natural rabbit poop (have it unlimited) as a mulch to slowly compost and feed the plants. I was worried if it was trying to produce roots, it may be too much for it. Also yes, everything is inside (we have very dry winters, very humid summers) I was going to try to ignore the humidity issue as in a month, I will be moving it outdoors and it will fix itself.. If I address it now, mold is a risk. Think I should risk the mold and address the humidity problem now? Also as it was just a branch no roots I had been keeping the soil moist ALL the time. Would be a oxygen issue no?
    – E C
    Commented Mar 13 at 19:33
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    A gentle twist on the cutting will tell you if there's any rooting action yet.
    – Yosef Baskin
    Commented Mar 13 at 22:18

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