Need help with Ludiscia Discolor

[Paul Mc]

So, I woke up this morning and my blooming Ludiscia Discolor had one stalk that was no longer upright. I investigated it and found that the base had separated from the rest of the plant. I looked at the separation and it was mushy brown.

Now, I've read that you can break them at the nodules and root them. Can I do that to save this portion? I don't expect to save the flowers as there are no roots, but I am unclear what to do to get roots. Do I put it in a thin layer of water like a vine, or just clean it off and put it in the soil?

BTW, I am not so sure that it rotted and then fell over. It was a very thin offshoot from a thicker branch. I was actually just thinking the other day that I should stake the flowers on that particular spike as it looked a little heavy and was leaning. Oops, lol...

Any advice is welcome for rooting and how to clean it. I've never had to deal with this before.

[Paul]

First cut off the mushy portion up to where you have only healthy tissue. The cut area can be dusted with rooting powder or cinnamon. After that just stick in whatever media you find works for you so that at least a couple of nodes are buried. Keep the media lightly moist and keep the cutting in a warm shady area. Should root w/o a problem. I have heard that they can be rooted in water but have never tried that myself.

[Paul Mc]

Thank you Paul. Great first name BTW, lol...

Ok, so there is only one node before the leaves. It is a relatively new growth off of an old one. I will cut it to that node, dust both the old and the new with cinnamon, then pot the cutting.

Should I remove the flower stalk? I read online that when it is flowering it is also producing a chemical which inhibits root growth. Is this accurate?

[Paul]

Despite not being an unusual first name, it also doesn't seem to be a very common one.

I would cut the flower spike if for no other reason than that I would want the plant to redirect its energy into root growth instead of trying to support flowers.